New Baby, New Body

Aiden has arrived, and Momma needs to shed some pounds. I gained 4 pounds while pregnant, but still have so much more on top of that to lose, as well as some flab to tone up.

My new plan:

1400 calories

64 ounces of water daily

30 minutes of exercise daily

Limited carbs

One soda or less daily

I know I can do it, I've done it before....I just need to break bad habits and get the ball rolling. We're going to Disney World this fall and I want to be down at least a few dress sizes. I'm currently in a 22, and I want to be in a 16 or 18 come this October.

Big News

Apparently I've discovered the key to eating what you want and still maintaining a decent weight...pregnancy.

I'm currently 19 weeks pregnant and went from a June weight of 252 to a current weight of 245, and I've been eating more food than I normally would even dare to eat.

Just wanted to let everyone know why updates are non-existent lately...I'll be back in March for some serious dieting!

Small Triumphs

I think looking at this from start to finish is part of my problem. When I think taht I need to lose like 100 pounds, I think it's impossible. When I see that I'm nearing the 20 pound mark (even though it's been 4 months of not-too-serious dieting) it really gives me the motivation that I need to continue. If I can lose 20 pounds in 4 months...then in a year, I can lose 60. Theoretically, of course.

I've been eating a lot of junk food, but at the same time I've been drinking a lot more water and exercising a lot more. I swam for a few hours today, and a friend and I walked 2 miles one evening last week. Right now, with how out of shape I am, once a week for walking is about all I can manage, with still functioning. It took us about 45 minutes, so we obviously weren't walking too fast, everyone else was passing us up on the track, but it was an accomplishment for us....and with someone depending on me to keep them on track, it's also keeping me on track.

And with the water...I have gotten to the point where sodas don't even taste good to me anymore, my body craves the water. I thought for sure that was an indicator of diabetes, but my doctor said bloodwork shows I'm not diabetic, or even insulin resistant as my previous diagnosis had been. I'm sort of disappointed, because when they put me on Glucophage back in 2001, I lost 40 pounds within just a few months. Considering when they put me on it back then, I was 10 pounds lighter than I am now, I thought I had damaged my body enough to cross over into diabetes territory. Not that I want to be, but I do like the medications. lol. I know, that's morally wrong.

I'm convinced I'll lose the 3 and a half pounds this week to break the 20 pound mark, and from there, I'll just focus on the next 20 pounds.

As awful as it sounds, at this point, anything under 200 would be nice for me, I don't even need to be a size 6, I'd settle for a size 16 and then set a new goal from there.

Another small triumph....I had to buy new jeans (not because the ones I had didn't fit, but because my thighs rubbing together had worn a hole that I couldn't fix), and I decided to go with jean shorts (even though I'll look terrible in them, it's already nearing 90 outside)...

The Levi's I was wearing were a size 24, the largest I had ever worn in my entire life.

I went to Old Navy and looked for shorts, and couldn't find anything over an 18, so I ordered them online. Not knowing what size to get, I ordered a 22 and a 24 (since I have old navy pants that are a 22 and fit nicely). I got them in the mail, tried on the 22, and I can pull them off and on without even unbuttoning them. So I'm now sending them back for a size 20.

If I keep seeing small sucesses, I think I can be motivated to try harder. When I wasn't losing or gaining, there was no incentive to try harder, but now that I'm seeing progress, I'm finding it a lot easier to order a healthier meal and even when it's not so healthy, I'm finding the inner strength to not large size.

And get this...I even find myself stopping when I start to feel full, rather than trying to finish something that is tasting really good.

I'm so excited and ready to get on the ball with this. By this time next year, I don't want to be ashamed to wear a swimsuit.

Until next time,

Jen

Post-Easter Blues

I totally blew it this weekend, and I didn't even have any candy. I did have a brownie and two slices of pie, and a heaping plate of potatoes, turkey, and gravy, with several cokes.

And gained like 4 pounds.

I'm hoping some if it is because it's that time of the month...I'm praying it is, at least.

I need to get serious about this, but I have such little willpower. It's been so long since I dieted, and with being on Spring Break this week, there's a lot less activity in my forecast. lol. And more work, which means more desk-munching.

But I can do it. I know I can. I just have to be vigilent. And start drinking the water I've been avoiding. I think if I could stop drinking the soda, I'd probably lose 10 pounds.

And so starts another week...

Back on the Road Again

Wow, it's been a hectic couple of months. I think, though, that I'm finally back on track and in the right frame of mind to get something done about my weight problem.

January was stressful with the start of a new semester of college, and February even more so between Mardi Gras, college, and my step-mom's miscarriage. March was spent trying to figure out why I have high liver enzymes when everything else seems normal.

And April? Well, April is all about change. I have given myself a goal to be at least in a size 16 or 18 before we go to Disney World at the end of May. I thought it was highly unrealistic, until I was able to slide my size 22 jeans off yesterday without even unbuttoning them, as well as able to buy a size 20 pair of slacks.

I haven't been watching my eating, but somehow I have managed to stay on a very slight trickle of weight loss. Time to get serious, though!

Thanks to everyone who contacted me in my absence, you guys are amazing!!! Good luck to all!

Post-Christmas

Well, I can't say I was on my manners for Christmas, in relation to eating....but I did a lot better than I could have.

First, with my new job there wasn't any pre-holiday snacking going on. I have to admit that's the good thing about going from a large company with 75 people in one office to a very small one with people who are all dieting. The baked treats are gone, which takes out a lot of the holiday stress.

Of course, going to Christmas parties that have no food that I actually like is a good way to keep the holiday weight down also. I think I'm the only person from Louisiana who doesn't like seafood, so when my Dad's christmas party Saturday had seafood pasta, I was able to skip. Then when my Mom's christmas party Sunday had seafood gumbo, I was able to skip that too. Ironically, those who did eat Sunday lost some weight too...from food poisoning.  

So the only obstacle was Christmas itself. I managed to put more turkey on my  plate than anything, and only have one serving of potatoes and gravy. And when my parents asked if I wanted to bring some home....I just told them no. :D. For dessert, they had Red Velvet Cake, which I don't like, so no cake for me....I did raid the ice cream and have a few scoops of vanilla with whipped cream, but it's a lot better for you than a huge chunk of cake.

And then we went home.....

And by dinner time (we had lunch at noon) we were starving....

DH and I went all over Lafayette looking for a restaurant to eat in, and finally settled on a chinese place. I'm not a big fan of chinese, but it was the only thing open. So for dinner I had just rice and chicken. Went home, was hungry later, and we ended up making brownies....which I ate half a pan of over the last two days. But that's okay, becuase I still lost weight.

And the brownies got rid of my sweet tooth, so when we went to the mall yesterday (my daughter and I) I was even able to stay away from the cookie place. :D.

And this morning, coming into the office, I'm the only one who lost weight over the Christmas holiday.

Goal for this week: 2 liters of water per day.

Good luck to everyone else!

Jen

A Slow Process

Thank you to everyone who left me kind words of inspiration...it's going to be a process, but I am definitely committed to changing my life. I started off yesterday so well. I skipped the morning soda, and during lunch i had some chicken noodle soup, made from scratch with organic materials, and wheat crackers. I skipped an afternoon snack, but for dinner, we had our company Christmas Party, which was held at the Outback Steakhouse. I was being a good girl when I ordered, I got the grilled chicken and a baked potato...but the person sitting next to me got the cheese fries for an appetizer, and insisted I take some....since that *is* my weakness, I couldn't resist. I should have, but I couldn't. I'm chalking it up as a lesson learned.

Still down .5 of a pound though, and since tomorrow is ToM, I'm considering that as a job well done. lol.

My goal today: Drink more water. At least 3 or 4 of the 20ounce bottles.

I have to wrap Christmas presents, but afterwards, I'm going to try a different form of exercise...tackling the DDR mat and getting my calories burned that way. At least it's fun, right?

Jen

Cheating on the first real day...

Cheating on the first real day of dieting? Positioned for failure? Maybe not. Sure, for breakfast I had a piece of my husband's birthday cake....but only half of a tiny sliver. For lunch, my child threw a tantrum for Wendy's, and I did get a hamburger, but only a jr. burger, and I opted for the healthier side items. So far, I have only had 896 calories, out of the 1,200 I'm allowing myself. That may seem like I'm cutting it very close, when it's only just before 3pm, but since the husband works nights, I rarely eat dinner at all. Water and Juice may hold me over until morning, when I can get the day started off right. It's always easier to diet at work.

I have to see the glass as half full, though....if it had been yesterday, I would have had two slices of cake, and then a double bacon burger. I guess some is better than all, right? And hopefully as I start to see results, the urge to eat the junk will go as well.

They need a dieting book for picky eaters...

Exercise....I did 30 minutes cardio aerobics last night...I drove by the gym today and tried to decide if I had enough time to use a membership...between a full time job, a full time college schedule, and a rowdy near-three year old....I'd have to get up at 4 am to go, and I don't go to bed until after 11. And for fifty bucks...well, I'd rather sleep.

I did start on my mountain of housework today...family is coming in from out of town on Friday, and my house looks like a war zone...now, at least my daughter's room is clean (which took 3 hours of sweat and tears--sweat from me, tears from her). I'm hoping to have the motivation to finish that workout tape tonight...if I can do a little each day, I'll be pleased with myself.

Jen 

Beginning

I've made up my mind...a week before Christmas...that I'm going to lose all of this weight I've been carrying around since the time my daughter was concieved (and the 3 years since). The first time I lost a substantial amount of weight, I was doing it with the aid of Gluchophage...now, I'm doing it solo. Wish me luck! I've given myself until June 1st...I will NOT be ashamed to go to the beach this summer.

Jen