About 6 1/2 years ago I had my daughter, Morgan. After I had her I did lose about 20lbs on the Atkins diet. I kept it off for about 1 year. Then it all came creeping back and then some. In September 2008 I had my son, Thomas. After I had him I was at my heaviest for about 7-8 months. A size 14. I'm 5ft 8", so that isn't gigantic, but I wasn't happy. My weight has fluctuated since then. I lost about 15lbs, eating better and exercising. Then I lost my job at an insurance agency and started a new one at an orthopedic clinic. After starting at the orthopedic clinic, I gained back about 10lbs. This would be due to pharmacy reps and insurance reps bringing free lunch, the girls I work with having fiesta Fridays and all bringing in food. And me, not watching what I was putting in my mouth and not doing any sort of exercise. I gained that 10lbs back in about a three month period. Awesome.
Once I realized I was gaining back all the weight I started caring again. It also helped that my wonderful work had decided to bring in a nutritionist for the office to try and teach everyone to eat better. This guy, Corey Little, is a former competition body builder. He has this six month plan to transform the way you eat. It's actually a great plan, but was not right for me. I tried and did implement some of his ideas, but some were just not fit for my family and our lifestyle. But I did manage to start working out again with the gym membership my work provided and eat a little better. This year I did manage to again lose about 10lbs. That's where it always stops. And that is where this starts.
I'm starting this blog to try and hold myself accountable. I need something to keep me going and to help keep me motivated. And I have plenty of motivation now. In 2012, my sister is getting married! I am the matron of honor and am honored to be. I just don't want to be the fattest girl in the pictures. I'm already not photogenic. I could at least be thin, even if my face will look distorted in all the pictures (I wish I could say that I'm being modest, but ask my friends and family, they will tell you I'm not).
That is my I-need-to-lose-weight-before-this-date motivation. My other motivation is just to feel better about myself. For too long I have been self conscious about how I look. Don't get me wrong. I'm not morbidly obese and I don't want anyone to think that's what I think. Right now I'm between a size 10 and a size 12. At my height, that's not huge. What I mean is the fat that I have around my stomach and constantly pulling at my jeans to try and hide it. Not wanting to wear things that show my arms, because they just seem flabby and flappy to me. The way my face looks in pictures and I seem to have a double chin. Ugh. When I was younger I used to have the problem that I couldn't find jeans to fit right because my thighs were bigger, proportionally, to my waist. My jeans always had a gap in the waist and the legs would be tight. Now it's the opposite. I have to buy a bigger size pant to fit my waist (because there is NO way I'm having a muffin top) and the pants stretch out and are super baggy around my legs. So I would like to feel confident again. To buy a pair of jeans because of the way they look and fit, not because of what they can hide.
So here I am. Writing this blog to keep up with this journey into becoming a healthier, happier person. Not just skinnier, but physically healthier and emotionally happier with who I am. Tomorrow starts the new year and the beginning of my new outlook on exercise and food. I want to no longer view food as something to enjoy and get pleasure from, but as fuel for my body. As something I need, not something I want. I also want to view exercise as something I need, not something I dread doing. It's necessary, not only to lose weight, but also to build and keep muscles and to have a healthy heart and lungs. Vital things to keep me living. :)
My plan is to do the Insanity 60 day challenge. I have already started doing some of the work outs over about the past two weeks and really enjoy them. They are high energy and fast paced, which really works for me. I sweat buckets when I do these work outs and I am not normally much of a sweater. For me, it's awesome and I feel like I've really done a good work out when I'm done. They are also not too long. They all seem to be about 40 minutes. I've tried P90X before, but those videos are just too long. Who really has an entire hour (or longer) to work out? Plus they aren't all that fast. It's a lot of slow movement and you have to have extra equipment. Which is something else I like about Insanity, it's all body weight. No weights or bands or pull up bars.
I'm also planning on eating much better. I went grocery shopping today and bought veggies and chicken, fruit and greek yogurt. The greek yogurt is really an aquired taste. The ones with fruit are much better than plain or honey flavors. It's not nearly as sweet as regular yogurt and has a good amount of protein. I plan on eating 4-5 times a day. I've done that before without changing my exercise and lost 2lbs in a week. If just increasing the number times you eat and eating healthier things can do that, then adding a great work out should really take the pounds off. That what I'm praying for anyway.
At the end of this I want to have some of those amazing before and after pictures. I already have the before pictures and I plan on taking a new picture every two weeks until I reach my goal. I hope that you will follow along with me on this journey and provide encouragement along the way. I also hope that I may provide motivation in your life to get healthy and be happy.
Everyone have a Happy New Year and stay safe tonight!!!
