6 Pounds

It doesn't sound like much.  6 lb.  That is what I want to lose to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight, although that doesn't tell the whole story.  I haven't done a body fat test yet; I thought I'd give myself at least 3 months before doing that.  But I am positive that my BF% is up from before (duh).  Not to mention that breastfeeding has my proportions and hormones all mixed up.  I read that breastfeeding women store more body fat around their midsection due to decreased estrogen and the fact their bodies want those fat stores while producing milk.  I don't know if it's true or not, but I'm going to use that as the reason for my muffin top.

As I say every year, I don't do New Year Resolutions.  When I want to make a change, I do it.  So while my goal is to lose weight and get back into racing shape, it had nothing to do with January 1, and everything to do with November 8.

One major downside to the additional weight and decreased activity is that my right knee is acting up again.  I'm going to keep my runs short until it feels better, and I also started lifting weights again.  While at the gym, I use the elliptical.  I'll eventually get back on my bike, I just haven't yet.  I think the half marathon I'm signed up for in March is a good goal.  I'm going to help a friend go sub-2 hours and I think that is a healthy goal for me.  Maybe in the fall I'll find a half marathon to try to PR but it's way too soon to think about that.

My goal is to do complete body measurements on January 1 and start keeping track from there.  I'm not real worried about it.  The way I see it, it took me 9 months to put that weight on, so I have at least 9 months to take it off.  Slow and steady wins the race and no new mom needs the additional pressure of losing weight while learning how to take care of a family.  It certainly helps to have a supportive husband and group of friends to get back into shape!