Continued from previous post...
My stay in hospital (one week flat on my back, surgery, one week recovery in hospital) and subsequent at-home recovery period left me skinny to the point of looking rather gaunt (so I'm told - I don't actually remember it too well as I was on some pretty good pain killers!) but I soon got myself back to a healthy weight around 60-62 kgs. Somewhere around this period I also became vegan (but I won't go on and on about that, I promise. This is not that kind of blog!) and the combination of my diet and the amount of exercise I was doing dropped me down to a steady weight of around 58-60kgs. This is not overly light, but probably the slimmest I could be, and still be healthy, given my height and frame.
I really liked the way I looked and felt during this time. I've always been quite broad-shouldered and with a medium-sized bust (boobs? breasts? never sure which term I'm most comfortable with), and had always found it hard to find shirts that fit well and didn't gape at the button over my bust. During this time (2006 - 2007) though, I was able to wear shirts, finally, and I fit very comfortably into size 10 clothes for the first time. This might make me seem shallow or appearance-obsessed, but I'm not, I don't think. Nor do I care how big or small anyone else is, and I don't subscribe to the 'perfect 10' theory. I just felt very comfortable in my skin at that size; I felt healthy and happy and in control of my appearance. Mum came over from New Zealand in 2007 and we went on holiday to Venice and Greece - the pics from that period are some of the few of myself that I actually quite like.
Life, as it is wont to do, decided to throw an unexpected but very welcome spanner in the works, and I discovered I was pregnant in December 2007. My husband and I were planning to have children but hadn't quite figured out when would be a good time. Since there probably never would have been an optimal time, it just happened, and we dealt with it! I enjoyed watching my belly grow with my baby, although I did feel a little wistful at saying goodbye to the waistline I had worked so hard for...
Ember, our daughter, was born on 10 August 2008, after a long induced labour (a story for another time!) and is now four, and our only child. I breastfed her for 18 months (at which point she weaned herself) and while this did help shed some of the pregnancy pounds, I've never gotten back to my pre-pregnancy weight.
At present I work full-time, with a 45 minute commute each way to work (it's worth it for where we live though). My job is desk-based, and I am studying part time, so by far the greatest part of my day is spent sitting. I am vegan again (after a wee regression back to vegetarianism when Ember was born) but find I am more likely to eat junk than I was before, and doing much less exercise, so it's hardly surprising that my weight has crept back up to almost 70kgs.
And so to the present. I have resolved to improve my health, my fitness and my lifestyle generally. I have plans and ways to keep myself motivated, and I hope that by putting it out publicly, I will be able to guilt myself into keeping to my resolutions if my willpower fails.
Next post - the details of my plan. :)
Count on me as a support person if you need anything.
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