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!