I spent most of my childhood and teenage years cheerleading. One of my earliest cheers (when I was a Road Runner, on the third-grade cheerleading squad) was “Buckle Down.”

you can do it, you can do itif you put your mind to it
buckle down, buckle down,
do it, do it, do it!

I can still remember the choreography like it was yesterday, and last night was reminded of those lovely sing-song words of my youth while cleaning out my closet — boxing up the maternity tops and pants for a pregnant friend and sorting through last year’s sweaters, tops and jeans. On a whim, I grabbed my favorite pair of skinny jeans from the Loft. Dark denim, stretch, size 8.

I braced myself for them not to go up my leg … but lo and behold, they fit!

OK, let’s be honest. They fit, but they didn’t look fabulous,  I’m still nine lbs from pre-pregnancy weight and my incision didn’t like the way they felt … but HELLO, they zipped! Four weeks post-partum and they zipped!

I felt like a rockstar. I gleefully texted my workout buddy and my trainer. They were over-the-moon happy for me, too, and it made me excited to get back to the gym in a couple weeks to tone up and ditch these nine pounds.

Feeling like hot stuff, I grabbed a few other pairs of jeans that have been collecting dust the past nine months. Unfortunately, my Old Navy jeans in a 10 wouldn’t fit. No clue why the Loft 8s fit great when Old Navy is the one that, for me, tends to run big.

I texted the girls again, deflated, that I’d spoken too soon. They assured me I look great, the weight will come off, not to worry, etc. Still, it was a wake-up call to me that I need to buckle down. I’ve had a month of “fun” — eating whatever I want, without really worrying, but nine pounds remain. And while nursing/pumping burns plenty of calories a day, it’s more or less canceled out by the extra calories I’m taking in without burning.

I’m beyond the days of dieting and restricting (no thanks!) but I’m the first to admit I could be making better choices: if not for me, for Ben. Because while that pumpkin cupcake tastes delicious to me, those 400 or whatnot calories could be better spent on something a wee bit more nutritious for my son 😉 It doesn’t mean I won’t eat the cupcake (I know myself better) … but maybe I don’t need said cupcake … and chocolate … and chips all in the same day. I need to buckle down with respect to moderation.

It’s not just that I want to fit into my jeans again; I really just want to get my life organized … and this includes my health. The past month has been an adjustment month as we navigate life as a family of four — and I totally gave myself a pass to just go with the flow, dealing with whatever came my way, as needed. And I have no regrets.

But now it’s time to buckle down. We’re trying to organize our meals better. Keep the house more organized, now that we’re all moved in. Get Ben on a more consistent sleep schedule. And soon, I can resume working out (although surely not at the same frequency or intensity as before).

While I can get help with these other areas of organization at home, buckling down on mindless eating and emotional eating  — two things I still admittedly struggle with (and might always struggle with) — will be one of those things I need to do on my own. 

Of all the brand slogans out there, Nike’s really is still one of my all-time favorites. I need to take a cue from Nike and just do it.