Whenever I see a woman who has had a baby and weeks later looks like she’s never eaten a brownie, much less delivered a baby- I immediately hate her! I’ve never had a baby, but I consider it sympathy hate for all the other women who have and months/years later are still fighting to get back their pre-baby hotness.

Living a more healthy lifestyle is as common a theme these days, as is going green. It’s something that Shelton and I have really been proactive about in the Koskie house. We have introduced a no enriched/bleached/partially hydrogenated anything rule. In doing so, I’ve given up a lifelong love affair with Wheat Thins (seriously, read the box, you’ll be horrified) in exchange for Triscuits (no where near as frightening or deadly). There are no more Quaker Chocolate Chip granola bars, only the Kashi Honey Almond and Cherry Dark Chocolate granola bars (read the Quaker ingredients- I could not believe I’d been eating that). In doing this, we’ve also discovered a lot of foods that we probably never would have eaten- like whole grain pastas, ground turkey and even broadening our horizons at the fish counter. You also won’t find a drop of soda in this house- only water and 100% juice.

We’re doing this because we want to be healthy and feel good about what’s going in our bodies. Hitting the gym more frequently and just being more conscientious about being active have also increased.

What does this have to do w/ not liking the women who bounce back ten minutes after having a baby? Well… it’s a known fact that infertility can be linked with obesity and being over weight. The way I see it, we’ve got enough playing against our chances to have a baby, I’m not giving mother nature any more ammo than she deserves. So I’m taking control of this part of my health. And I figure if it’s this much a part of my lifestyle now, then once I do have a baby- maybe I’ll be more likely to shuck those pounds and be amongst the hated women who loses the baby weight quickly.

If you are one of the blessed ladies sporting a bump or recently had your baby, you need to check out these diets specific for moms: Baby Fit and The Pregnancy Diet.

I’m also a really big fan of FitDay– it’s a free online journal that you can use to track everything from calories to sit-ups. It does all the calculations for you, is accessible from anywhere with Internet and makes a really fun and easy way to monitor your progress.