Silhouette

There are numerous advantages to staying in shape (yes yes, "round" is a shape too). If you look in the mirror and you're not happy with what you see, then it's time to take action. We have to have realistic goals in place - being "thin" or "slim" is not a healthy goal. But to be well with your BMI, and to have good hair and skin that are the result of healthy food habits is. A firm body is just a plus but that's a personal choice.

For 15 years I've been hearing from my Mum (who is, ahem, well-rounded herself) that I should not put on weight as "heaviness" runs in our family (she means big breasts, butt n thighs). Sadly, out of sheer laziness on my part, I ACCEPTED this to mean that I could never take charge of my body as these are family traits and would be with me all the days of my life. So right through my college years I would look forlornly at girls with slim legs at how AWESOME they looked in skirts, leggings and slim jeans, whereas I always had to go for jeans with a boot cut just to compensate for the width of my hips n thighs. Also, GETTING a pair that would fit just right was a nightmare. I always had to go for big sizes to accommodate my thighs and have this huge gaping void at my comparatively smaller waist.

Here's why getting into shape is important to me NOW, more than ever.

1. I'm 30
2. I have aches and pains in various places and that really scares me. The vitality of my youth now lies only in my personality (ha ha) but having it diminish in a physical sense has killed my confidence and makes me quite vulnerable.
3. The back ache I had last week combined with the neck sprain over the weekend was quite a wake up call - I could not carry my baby. I am only getting older and in the years to come, the number of physical activities I will be able to do with my children will greatly depend on how I maintain myself now.
4. I hate having to tuck my tummy into my jeans :D
5. I JUST wanna look good again. No, not hot or sexy, just healthy n wholesome.
6. I am a firm believer that exercise actually increases the endorphins in your body, giving you a more positive outlook on life. I have personally experienced it so I know it's not just some random health tidbit. I need these "happy hormones" more than ever because having a baby can give you as many lows as the highs - in fact, the baby is the only high, everything ELSE: the tireless unappreciated domestic work, lack of social life, the incredible loneliness you feel as you slowly grow apart from your spouse as each of you do your own thing to make a good life for your child - these are some of the lows. As much as you owe it to your child to be healthy, you owe it even more to YOURSELF.

Here's why I am telling the world about it:

I am TERRIFIED I won't live up to this challenge. This goal has been on EVERY New Year's Resolutions for as long as I can remember writing New Year's Resolutions.

The excuses we make and the counter-excuse:

1. I have a baby, twin babies, babies with special needs, a dog, to look after. If something happens to you, like severe back pain, who will look after them?
2. I have no time. Many Mummy blogs will tell you to forget the laundry and dishes and just put your feet up and enjoy that coffee. For the first 3 to 4 months after the baby that's fine. After that you gotta accept that THAT moment RIGHT there, that coffee moment, the random glance at a Cosmo, the 5 minutes you spend for a Facebook update - that TIME might just get you the right pair of jeans.

I'm all out of excuses :D - these are my main ones hee hee. Now my fingers have gotten some awesome exercise. Wish me luck!

The Out-of-Body Experience

No, this is not a post about walking around the house without a bra (though when breast feeding it IS rather tempting!).

Being a stay-at-home mum is tough. You can do all the physical labour of the domestic life - entirely out of love too, not just cos you have to, and yet, feel like you're NEVER quite doing enough unless you're making some money for your child's future. Why do I feel so unappreciated? What do I want? A medal from my child? My body is confined within these four walls but my mind is in a million different places - all of them involve me making something out of my life and making a LOT of money so my child may never lack for anything. This is the true Out-of-Body Experience. It overwhelms you. My little one is barely 6 months old and I told myself I would stay at home till he is AT LEAST a year old. As hard as it is going to be to leave him in the care of strangers, I don't wanna stare blankly at him 18 years hence when he asks about college tuition.

And now...I have severe back pain from all the stress. I can't even carry him without wincing in pain.

Take Diversion

It's not only children who grow. Parents do too. As much as we watch to see what our children do with their lives, they are watching us to see what we do with ours. I can't tell my children to reach for the sun. All I can do is reach for it, myself. ~ Joyce Maynard

I love quotes - it doesn't matter who says it so much as what is actually being said! I have never heard of half the people I often quote but that doesn't mean what they say doesn't ring a bell.

This quote in particular rings true on various levels - my father often said he had deviated from the paths his own father took. I wonder how many of his paths I will stick to for my little one, how many deviations I will make and most importantly, how many NEW paths I will create on my own. I only know that I cannot expect to NOT have any regrets. I have plenty of regrets for having stuck to tried and tested formulas. Some worked and some didn't. By that same logic, I must accept that something new and untested could possibly work too! I HAVE to believe it will!