Weight Loss and Fitness

Okay, I didn't want to go about these very much cos there's about ten million blogs that do it better, frankly. But these things are a massive part of my daily life so I thought it was worth a mention.

A year ago I was a size 20. I put on loads of weight during pregnancy and afterwards, in the fug of sleep deprivation and a bit of the baby blues, I didnt really feel motivated to shift it. It took until my wee girl was 7 months old before I was able to face my demons and actually step on the scales and acknowledge that I had a problem. I joined weight watchers which worked for a bit, then I just did some healthy eating and took up running. I lost 3 stone in 6 months. I'm now a size 14/16 and I'd like to lose a bit more weight, but im focussing more on exercise than diet right now. (I did have worse 'before' pictures but I couldn't bring myself to post them.)

The first picture is me a year ago, the second was me yesterday after running a 5k, in my beloved Glasgow Green. The reason I look a  bit pissed in the second picture was that i got shin splints and had to walk about 1k of the race. I ran 5k on Monday so I know I can do it, which was really frustrating for me. BUT, and I am the sort of person who tries to look on the bright side, I can run 5k! Fuck it! I couldn't even run 1k when I was at high school.

After the race, we hip and happening Merchant City types went to the Chophouse in Merchant Square, which, all told, was pretty crap. I wouldn't recommend it, really. I'd go into more detail but honestly, they ruined my night a bit and I don't want to ruin my blog post talking about it.

I've really been quite stationary with my weight for the last 6 months, which means 1) I know how to maintain my weight without dieting, but 2) that I'm going to have to pick up the pace to lose that last couple of stone. I'm branching out exercise wise, starting boxing on Sunday and I'm thinking of going to a class at the Glasgow Club tonight. My choices are: Body Pump, Spin Fit, or Boxercise. Anyone got any recommendations? I will report back soon.

Shamefully reposting...

I started this blog with ambitions of updating weekly, about six months ago, and have done nothing since! I've decided to bite the bullet and post something, anything, to get the ball rolling again.

My life has changed a little since then. My partner and baby daddy has gotten himself gainfully employed, so i'm now a proper stay at home mum. Which is more daunting than I thought it'd be. The sense of responsibility is something I can deal with, but I can't shake the sense of  'am I doing enough?' Toddlers are hard work, and I worry I'm not being stimulating enough, or structured enough in my days. What nonsense women find to worry about! Baby girl is doing fine, anyway. We hang about the park a lot.

Between toddler wrangling and jogging, I seem to visit Glasgow Green more or less every day. It's our local park and I'm getting very fond of the place. The greenery and freshness in the middle of the city is quite soothing. It's also an absurdly wholesome atmosphere, so much so that you'd never believe you were in the East End of Glasgow.

Anyway, anyone know anywhere I can meet some more mums to drag to the park with me?

Post-natal blowdrys and other quandries.

So, we all love a picture of a new baby. And Beyonce Knowles is a babe, there's no getting past it. I did feel sad, though, when I saw this picture. I was jealous of her hair and her soft-focus photography. Her lipgloss and her manicure.

There are precisely no (as in none, zero) pictures of me with my newborn baby in hospital. I looked like shit. I'd had a rough pregnancy, i'd put on over 3 stone, partially due to SPD and partially just being prone to overeating. I was induced, I had a traumatic birth and I didn't sleep for four days. I was confused and a bit humiliated by being visited in hospital while failing to breastfeed and some other stuff that I beat myself up for. I wish I'd been able to put all those things aside and say fuck it. It doesn't matter, I love my baby and my baby loves me and I dont give a shit if I look awful. But I didn't, I hid from the cameras while all my visitors took pictures of my beautiful baby girl.

So Beyonce has a team of people who make her look beautiful all the time. Fair do's. Would she have had her picture taken anyway? Probably. That's what makes me truly jealous. Does it make her a better mum? No. I love Baba more than life itself. But work on loving myself to be a better role model for my little girl started in that hospital, whether it was documented or not.

My BFF

I'm new to this blogging malarkey so be gentle with me.
Here's me and Baba, firing about Tinderbox having a nonsense. Dunno why my wean looks ginger, but thems the breaks. She's so beautiful, I can't believe i made her. <3