After eating waaaay too much at my brother's barbecue yesterday, I decided today would be a good day to get back into my gym routine. The one I put on hold oh say two years ago. Make that two and a half. This morning I signed up for a one week free thing at the local NYSC and went with my sister. It felt good. Real good.
I don't know why I thought it was okay for me to not be working out all that time. I mean, vanity aside, exercise is good for you. I think what happened was I got so busy before H. arrived, so preoccupied, and yes, a little burned out on the gym that I stopped going for a while. And then he arrived and I didn't even have time to shower let alone step on an elliptical trainer and I thought, well, he's my workout these days. And for a while, he was. When we lived in a brownstone, I had to carry him in his 17.5 lb. Maclaren stroller up and down the stairs every day. Plus groceries. Many times a day. This equaled nicely toned arms, if I did say so myself (and I might have been the only person saying so, but that's ok). And there was also the business of walking the dog. I guess I felt that was exercise enough.
Then we moved. We bought a car. It was winter. Elevator building. All this added up to less walking and lifting. Plus, I decided it was okay to taste whatever H. might have been eating, whenever he was eating. I think it's true that adoptive moms don't have to worry about losing baby weight, but it's also true that any mom who's at home with a baby or toddler is generally not putting herself first. Whether that means fixing healthy meals for herself or carving out time to exercise, it's in many ways easier to focus on the babe, and put your own needs off...sometimes till the end of the day, sometimes indefinitely. But I think there's got to be a way to do both, which though it might take a bit more energy, might also yield more energy.
So, without sounding too much like a commercial for yogurt or a feminine product, I am going to start taking better care of me. I'm hoping going to get back to the gym tomorrow, provided I'm not in too much pain from today.
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