The Return

Life has pulled me away from blogging for a while. Now, however, with the new year starting in a few days and the fact that I am no longer restricted at all by pregnancy or delivery recovery, I find myself reevaluating my health goals and methods. While I have a whole word document on things to do in the new year, I am not going to list them all here, though they will be mentioned at one time or another if they are health related. For instance, one of my very long term goals is to get to a healthier body fat percentage. I am currently at 33% (using calculator on everydayhealth.com), which is the highest still deemed healthy for my height and age. I would like to be more in the middle of the healthy range, say 25% or so. I have no idea what would be an appropriate time frame to allow this change, so I'm giving myself plenty of time; if it happens faster, woohoo! So, my big goal is to be down to 31% by the end of this coming year.

One new feature is I am trying to ingest some apple cider vinegar (acv) daily. I have read great things about it, including good for burning fat, aiding in digestion, and even possibly softening plaque on teeth (which, in turn, helps the plaque brush away easier).

As far as working out goes, a lot of it is going to have a baby strapped to my front, I think. He's not at the point where I can guarantee that he will stay asleep for the whole workout, so it might be better to just pop him in the moby wrap from the start so I do not have to stop the workout, strap up, and then continue on. I am about to order a book on diastasis repair, since I still have a minor one. I am 7 weeks post-partum, and it has not closed all the way yet. Anyway, I am starting slow, working my transverse abdominis (until the book comes in I am simply sucking in my gut over and over as many times as I can before it just seems to not work anymore and doing planks), and I am going to start walking. After my belly is revamped, I am going to start working on my exercise ball. I am guessing by that point the weather will be warming up, and I will probably reevaluate my exercise routine again.

Updates:

Dental--Doing well overall. I'm not brushing as much as I want myself to mainly from not wanting to put the baby down and hear him cry. He has been sleeping for longer periods without me holding him, though, so that will not be a big problem much longer. In any case, I am flossing on an almost daily basis. The only reason that doesn't happen is if the kids are being ridiculously crazy, or if I fall asleep waiting for the baby to calm.

Water--I'm much more conscious of my water intake...or lack thereof. I have come to realize that if I drink it out of a larger container, I will drink more in a day. It is almost like I see how much is left to drink and can keep track of it easier than if it is just one cup at a time. Speaking of which, my current weight is 145 lbs, so my goal water intake is 73 oz.

Oil pulling--This was paused for a while during the pregnancy. For the past couple weeks, though, I have been fairly consistent. I cannot do the planned three times a day; I drink water too often and eat too close together for the recommendations. The only reasons it does not get done are if I am simply famished or, again, the kids are being outrageous.

Food--I am eating beans! Well, two kinds in particular. Since WIC pays for beans, and eating vegetarian is healthier (in certain ways) and cheaper, I have finally begun to try new recipes. Chickpeas have been a success in two recipes--Mediterranean antipasto salad (tuna and chickpeas on top of greens), and chickpea burgers (in a pita pocket with yogurt and spinach). I have also learned that I like black beans in spaghetti. I doubled the recipe, but with a can of black beans instead of meat, and it was fantastic. The bean texture somehow meshes with the texture of the spaghetti, so it doesn't bother me. Time to try more recipes! Since I have found some I like, I am actually excited about trying new recipes. Oh, I also put leeks in my potato soup. Delicious.