Week 1 of One Little Change per Week #wycwyc

Now that I have seen a glimpse of good days and more energy, I want to put those times to good use so that I get the most out of the days when I feel good. Although not every day has been a good day, I’m getting far more glimpses of the old me and that in itself is encouraging and inspiring to me. Postpartum depression WILL NOT last forever, despite what it felt like just a short while ago before I reached out for help. 

I finally feel ready.

I finally feel ready to start making changes to take charge of my health and my life again. But at the same time, when confronted with the task of making an overhaul to my life, I felt overwhelmed at the thought of it all. And so I decided that I would make one little change each week until I’m back to where I used to be and even farther along than that (someday).

I want to be realistic with my expectations and the goals that I set for myself. I am not going to go from my highest weight back to my lowest weight in one day. I’m also not going to go from no exercise to running 5Ks in one day, one month, or maybe even a year! It takes time and I am acknowledging that. There’s no rush, but it must be done.

This week, I want to start moving more. I will be flexible with this. My ultimate goal would be to get 10,000 steps per day. That will be doable if I add in a walk to my day, but I understand that some days I may just try to get my steps in by simply moving more: walking around the house instead of sitting, parking farther away from the store so that I have to walk (if I go out and about), or even climbing the stairs a few times (goodness knows I do this a million times at nap time already…).

Hubby and I committed to working out together a minimum of 3 days this week. The weather is supposed to be in the 60s and 70s this week so it’s a perfect time to get started. If we’re not able to go outside for a walk, we will workout together inside. It’s motivating to me to have a workout partner!

I meant to weigh myself this morning but I forgot. Oh well. I’ve been checking in on my weight all of this time and it has remained pretty steadily at the same weight. Isn’t it amazing that I could gain a bunch of weight while constantly trying to diet and then I stop dieting and I maintain my weight? Just insane how that works. I know I probably shouldn’t say this, but why couldn’t I be the type that LOSES weight when depressed? Instead, I GAIN! Bummer. But it’s not a laughing matter as I know it is very serious for those who start losing weight when depressed.

I am going to continue to be patient with myself. What you can, when you can (#wycwyc), right? As I am still recovering, some days I simply may not have the energy to do more than rest—and that’s ok. My counselor tells me I need to accept that as ok and not that I’m being “lazy”. Postpartum depression (and all mental illnesses) is an illness and when we are sick, we need to rest. But as I mentioned, I want to take advantage of these moments of energy that I have started to get again! Yippee!

Do you have a small change that you could make this week? What is it?