I have been talking about the mountain I am climbing and I think this week I have reached a plateau on that mountain. I have worked out hard with only one day rest, counted every calorie and my measurements and weight haven’t changed very much. I must admit it is a little disappointing and really deep down inside me, I would rather be on a mountain in the Alps skiing hard every single day, eating cheese fondue and drinking French wine. But my always wonderful and supportive husband reminded me that every week is different, that I shouldn’t be disappointed, that I should be proud of myself for working so hard and that my mood, my attitude, my life has changed for the better. So I washed the dishes and cleaned up the kitchen, cleaning is kind of therapeutic for me. I’m a bit of a clean freak and when I clean, I think hard but it’s more like a deep reflection on myself, my life, events that have gone by. One event that came back to me was that I finally put on a bathing suit and was satisfied with what I saw. I’m not where I want to be yet but it is so encouraging to see the changes. I didn’t want to put on a bathing suit at all before last week and I was not happy with myself because I felt like my 19 month-old daughter is paying for it. She had never been to a pool because of me and I wasn’t proud of that. When I saw how my body had changed I was so excited. We went to the pool and I was comfortable with myself, I didn’t even think of what I looked like and even returned later in the week because we had so much fun.

I also remembered that I ran 5 KM for the first time in my life! I admit that I power-walked a few times, maybe 3 or 4 times and for less than a minute, but I kept up my pace and I ran for long periods without needing to stop. I use to run/walk and I would run 2 minutes and huff and puff, but this time I just went on and on and actually enjoyed it! I was so impressed my myself. It took me 40 minutes but it’s a start!

And Sunday morning, I took out my pre-pregnancy jeans and decided to try them on, I was nervous because I didn’t want to be disappointed and you guessed right, they fit like a glove! Those jeans are at least 3 years old and aren’t the skinny style and when I work out and I reach a point where I want to stop for a few minutes I say out loud: “skinny jeans, skinny jeans” on and on.

-Caroline Alarie