A fitness series on a cloth diaper blog?
I know what you might be thinking, Why on earth would they start a weekly blog post about health and fitness in December? Dont they know that everyone pigs out this month and chooses to start over in January? Well, I think the better question is: Why not now? Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Bert and I blog over at First Time Mom. For all intents and purposes those who dont know me call me by my given name, Elizabeth, but since were going to be gettin down and dirty you have the privilege of calling me Bert.
Meet Bert
I have struggled on and off with my weight since I hit puberty at the awesome age of ten. Since I went through that awkward pudgy phase before all of the other girls I was teased quite a bit. I started competitively swimming that same year and became obsessed with the sport. Unfortunately a chronic knee injury kept me from going where I really wanted to go (okay I totally had an Olympic dream) and also hindered me from participating in any kind of sport that involved impact. College came; I gained the freshmen 15, lost it, maintained a healthy weight, gained a little and then got engaged. After that I started training with my uncle because I wanted to have killer arms in my wedding dress. I really enjoyed working out with him but it was difficult to keep it up once I moved away and became a newlywed.
I was married for three years before I got pregnant with my first child sitting right on the cusp of overweight according to my BMI. I lived an inactive lifestyle that consisted of working in a cubicle land 40 hours a week, coming home and relaxing on the couch with my honey until bedtime. Meals were quick and easy which, on most nights, meant carbs, processed boxed foods, and more carbs. Not prepared for the way your body changes with pregnancy I gained a whopping 70 lbs. Convinced it was all water weight from the massive amounts of chips and queso cravings I had given into during pregnancy I continued on with my inactive lifestyle hoping that the weight would melt off while I was breastfeeding. It didnt and after a short stint with Weight Watchers weighing a few pounds less I got pregnant just under two years from my first childs birthday. I was bound and determined to not gain as much weight, maybe even gain as little as was possible, so that the weight would magically come off after childbirth. Well, this second pregnancy brought on cravings of sugary cereal, Nerds candy, and grape Crystal Light.
What I hope that you pick up on is the mentality I have had with my weight: Ill do it tomorrow, itll just come off. The truth is that for me it didnt just magically come off. And there was no way that it would just come off. I had to work for it and on July 1st I found myself at a crossroad: I would either continue down the road of gaining weight and wishing it would come off or I would do the necessary work to get it off. And it all started with a status I saw pop up on my Facebook News Feed.
The Challenge that changed my life
A local personal training gym and a local magazine were teaming up with other sponsors and putting together a 90 day Biggest Loser style challenge. Ten people would be chosen to train with one personal trainer from the gym, receive nutritional guidance and have access to the gyms group training classes for 90 days. The grand prize consisted of a few fancy things such as a trip for two to the Black Forest in Germany, a year membership to the gym and a years supply of the protein drink Muscle Milk. When I saw all of this, when I read that I could train with someone for 90 days, I knew that this was my chance. I had internally decided that even if I wasnt chosen I had to get healthy. I felt convicted of the example I was setting for my (then) three and a half year old son and one year old daughter. I filmed a short video on my Cannon camera without thinking about making it catchy. I just talked from my heart and then I submitted it; I waited what felt like an eternity to hear whether or not I was in. Then I got the call that changed my life
Tune in next week for the rest of the story!
Author's Bio
Elizabeth (aka Bert) Anderson married her college sweetheart in 2005, and started her journey into motherhood in 2008 with the birth of her son. She started blogging in 2009 as a way to keep track of her thoughts on being a first time mom, especially her struggle with postpartum depression, and as a way of reaching out to other moms who are struggling with the same things. Last June, Bert had another first in her motherhood travels - a little girl! Even though she's newly a mother of two, Bert maintains that no matter how many children you have you will always be a "first time mom" because there's a first time for everything!
