Weight loss and Breastfeeding

I am so jealous of those who can nurse their gorgeous newborns and have the weight just melt off.  I am not that person.at.all.  My theory is that my body holds on to those precious pounds 'just in case'.   Breastfeeding has been a struggle for me and having a good supply is important.  I constantly struggle with my desire to look good and cutting calories.  To me it is not worth sacrificing my supply.

I started out the year on Weight Watchers because it has a good plan for nursing mothers.  I counted my points religiously for about 6 weeks and lost a total of 0 lbs!  Yep, that is true; nothing, zip, zilch, nada.  I hate depriving myself with no success, even one measely pound would have motivated me to keep going.  That is how my theory began to develop.  

I knew that I needed to do something to get healthy because I don't want to be at this weight and I would like to have another baby.  I needed a plan to motivate me to be healthy but that the sole focus wasn't weight loss.  I decided that being fit and exercising regularly is more important in the long run than pounds lost.

I decided about 8 weeks ago that I was going to walk a half marathon.  This is a huge goal for me because I have never been one to exercise regularly.  I was active but not in a formal fitness way.   The more I thought about doing a marathon and all the training in entailed the more it seemed to be a perfect goal.  I really like how you can improve over time and you get to travel to different cities.  I also really liked how it gave me steps to work towards a goal where I could improve my fitness and show my girls that being fit is more important than dieting.

My girls are what really motivates me I really want to help shape their relationships with food and weight.   I want to try my best to help them with the inevitable self-esteem issues.  I want to give them tools to be proud of their bodies.  I want to protect them from the anguish that I have gone through.  I know I can't shield them but if I incorporate an active lifestyle into our lives now  maybe it will make it easier for them.