The right tools for the job

When I met Dean, I was pushing my heaviest weight ever.  Dean, on the other hand, has always been fit as a fiddle and even when he's "heavy" he still has less that 10% body fat.  Grr...

Up in Alaska, Dean has organized a fitness challenge with the fire department and has done a great job getting the slope workers to consider their health and fitness.  Given his commitment, in 2007, I decided that perhaps it wasn't my scale that was broken (this revelation had the help of several brand new scales at Bed, Bath & Beyond that had the same number...) & that I should change my lifestyle before I regret it.

I got started in January 2007, began working with a fitness trainer, changed my diet, signed up for a triathalon... I was going to lose weight, be fit & make Dean proud.

I had a before picture taken, but don't have it anymore... here are a few of my after pictures though... in 3.5 months, I was down 15 lbs:

 

The belt is looped where it had been in January - these photos were taken in mid-April

Needless to say, I was very excited and committed to working out by this time... results really  help.

I was probably in the gym 3-4 times per week, at the pool at least once a week, and running in the evenings 2-3 times per week.  Fitness felt good, losing weight felt good, buying smaller sized clothes felt good.  I loved it!

By the triathalon in mid-August, I was down 25 lbs, dropped from a size 10-12 to a size 6-8 & was the most fit I had been since high school.  In the intervening 2 years, I have managed to keep most of the weight off (I get lazy...).  

Then I got pregnant.

At first, I thought, Okay!  I'll just get a few mu-mu's and get through the next 9 months without REALLY having to give up my wardrobe.

In reality, though is there really anything worse than pulling on a pair of pants and not being able to button them?  

As early at 9 weeks, I had to stop wearing my size 8 Ann Taylor trousers.  I invested in 2 of the cheaper versions of the Bella Band to get me by, but (as I learned after the fact) the cheaper versions suck.  My mom said it was too early for me to have to get maternity clothes, but I knew, my athletic body was under attack & my clothes weren't fitting right & it was starting to really depress me.

KNOWING that you're growing a baby & KNOWING that your mid-section is getting bigger because of said baby is completely not the same part of your brain that reacts when the 1 pair of "fat" jeans you kept no longer fit... or the part that controls the emotions that bubble to the surface when you can't make the zippers meet in the extra-large jacket that you love - you know, the one that was too big on you when you were too big, but you love it anyway.

I allowed the devastation of the reality of losing my body to eclipse the joy of baby.

At the same time, going maternity clothes shopping was something I was completely not prepared to do.  Until last night...

Dean & I went to the mall so I could buy a new curling iron.  He had endured 1.5 weeks of me complaining about my body changes & asking repeatedly "Am I pretty?"  "Am I fat?"  "Do I look ugly?"  and (bless him!) to each question he responded calmly, evenly & firmly "You are beautiful!" "You are a beautiful pregnant woman!" "You are pregnant and beautiful."

Well done, honey!

So, after making my purchase, we were walking out of the mall & he suggested we look for some maternity clothes.  For all my whining about my clothes not fitting, buying new clothes wasn't even something I had contemplated.  But the idea had merit, so we stepped into the Gap.  No maternity clothes in that store, so we went to Motherhood.  I think the blood in my veins actually turned to ice.

FORTUNATELY, the sales woman was super helpful & must have recognized the deer in headlight's look of 1st time mother's walking into her store that I had plastered on my face.  She took me under her wing & stocked my fitting room high with bras, skirts, shirts, pants, dresses & pajamas.  Just talking to her made me feel better.  

After learning that the uncomfortable feeling around my chest could be attributed to the fact that I had been squeezing my new size 36D boobs into my old 34B bra, I was hooked (no pun intended!).  Nothing & I repeat NOTHING beats a properly fitted bra!

We walked out after dropping $170 on 8 or 9 items & I began looking forward to getting dressed in the morning - as opposed to the fear I had been feeling each day to learn what wasn't going to fit me today.

It always pays to have the right tools for the job!  

Thanks, Dean, for constructively pushing me to the right place at the right time.