next steps

[Kendra_Adams]

My son is five months old and I am now feeling the stress and guilt of allowing my body to look bad, I have tried diets but really they are so hard to stick to, and working out just isnt on my every day to do list. ANY ADVICE?

[Carley at Mothercraft]

hey-- let's reframe this a little:

you didn't "allow your body to look bad"... you just allowed yourself to participate in the miracle of childbirth... and not that long ago!

Diets and exercise regimes are hard to stick to because you're still in the throes of rolling with the chaotic lifestyle of year one with baby.

Here's what I would suggest:

1) Focus on FEELING good rather than looking good: feed yourself nourishing, "whole" foods, give yourself long hot baths, rub your stretchmarks with oil (seriously!) and pamper yourself as much as you do the one wearing the Pampers.

2) Choose ONE SMALL thing you can stick to and start doing it. Making small goals and sticking to them starts a chain reaction. Don't overload yourself. Maybe start by cutting out sugary drinks at one meal a day, or eating 1 more serving of vegetables at dinner. Or going for a 10 minute walk each day with baby. Or just walking in place during the commercials on Oprah. Whatever you do, do it small and stick with it. When it feels like an ingrained habit, and one more SMALL thing... that's how you get the ball rolling.

Hope that helps. Join my teleclass this friday (below) and we'll talk more about all this challenging stuff.

[AmberHargrove@yahoo.com]

Add protein to your every day routine, like an egg or two for breakfast or I do apples and buy different kinds each trip to the store and I eat them with peanut butter I eat like 3 a day (you don't have to go as crazy) and water lots of water. This can help jump start, and then learn to love the out doors buy a book on birds and go listen for them while walking, the fresh air alone can help encourage you...