Dear all,

some of you probably remember me, but let me re-introduce myself for the new
members: my name is Elly, 31 years old, from Italy, at the moment SAHM, and
currently at my highest weight ever :-(

Short history: since my 20ies, my weight was yo-yoing, but it was always no
more than 5 kg (11 lbs), up or down, and I had no problem losing it. Then,
in 2001, after another weight gain, I decided to seek the professional help
and my GP, who is also a registered nutritionist, put me on the balanced low
carb WOE (eating everything except the "white food" - potatoes, white
pasta/rice, corn, etc.). Then I weighed 77.7 kg (cca 171 lbs), and I'm 164
cm
tall, so my ideal weight is around 64 to 68 kg (141 - 150 lbs), based on the
BMI factor. This was mid-October 2001, and I was able to go down to my ideal
weight rather fast, by summer 2002 I was in my old clothes and went into
maintenance, following the balanced low carb WOL (upping my carbs a bit,
though). I was also rather active - in the beginning I was doing a lot of
water aerobics, then joined the gym and the aerobics class, did the fitness
routine almost daily at home, drove stationary bike, did a lot of
walking/hiking and swimming, and basically I loved losing and maintaining
weight, my physical and emotional state was great.

Beginning of January 2003 I was pregnant with my child (first and only, so
far ;-), and still was within limits for my "ideal" weight (150 lbs). I had
an almost perfect pregnancy, gained 16 kg altogether (cca 35.2 lbs) and had
a wonderful, healthy baby girl (3.63 kg and 51 cm, Apgars 10/10). My
recovery was short, and the first week postpartum I weighed 74 kg (cca 163
lbs), so I was only 6 to 10 kg up from my "ideal" weight.

But then, about 2 months postpartum, I started gaining weight. Lots of it,
and the gain was rather quick. My postnatal care nurse explained that I'm
experiencing a short-term hypothyroid dip, and that it will go away. I also
nursed a lost, and was very hungry, all the time. I tried to make healthy
food choices, but it didn't help because my portion sizes got bigger and
bigger. DD would be nursing, and sometimes I would think "when she's done,
I'll go and eat, I'm so hungry!". And of course, breastfeeding women are
encouraged to eat and rest in order to have more breast milk - so I was just
taking care of the baby, taking one daily walk, eating and sleeping. No
fitness routine (apart from the walking bit) whatsoever.

Now DD just turned 9 months old, and instead of losing the weight by now, I
gained :-( And it's time for the gain to stop. I now weigh cca 88 kg (cca
193.6 lbs).
I decided, with the help of my GP/nutritionist, to go back to the balanced
low carb WOE (because it's something I felt good about and I don't have to
learn much about it), lower my carb intake - but not too much since I'm
still breastfeeding, and start some sort of exercise program.

Now, the exercise is something I currently feel very lazy about, which is a
shame because I loved doing it before...
My daily routine as a SAHM (who
also works part-time from home) is such that I don't know where the fitness
routine would fit in - DD wakes up at 8 am, then it's
nursing-playing-napping
time (which I use to clean the house and get some work-from-home done), then
lunch for DD (we're in the solid food introduction phase, so I still make
separate lunches for her and me), then going to the beach (DH usually drives
us there before going to work and then we walk back, which *is* a form of
exercise since the beach is 3 km away from the house and it's uphill all the
way back, but I'm kind of prone
to it - it doesn't make me lose the weight, only to maintain it), and at the
beach, since DD is still not walking yet (she is "cruising",  though), there
isn't
a lot of exercise, plus if I go alone with her, I can't go swimming, we just
stay in the shallow water). After the walk home, it's breastfeeding time.
When she falls asleep (around 9 - 10 pm - it's still very light here, so she
doesn't fall asleep until the sun sets), I still have some part-time work to
do, go online, check the e-mail and occasionally prepare a dinner for DH (he
works afternoons and comes home around 11 pm), although now we just eat the
veggie salads, so the dinner preparation doesn't take a lot of my time.
I know I could fit in the fitness routine when DD sleeps in the
morning/afternoon, but sometimes I just feel so tired that I need to sleep,
too.
And in the evening, I just feel too exhausted to get anything done
physically - I just feel I have enough energy to relax a bit, read a book,
go online, until DH comes home. Doing a routine just isn't tempting enough -
yet - although I do remember that doing the routine before going to bed was
actually very relaxing.

Now, how do I make myself exercise? Any SAHMs out there who can share their
tricks?

Anyway, we're going on a vacation in mid-August, and I made a mini-goal
decision - to stick with the eating plan, to *try* fitting in the fitness
routine and to lose 4-5 kg by then (5 weeks from now). It's not because
we're going away that I decided this, it's because it is giving me at least
some kind of time frame, and saying, "I want to lose 4-5 kg" sounds a lot
easier than saying, "I want to lose 25 kg". So I hope that sticking (and
getting) to a mini-goal will help and motivate me.

Since the ASDers have been a great help, source of information and emotional
support the first time around, I decided to de-lurk. Hope you'll have me
back :-)

Elly
Postpartum/breastfeeding SAHM following the balanced low carb WOE
193.6/ 193.6/ mini-goal by August 20th: 182.6
sometime in the (distant) future: 150 lbs