The Post-Baby Body

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It's great to have my body back again after the pregnancy, but sadly it's not the body I started out with. It's all a bit wibbly wobbly and there are quite a few extra Kilos that appeared from nowhere. Whether the packet of TimTams I consumed every night contributed to the extra weight gain, I really couldn't say.

Mustn't be too hard on myself. It took me 11 months to put the weight on if you include the Pregnancy, Christmas and the week I overindulged on Granny's Hedgehog slice. I'm quite happy to give myself a good year to get back into shape. No pressure.

The thing that I'm missing though is some regular exercise, the type of exercise like a brisk walk along the beach in the fresh air that makes you feel good. It's not about looking good but feeling good. I had the annoying "Elvis Pelvis" to deal with during the pregnancy which prevented a lot of activity and then we've had School Holidays and there have been 5 little peeps around my ankles which has made exercise tricky. I've also had to contend with a massive separation of my stomach muscles and I need to get them sorted out before I can do some decent exercise. My muscle situation is so bad I still have to perform the "log-roll" to extricate myself from bed in the mornings.

The muscles will likely 'knit' themselves back together over the course of time ("the long route") or I can do some little exercises to speed the process up ("the shorter route"). I told the Physiotherapist in no uncertain terms that unless the exercises can be done while I'm sitting in the car at the traffic lights and required the use of no more brain cells than it takes to flick on a light switch, then I just won't do them.

So she handed me an A4 sheet of paper with the following instructions:

Sit on a Fitball. Try to balance. Breath in. Tighten pelvic floor muscles. Hold for 10 seconds. Repeat 3 times. Keep 1 leg on the floor while hooking a large stretchy elastic band around the other foot. Don't fall off. Bicep curl both arms together. Proceed to lift that foot 30cm off the floor while exhaling. Don't fall off the ball. You still holding those muscles in? Count to 10. Foot back on the floor. Don't forget to breath in at some point. Head up. Shoulders back. If you manage all that, repeat a million times and then swap feet. Rub your stomach with your left hand and touch nose with right hand. If the stars align and the cosmic forces allow it then proceed with the "Cat Stretch". And pigs might fly........

You can imagine where the sheet of paper ended up, can't you?

So I'll be taking the long route then.

I actually prefer to do exercise that naturally fits into everyday life anyway. Things like a walk along the beach, a bush walk, a hike up a mountain or a bike ride. If brisk walking morphed into a slow jog then that would be nice but my body would currently fall apart if I performed that number. And I'd like to be able to do exercise that I can still do when I'm 90 and I can't see myself donning the lycra and doing kickboxing when I'm that age. And you never see the Downton Abbey ladies sweating it out at a Gym. Although, maybe they didn't over-indulge in sweeties like me.

I don't like the gym. I don't like paying to exercise, having to dress for exercise, hopping in a car to get to the place of exercise and then being in a sweaty room full of other sweaty people staring at a blue wall or those big mirrors. And then you have to keep going to the Gym to retain your fitness for the Gym, if you know what I mean.

If there are no other options for exercise then the Gym is a good choice, especially if you care for children full-time. I completely understand. The only time I have joined a gym is after the birth of my babies when I needed to lose some extra kilos and a stroll with the pram and a toddler in tow wasn't really going to do the job. However, it's interesting that the local Gyms are also switching their methods to this more "functional" exercise as they call it. My local Gym no longer runs classes at all but instead offers group exercises that mimic activities you do in your day to day life. Interesting.

So I will wait for my muscles to knit back together naturally. The Kids will be back at school this week and for the first time in 6 years I do not have a toddler as well as a baby at home with me. I'm looking forward to getting out and about with Flynn in the pouch or the pram and slowly starting on some gentle exercise. I want to be fit for life, not gym fit. And if it takes that bit longer to lose the weight  then that's OK.

How do you all go about exercising?