Friday, August 30, 2013

Getting strong

As I've mentioned before,  my girls are only nineteen months apart.  I lost most of my baby weight with Maggie but then I got pregnant with Lucy right away so it didn't matter.
Lucy is currently 25 months old.  I am not pregnant (although I hope to be pregnant soon) and I need to get rid of this baby weight before she starts preschool.
A few months ago,  we bought a treadmill and stuck it in our bedroom.  I bought a couch to 5k app on my phone and started running.  I was running five days a week but then I sprained my ankle and took three weeks off. I have five more runs until I finish my program.  I think my belly is a little flatter but mostly I love how good I feel after I run.
As the mother of two young girls,  I worry about how my body image will rub off on them. Instead of focusing on the fact that I'm running to lose weight,  I tell the girls that I am running to get stronger. This is not untrue but I think it's important to focus on strength over weight.  My girls are young and they would probably not pay a lot of attention if I said I hated my stomach or that I'd love to lose 20 pounds.  But eventually they would hear and parrot those things and I never want them to feel too fat or not pretty.
Today when I was finished running,  Maggie asked to walk on the treadmill.  I turned it on the slowest speed and encouraged her to go at it.  She kept telling me how strong she felt and I was so happy.  I want to bottle this feeling for her for when she's fifteen and feels inadequate.
I want to raise strong, smart, caring women and I'm starting with strong,  smart,  caring girls.

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