Just call me Olive

I weighed myself yesterday. Anyone who knows me well would tell you that this is A Very Bad Thing. I should never weigh myself. I should eat well and exercise regularly, but I should never climb on that scale.

I’ve always had weight issues. Prior to having children, I held the daft notion that I should maintain the same weight throughout my life. Idiotic, I know. I mean, who does that? During my teens and while at University, I regularly starved myself just to maintain the ridiculous weight of 42-45kg.

Fortunately, Scott made me realise how bizarre my habits were. After meeting him, I gave up on the starvation diets and started to eat normally. Astonishingly, I still pretty much maintained my weight. At my heaviest before having children, I weighed 50kg.

And then, along came the children.

After having James, I somehow lost a shocking amount of weight. I was eating normally, so I put it down to breastfeeding. Even though friends and family remarked on how sick I looked, I secretly enjoyed being so skinny again.

That scenario wasn’t to be after Hannah, though. After Hannah, I put on a few kilograms. They were all around my middle and there was nothing I could do to shake them. It was distressing, but I was still fairly skinny, so I lived with it.

After Jonah, I spread out even more. Tertia often refers to the olive-on-a-toothpick look, which describes me perfectly. I have skinny arms and legs and a big middle. Distressingly, though, the olive just keeps growing.

Back to the Weighing Incident yesterday: After wrestling myself from Scott’s grip, because he knows what I’m like when I’m aware of my weight, I climbed on the scale and discovered that I weigh 11kg more than I did when I started having children. 11. Kilograms. Which would put me at almost the same weight as I was at the end of all three pregnancies.

Excuse me. I have to have a little lie down after admitting that.

I have zero dieting willpower anymore. Some would say it’s because I’ve become more sensible as I’ve got older. I say it’s because I’m lazier. I'm incapable of depriving myself of food. Which isn’t to say that I eat ridiculous amounts of food either. I eat a good breakfast. I snack occasionally at tea time. I eat a smallish lunch and then I have a fair-sized supper. I don’t seem to have it in me to over-eat.

I’d be happy if I lost just 5 of those 11kg. Not terribly ambitious, you might be thinking, but I’m trying to be both sensible and realistic here. Sensible, because I know I have Issues, and realistic because I’m lazy and I can’t be bothered going all out to look like a 25 year-old again.

So, dear bloggy friends, here’s my question:

What’s your best weight-losing tip for someone who wants to lose 5kg?

Comments

[Bee]

Uhmm I dunno - how bout NOT eating - for ME the Kellogs Special K wekked... other hints - maybe get a life threatening illness? I dunnoooo.... drink less waan in the week? *running away now*

[mrsbear]

Kind of struggling with this a bit myself. I know for me some exercise would work wonders, the trick is finding the time and/or motivation. I like food. I don't overeat but I really enjoy my meals, so cutting back on the richer ingredients I guess would be a start. Just as long as I don't have to drink skim milk. :-(

[Lou]

Me too, Janine. I started this pregnancy at my postpartum weight. :-(

My problem was that not only was I gaining 10 lbs- I got pg a year ago, miscarried and even though I lost the baby, I kept the 15 lbs preggo weight! Not happy.

I was just thinking about losing after this one is born. Not an easy task.

I do highly reccomend winsor pilates. Not so much for weight loss, but for inches lost and slimming strength building. They did wonders for me after I'd been in the hospital for months before having Jonas.

[Stephanie]

I can totally feel you. I have about 5lbs that just wont go away. I exercised, I ate very little and it still won't go away. It's that darn kids fault! and my lack of effort. I am going to start running again and maybe a little pilates to try and flatten the belly a bit.

Good luck with yours!

[Tess]

Funny, I just posted about loosing some weight today! lol! I'm looking for a healthy diet but not going on a DIET. I'll let you know if anyone sends me some advice!

[Tammy Warren]

I don't know what the solution is. I need to get my weigh back down. I do better in groups with weight loss. The problem is keeping it off once I have dropped and the group has gone a way. I think I need a total lifestyle change.

I hear ya!

[Helene]

Ugh, I struggle with this too! I've finally resolved to stop "dieting" and just have healthier eating habits and fit exercise into my life. I actually do feel better...more energetic and the fact that my clothes feel looser on me is a big motivator!

You could probably easily drop 5 pounds by just going for a 30-minute walk every day if you have the time! The other thing I do is make sure I don't snack after 7:00 pm and it's amazing how much that helps with losing some weight!

[Cristine]

I've found that Taibo is one of the best ways to lose weight and tone...go to a 45 minute class once or twice a week (if you can fit it in). The class flies by, you sweat like a pig and burn fat so fast. The instructors are scary types who push you hard - a couple of times I almost passed out from pushing myself so hard. And it's awesome for stress. Once baby is born (39 days and counting to go) and I'm past the healing time, it'll be my "me time" and my hubby's "daddy time" to try burn some of the pregnancy fat. You see the results almost instantly.

[Nina]

Breastfeeding has been my diet secret. Once that ends I will be watching how much I eat and incorperating more fiber into my diet. I read a book about fiber and adding 35 grams a day into your diet can make you feel fuller and help extract extra weight. Good luck!

[Elle]

I wish I had the answer, I've been struggling too. I have been trying to ear more earlier in the day and then lighten up at dinner and no snacking afterwards. It seems to help a little, I've lost about 3 pounds in the past week and a half. Of course, they'll probably come back with a few more before I know it. Sucks!

[Casey]

I'm like you, I can't NOT weigh myself and we have two different scales in our bathroom. Not good.

We went on a crazy diet after my second was born and lost all of the weight but I still need to exercise to get rid of the flab. Good luck to you, hope it's not too hard to lose.

[Cathy]

Oh girl, I wish I have the answer too. After postpartum? Forget it. I tried but I just depressed to I gave up. I tried skipping meals but I just end up with a headache that would last for a day or two.

[bem]

yikes! we're on the same boat. after 3 kids i never gained my ideal weight back. whew! after my first born, i kinda regained my pre-preg weight by eating less carbo and doing more exercise. but then i became lazy thus became heavier :(. 8 years after, baby#2 came. oh, i was huuuge after! i did the five tibetan rites that my friend recommended. it worked but i immediately became pregnant with baby#3 after 11 months! ngek! the rites helped my friend conceive a baby after 10years. it helped me shed some weight but made me pregnant 11months after baby number 2! so now after baby #3, i'm trying to shed some weight to fit in my jeans before baby#2. i can say there's a progress in what i'm doing - immediately after waking up, i prepare 1 liter of water and squeeze 1 calamansi or half lemon in it. i drink all of it 30-45 minutes before taking breakfast. i can say it's more effective than grapefruit juice. i skip heavy lunch and eat crackers instead or some root crops and green tea. and i would like to try the kick-ass diet.

good luck to us!