Weightloss

Ooh, the dreaded word... Weightloss.

Losing weight is hard. Seriously.

Ok, but let's be honest here, if losing weight were easy, everyone would be thin. My goal is to be fit.

After being pregnant for the majority of the past 4 years of my life, I'm now in the battle of trying to lose ALL of the baby weight. Annnnd thensome. I'm really proud of myself, as I managed to lose 12 pounds last month. Someone asked me what my secret was... and the honest answer, persistence.

I spent a lot of time over the past few months doing research. I am not a fan of any type of diet. They don't work for me, because I don't believe in eliminating everything I love to eat from my daily life. And I'm not gonna lie, I LOVE food. Pretty much all food. I'm really not picky. So the word "diet" doesn't sit well with me. Diet, to me, makes me think I'm withholding something from myself, and that really messes with my head! And a lot of weightloss, is mental, getting our head in the right state of mind. Plus, we all know once we get off the diet, some of the weight comes back. If not more. I also don't believe in only drinking "magical" juices that will make you lose tons of weight. Again, once you stop, won't the weight come back?! We've all heard it before, but it's the honest truth, it's a lifestyle change. It's about eating things in moderation. And it's about knowing what is good for your body, and what isn't.

So, I decided to educate myself. My husband suggested going to the website bodybuilding.com. At first I was hesitant, because I obviously didn't want to look like a bodybuilder. But, after checking it out, I realized it was focused on being healthy, not being hugely built. It has become a type of fitness bible for me. I visit it almost daily. Seriously. The day I discovered that website was the day my mind finally had its "Aha!" moment, and everything just clicked. There is SO much information, and so I began to read. All of it. Seriously, you can spend a lot of time just reading and reading... and not know how you even got onto a topic you are now reading so much about. I told myself that if I am going to lose this weight, I'm going to do it the right way. I'm going to clean up my diet, and I'm going to find workouts that work for me.

So, that's what I did. I read a lot about what foods are the best for your body, as fuel. Chicken, sweet potatoes, and broccoli, quickly became my best friends. I honestly didn't believe that just by changing my diet, I would lose weight. I didn't eat bad before, I don't crave sweets, but I wasn't giving my body what it needed for fuel. So I did a one week test. I switched my eating habits... I started eating more often, more food, but the RIGHT foods. I didn't start working out or anything, I kept everything the same, except my eating. Guess what? I ended up losing 7 pounds that week. No joke. I couldn't believe it myself. I'm thankful that I put myself to that test, because it really got my mind focused, and it was like my body was telling me, yes, THIS is the way to do it! It turned out to be fantastic motivation to keep me going.

I also started drinking more water. When you're pregnant, you drink tons of water. When I'm not pregnant, I really have to force myself to drink water. So, I went to the store, bought a gallon pitcher, and fill it up every night. That way, the next day, I know exactly how much water I still need to drink that day. It helps me keep track, because honestly, I have 3 little kids to keep schedules for, so keeping track of how many glasses of water I've had during the day, would be nuts. So, I have my own gallon pitcher that I know I have to drink completely by the end of the day. It actually isn't hard to do anymore... and I usually end up drinking a few extra glasses per day. Crazy, right?! But totally do-able!

That next week I figured out a workout plan. I've never lifted weights before, besides a few times when I lived with my parents. I'd use my dad's weights from time to time, but nothing religiously. I knew in order to keep going with my weightloss, I needed to hold myself accountable for every single day. I needed to take things one day at a time. Now, every day I know what I need to do to fullfill my workout for that day, and it's completely up to me to make it happen. I made a chart so that every day I worked out, I would mark down what I did, and the days I didn't workout, I would put a huge X through the day. It didn't take long for me to realize that I did NOT like seeing X's on my chart. I hated it. Now, it's motivation enough to make sure I see as few X's as possible. It's weird the things that help us stay motivated, isn't it?!

Truth is, I finally got sick of feeling fat. I feel disgusting every day, hate looking in the mirror, and long to wear my old clothes again. I got to the point where I told myself, this is MY choice. Yes, I have 3 kids (3 and under), I'm a full-time stay-at-home mom, and I have a husband who is rarely home because of work, and when he is, he has to sleep, so no, I don't have a lot of spare time. I don't have a lot of time for me. And honestly, the past 5 years of my life, I haven't spent ANY time on myself. So I told myself it was time to MAKE some time for myself. If we try to FIND time in our days, we never will. We have to MAKE it.

So, make time is what I did. Now, after I put my 3 kids to bed, and make sure everyone falls asleep, I head to my workout room. I spend at least 1 hour on my treadmill and also lift weights. And honestly, I've really started to LIKE working out! Crazy, right?! ha! But really, I'm finding it to be a nice new challenge. It feels good to be putting energy into something for ME. And now that I'm beginning to see results and feel changes, it's just more encouragement to keep going. I don't want to quit this time. I don't want to have to start the process over again. I want to push myself to lose the last of my baby weight (10 more pounds!!!), and then I want to challenge myself to keep going and see what my body is capable of looking like! Why not, right?!

I gained 46 pounds with my first baby (given she was 9lbs 3oz herself), 19 pounds with my 2nd baby (which I lost completely the week after I gave birth!), and 37lbs with my 3rd baby. Now, I lost weight between all the pregnancies, and only carried 10 pounds of baby weight from my 1st baby through my 3rd pregnancy... if that makes sense?! So, now I'm back down to that size and have only those last 10 pounds to lose. Thank the Lord! ha! So, my next goal is to lose those 10 pounds. After that, I want to focus more on toning my body, and in that effort, lose more fat and gain more muscle. My ultimate goal is to be able to wear a bikini again, and feel good doing so! I guess the only thing to figure out once that time comes... is how to get rid of stretch marks! Then again, those stretch marks represent the miracle that life is, and I'm pretty ok with them. :) Although, the whole "they're hereditary" story about why we get them... is crap. My mom, who is tiny, had 4 kids and never got a single stretch mark! Oh well, I'm a woman, I've made 3 perfect little kids, and I'm damn thankful for every challenge my body experienced and overcame in the process.

Life itself is a miracle, and I want to be sure I live it to the absolute fullest. Losing weight and becoming fit is one of the best ways to ensure I will do just that.

As someone once said, "It comes down to a simple question... What do you want out of life, and what are you willing to do to get it?"