Pulling Charlotte's Weight

The first few days seemed to pass easily.  I had a fire under me and like most things, when you are that motivated, even large challenges seem to fall easily.  I was working exercise into my every day like a pro.  My daughter and I took daily walks and I even managed to get a fairly decent weight lifting routine in.  Thanks to my daughter, Charlotte, who was about 11-15 pounds or so by this point, I had a variable weight who loved to assist me.  I would lay her on the floor on her blanket and lean over her in a modified push-up.  I would then lower my nose to her nose and raise back up.  She laughed.  I laughed and I was getting a fabulous work out.  The same thing applied to sit ups. I would lie on my back with my knees bent, feet flat on the floor.  I would prop Charlotte's back on my thighs.  Then, I would raise my chest up towards her.  Doing so, I would say "Peek a boo!" or make a funny lip-smacking sound.  It took my mind off the work and it gave Charlotte interaction.

To work my inner thighs, I would hold Charlotte and squat down with her making funny noises or saying "uuuup!"  "doooown!".  Or, we would count.  It was educational and again, accomplished my goals while spending time with Charlotte.  I did bicep curls by holding her under the arms and lifting her up and down from, bending the arm at the hip. Other times, I would go the avenue alone while she was sleeping.  One of the best, yet most challenging, arm exercises I did where chair dips.  Using a kitchen chair, I would place the heels of my hand on the rim of the seat of the chair and lower myself slowly down and back up.  The chair was also utilized doing one-legged squats I had seen on a fitness program.  I placed one foot on the edge of a chair and hopped forward on the other foot so that my leg was stretched out slightly.  Then, I would lower and lift myself with my hands on my hips.

So, where my routine wasn't one of a fitness expert, I'm sure, it did get me started.  And, I figured something was better than nothing.  What I knew was I was able to do these moves at home with normal household objects and I was feeling good.  In the meantime, I was still writing down everything I ate.  And, after a few weeks, I began to notice a trend in how I was feeling in comparison to what I was eating.  It was so simple.  Why didn't I do this earlier?