This story is a lesson in the importance of accountability and a reminder that your kids pay attention to everything that you say and do.
WAY TOO MUCH BACK STORY
First some back story on my weight/fitness history. Actually WAY too much back story. I'm wordy. And I've had a lot of kids.
I had my four boys roughly two years apart with my fourth born when I was 29.
When a baby was ~6mo I would start calorie counting, striving for 1700 calories a day (I'm 5'8" and 1700 is not a sacrifice), would make sure to eat breakfast (I'm a skipper), and would do an hour of exercise DVD's a few times a week. I had a crazy fast metabolism in those days and easy-peasy the weight would fall right off and I'd be back to my "normal weight" by the time the baby was 9-12 mo. Once I'd lost the baby weight, I wouldn't exercise and I would stop paying attention to my calorie intake.
Baby # 4 - Gained 45 pounds, Lost 30 pounds, Gained 20 pounds, Lost 20 pounds...
There were a few things going on here. I hit 30 years old. I didn't exercise or calorie count. Also it took me a few years to get diagnosed, but I was in the early stages of an auto immune disease called Undifferentiated Connective Tissue Disease (UCTD) - probably either a mild or early Lupus in my case - which was draining my energy and over time I was even leaving the house less and less.
I wasn't thrilled at my new weight but I was content for a long time. Then I wasn't, so I ate more carefully and lost 10 pounds, then joined the Y and lost 10 more.
We decided to go for baby number 5. My hubby wanted a child for every finger on his hand and how can you say no to that??? :)
I got my UCTD diagnosis a few days after a successful attempt at baby number 5. Oops. We probably wouldn't have tried for number 5 if we'd known. She barely squeaked in.
PREGO AGAIN AGAIN AGAIN AGAIN
One day, early in my pregnancy, I got on the Wii to do some Wii Fit and my Mii made a "bloomp" sound. Suddenly my Mii went from looking slim to looking round (I had hit the overweight BMI category). All my kids were watching and I explained it was my pregnancy weight and that it would go back to normal after the baby was born.
Baby got to 12+mo and me and my Mii were still in the overweight BMI category. I had lost some weight but not much. My medicine was working pretty well and I had more good days than bad but I wasn't making exercise a priority in my life. I was 35 pounds over my "normal weight" and I decided I REALLY wanted to see it again. At the very least I wanted to get into the healthy BMI category.
PERSONAL TRAINER (not just for the rich and famous)
A friend had been seeing a personal trainer (a mutual friend), and was looking super slender and buff and was always raving about how incredibly awesome the experience was so I talked to the hubby about working with her myself.
He wasn't very supportive at first ($) but he finally agreed I should give it a try.
I told the boys I was going to be exercising a lot more and working with a personal trainer. That I wanted my heart to be healthy. That the more I exercised the less often I would have flares (what it's called when my symptoms manifest). And that I wanted my Mii to look slim again.
My personal trainer Meredith has been amazing these last couple of months. She is kind and firm. Inspirational and holds me accountable. She is easier on me than on most of her other clients (I sometimes do a lower intensity or take a day off to rest because my joints are creaking and I have a fake fever) but it is definitely not easy. I was weight-lifting and rowing and doing the elliptical before I started working with Meredith, but I wasn't pushing myself the way I needed to be to increase my fitness level.
I've worked harder than I've ever worked before - lots of sweating, lots of pain, and a couple of times even a little gagging. The positive effects on my UCTD have been astounding. I have SO many more good days than bad days now. I only have to nap about once a week instead of it being an almost daily thing. I have less joint pain and rarely have (fake) fevers and chills.
I'm fitter and stronger. I love that my muscles are starting to poke out and be visible (to me anyway). The endorphins are addictive - I'm hooked on the high.
AND THEN THERE'S SPIN CLASS
The part of my current weekly PT homework I most dread is spin class - a group stationary bike class taught by my personal trainer. The reason is because of the terrible, horrible, traumatizing discomfort (to put it mildly) the torture seat of the spin bike puts on your nether regions. I'd done spin three times already. Once in a group class and twice one on one with my personal trainer. The first time I went to the group class I had a friend meeting me there. She said supportive things and one time I almost cried. Really. She told me I would eventually get numb (true, the last five minutes I actually had fun) and that after a few classes I wouldn't experience horrible pain at all.
Monday I did 60 minutes of weight-lifting. Tuesday I took a break. Wednesday I did 30 minutes of rowing and 45 minutes of elliptical. Thursday afternoon I flared. Flushed cheeks, creaking joints, unable to function - I took a two hour nap. I woke up feeling great and knew that I should go to spin class the next day (part of my personal training homework for the week). Spin class is a morning class and I am a grumpy, lazy person in the morning. As I was thinking about this, Sawyer walked by and I had a brilliant idea.
I ASKED SAWYER TO KEEP ME ACCOUNTABLE
Me - "Hey Sawyer, tomorrow I have to go to spin class. I have to leave at 9:45 in the morning, but I won't want to. Can you please help me get out the door?"
Sawyer - "Sure. I'll set an alarm on my watch right now."
THE NEXT MORNING, 9:15am
I was still in bed. My family lets me sleep in until 9 or 9:30 because I am a mean person in the morning. The hubby came in and tried to wake me up nicely. Wake up sweetie (kiss kiss). I peeked out and closed my eyes again. I thought about spin and went through all the reasons why I shouldn't go to spin in my head. The horrible pain associated with spin class. I just had a flare yesterday so maybe I should rest today. Hmm maybe I'd do something else later in the day, like some elliptical or the body combat class.
SAWYER ARRIVES, 9:17am
Sawyer came in, holding his arm up and looking at his watch. Darn, he had had the forethought to set his alarm for 30 minutes BEFORE I had to leave. He had outsmarted me.
Sawyer - "Mommy, hurry up and get ready. You have to be out the door at 9:45"
Me - "Mpfferggg"
Sawyer - "Come on mommy, you told me you wouldn't want to but that I had to tell you to anyway"
THE REST OF THE BOYS ARRIVE, 9:18am
Sawyer - "She doesn't want to go to her spin class"
Teddy - "Mommy, what are you going to do? Sit around all day watching "Gossip Girl" and eating lots of chocolate?"
(quick note in my defense that I only watch TV during the day if I am really really really sick - think pukey with stomach virus or feverish with a death cold, and I eat what I would consider fairly normal and medically necessary amounts of chocolate, for a girl)
Sawyer - "How about that jalapeno cheese dip you ate last night?"
Ouch!
NEW TACTICS
Teddy - "Hey mommy, aren't you the volleyball captain for your team?"
Me (cautiously) - "Yeah..."
Teddy - "Well then you should be the strongest"
Me - "The captain needs to be the strongest person on the team??"
Teddy - "Yes. It's your job to be the strongest. Plus, don't you want your Mii person to be thin again??"
I GOT UP AND WENT TO SPIN CLASS
I took two Advils and may have used some local anesthetic spray. The pain was a lot less horrible than previous times. I will confess I even had fun, some of the time ;) Meredith has great song lists. And there are those endorphins.
As we were heading out of the child care area, 6yo Jack asked me where I'd been exercising today. I pointed into the spin room.
Me - "In there. Where all those bicycles are that don't move"
Jack (peering into the room and then looking at me sideways) - "Wow. No wonder you're skinnier now"
15 more pounds until "healthy" BMI!! :)
THANK YOUS
Thank you Meredith :)
Thank you to my friends and family who help to keep me accountable :)
Thank you Sawyer for setting that alarm earlier than you knew I would have wanted you to.
