Apparently my goal to write a blog post a week has been incredibly successful, except for the minor detail about me not having written a blog in about 8 weeks. Oooooops. Anyway, this blog is going to make up for that with a vengeance (I hope). I've pretty much come up with about a topic a day to write about, I just haven't had the time and/or energy and/or motivation to actually sit down and write about it. But now that I have 4 hours of migraine-induced sleep behind me, I have the time AND energy AND motivation to actually write. Yay!
So, first things first: I'm getting on my soapbox and getting my ranting out. Skip the next two paragraphs if you don't want to listen. :)
I heard a commercial the other day that made me really, really annoyed. It's for a plastic surgery firm that advertises that they can fix "nature's mistakes". There's also a plastic surgery firm (not sure if it's the same one) who's advertised the "Mommy Makeover" for women who want their pre-pregnancy bodies back post-pregnancy. I have three MAJOR issues with this. First, these commercials are never directed at men. Why is it that women are expected to maintain themselves to this level but men can just get by? So, so, super annoying. Second, I understand that bodies change with age and that you get wrinkles, etc. I should probably preface this by saying that, given my genetics, I will probably have a significant amount of grey in my hair by the age of 35 and you bet that I will be dyeing my hair long before then to cover it up. But there is a HUGE difference between that (a temporary, non-invasive, and generally common practice even for women whose hair isn't grey) and having surgery to alter one's appearance to make them look younger. I understand that aging happens and that eventually I will get wrinkles and all of the fun things that come with getting older. I will, however, never surgically alter any of those things. I think so much is wrong with society that anyone would refer to aging as a mistake; that it's not okay to age naturally or to just appear as who you are. This is also coming from the girl who was forced into wearing makeup on her wedding day, but this is what we get from society: it is not okay to be who you are. It's disgusting and annoying and I think it's absolutely appalling. I'm glad that, for the most part, I have enough self esteem to say that I am who I am and I am (mostly) okay with that person and I am trying to fix the problems I have. I also have an amazing husband who does nothing but shower me with compliments, even when I'm having my worst day.
What makes me especially livid, though, is the fact that there are "individualized mommy makeovers". I have never had a child so I can't speak to the struggles that women go through after having a child to return to as close as possible to their pre-pregnancy body, but I do know this: that womens' bodies fundamentally change during and after pregnancy. You cannot (CANNOT) return to your pre-pregnancy body after the fact. Your skeletal structure is permanently changed during the course of pregnancy and this means that the rest of your body is affected. So hearing commercials saying that they'll do tummy tucks or breast augmentations or liposuction for women who want to return to their pre-pregnancy bodies makes me want to bang my head against the wall. I imagine that it is very difficult to find the time to exercise and take as much care of yourself as you did before having a baby once the baby has actually arrived. I do know a few people, however, who have managed to find the time to exercise and return to the same size they were pre-pregnancy without liposuction or a tummy tuck or anything else. They did it naturally so I know it's possible. The thing that I want to make abundantly clear though, is that it is OKAY to not have the same body post-pregnancy. When Matthew and I have kids, I have no doubt that I'll put back on some of the weight that I plan to lose this year and I know that it will be okay if I don't lose it immediately afterward. I can't imagine what it would be like to live with the idea that I have to be exactly as I was before and anything else is unacceptable. It must be absolutely awful to be under that impression that having some physical imperfections is not okay, ESPECIALLY for a woman who has just had a baby through the miracle that is childbirth. Bodily imperfections aren't a bad thing - they tell the story of your life. I have scars that I love talking about because of the funny reasons why I have them - and any bodily changes that occur when I'm pregnant will be celebrated because they are the result of bringing a new life into this world. That someone could think otherwise makes me sad for humanity.
Now that I'm off my soapbox, moving on to the more blog-related things.
Matthew and I have recently-ish started going to the gym really, really early in the morning (we're usually out of bed by 4:45 or so. We LOVE it. It frees up our evenings so we have more time to do the things we need to or want to do, like eating a relaxing dinner and watching our favorite TV show or cleaning. It's also helped boost my metabolism and puts me in a great mood for the day. On the days we don't go to the gym or have to go in the evening for whatever reason, I can't stand it. I think Matt and I are both naturally early risers anyway (him more than me, but I'm adjusting nicely!) so it works out wonderfully for us. I highly recommend giving it a try!
On the same note, we met with Matt's trainer today and spent an hour going over nutrition. We now have a list of approved foods and came away with some GREAT insights and fun facts. Among the things we learned:
- Everyone's portion size is different and it is based on the size of your fist. If it's bigger than your fist, you shouldn't eat it in one sitting.
- The higher your metabolism, the warmer you are. I've always been a cold body but I've been noticing lately that when everyone else is freezing at work, I have been comfortable. This is an indication that my metabolism has definitely picked up steam, much in thanks to all the strength training I've been doing.
- You shouldn't eat any simple carbs (sugars like fruits, soda, candy, etc) after your "noon" (whenever you eat your lunch, basically) and no carbs at all after 7 pm as the body can't process them effectively.
- Every meal needs to contain one serving of protein and one serving of a carbohydrate (except the meals after 7 pm) and that you should eat every 3-4 hours.
- That it is okay (and recommended!) to eat before bed (but only a single serving of a protein) as it will help you sleep better and curb any midnight cravings.
- One free meal per week is okay and encouraged! Only rules are that the meal has to contain a protein and a carb, we have to be able to eat another meal of a protein (and a carb, if before 7 pm) again 3 hours later, and that we can't spend more than an hour eating. I'm pretty sure this means that I'll be eating Runza once per week.
- Eat before going to the gym in the morning so that we have the energy for our morning workout. If you eat a single serving of a protein and a carb, it shouldn't be enough to make you sick.
And, in my opinion, the one that everyone (especially those who drink diet soda) needs to understand:
- Regular soda is better for you than diet soda (which isn't saying much). Diet soda is absolutely terrible for you. The ingredients in diet soda only need heat and moisture - both of which the body provides - to continue the chemical process into formaldehyde (an embalming agent). Since heat and moisture are both provided by the body, this change does occur and can cause sepsis in people who drink large amounts of diet soda. Sepsis makes you lethargic and can (very eventually) be deadly. People say everything is okay in moderation, but I feel like formaldehyde doesn't count.
I should also note that the definition of protein is much more expansive than one might imagine. Matt and I are really, really super excited to start our new nutrition plan and are really looking forward to the progress we'll make!
As far as German goes, I've made some changes. From what I've been told, my written German is fantastic. My problem comes with speaking and listening to German, which Rosetta Stone is not really helpful with. I can repeat what it tells me to, but I am terrible at coming up with the appropriate things to say in the context of a conversation. It takes me way too long to formulate sentences. At the suggestion of several friends who've learned English by watching TV shows or movies, I've started doing just that - Netflix has a decent selection of German movies and I've watched a couple. They are definitely different from American movies to be sure, but they've all really encouraged me to think, beyond just about the German language. One of my friends also sent me the German Harry Potter audiobooks that I've been listening to. Because I'm so familiar with the stories, there are a lot of things that I pick up on that I wouldn't otherwise and there are a lot of words that I've heard that I've been able to understand because I know the books so well in English. It's also really interesting to see how they differ from or are similar to the English books. So far I'm only onto chapter 5 of the first book but I've listened to the first couple chapters (or parts of them) more than once so I get the full meaning and to attempt to understand them better.
It's been very, very difficult to learn German without living in a German-speaking country or having access to a ton of resources, but having friends who are native speakers (and a sister who's close to fluent) who are willing to help me has been HUGELY beneficial and helpful. Big thanks to everyone who's helped! Hopefully it all pays off and when Matt and I make it to Austria, my German will be good enough that I can actually have the conversations in German that I'd like to.
Anyway, it's late and I have to get up early and I think I've written enough for now. Till next time...
Tschüss!
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