Monday, April 25, 2011

Easter and other news

It was an interesting Easter, to say the least. Our plans were changed and we had to adjust. Instead of making a home cooked meal, we decided to eat out. It was very relaxing and enjoyable, and I didn't veer too far away from my calorie goals! Blessing in disguise!

We didn't go crazy on the Easter bunny/egg stuff this year. I want E to know that Jesus dying on the cross for our sins is THE reason we celebrate Easter. I don't want there to be any doubt. However, in celebrating I think it's okay to let her hunt for candy and other goody filled eggs.

It's funny how kids just have an instinct about that sort of thing. My 18 month old knew just what to do! There was no teaching, she just went for it! Her momma and dadda were proud!

In other words... I think her and her dadda managed to dodge the crazy 24 hour flu(ish) virus I had on Friday. It was awful and it would have been a nightmare for my little girl. And as absolutely terrible as it was it pushed me closer to my first weight goal. (Bear with me here because it was the ONLY positive to being that sick.) Hopefully I'll reach that goal in the next 1-2 weeks!

Here's a photo I captured of my girl playing outside with her basket...

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Determination

I have struggled with my weight for years. It's not that I've ever been incredibly overweight, but I never thought I looked thin enough. Now that I weigh more than I ever have, and look back at my old pictures, I realize just how small I was!

After having E, I went right back to my pre-pregnancy weight. However, I didn't watch what I ate because soon after she was born, we were into the holidays. Oops! Just because I was nursing and HUNGRY didn't mean I could eat whatever I wanted. I learned my lesson the hard way because not long after that I was on a medicine that made me gain even more weight.

At that time I was working out HARD and eating really well. No matter what I did I could not drop an ounce and instead found myself gaining. It made no sense until I got off the medicine and realized that was the cause of my problem.

At that point I was really frustrated with trying to lose weight. Nothing I did helped and I gave up. So I spent the better of 3 months eating what I wanted until I realized that if and when we decide to have another baby, I was already 16 pounds heavier than I was when I started with our first baby. Plus my sister was getting married soon and I didn't want my family and friends that I hadn't seen in a long time to see me the way I was. (Not that they would care, but I most certainly would!)

So I decided it was time to suck it up. I began doing research and asking a lot of questions to my husband and friends. I knew I needed a work out I could stick with and a diet plan that didn't make me feel like I was starving to death. I chose to do Jillian Michaels "30 Day Shred" and set my first goal for 30 days. It's only 20-25 minutes a day and I figured I could commit to that. I also began tracking everything I ate on "My Daily Plate" and following a diet plan. After about a week of the plan I realized that I didn't need a diet plan to lose weight. It's all about calories in versus calories out. I calculated EVERYTHING from the time I rested to that one bite of something I slipped in. I know that sounds anal, but I was/am so determined to get the weight off, that I felt as though I had to do that in order to lose it. The one week I tried to guess, I didn't get the results.

In under 3 weeks I had lost over 7 inches and 5 pounds. (Total from those 3 months when I would randomly try to lose a little I have lost 10 pounds!) As much as I want to drop 5 pounds a week, I know that I can keep the weight off and I am losing in a healthier way. I also know that by only losing 1-2 pounds a week, I'm losing fat and not muscle. It is so refreshing to see it coming off and not fluctuating! Once I hit a number, I haven't seen that number go back up! (Okay maybe throughout the day because water weight fluctuates but overall, it hasn't gone up!)

I'm 6 pounds away from my first goal and so pumped to see that number! Once I hit it, I will most definitely celebrate with ice cream! :) And hopefully by my sisters wedding at the end of May, I'll be 10 pounds lighter. ;)

I know it sounds like I'm obsessed with weight loss, and I'd probably agree, but I want to do this for my family. I want to have a good, healthy pregnancy and I don't want to keep my little girl from the beach because I won't wear a bathing suit. She is 18 months old and has yet to go swimming. :( I'm excited about the changes and looking forward to swimming with my little girl this summer and feeling comfortable in my bridesmaid dress!