Discovering What Works For Me

When I first jumped on the weight loss wagon in 2008, it was easy. I only had myself to worry about, I was a student and had full access to an open gym, I could bike to class everyday, and I was working at Subway where I had a huge array of healthy foods to eat and pick from.

I worked out for at least two hours everyday, I ate healthy meals three times a day, and had two snacks. I switched to a vegetarian diet and completely cut out pop, coffee, and fast food. The only bad habit that stuck was smoking. For some reason I just wasn't ready to kick it. However that did not stop me from dropping nearly 35 pounds and running three 5K races. January 2008-October 2008 were the best months of my weight loss journey thus far. I was motivated and worked so hard to achieve my goals, and it all paid off.

Then, in November 2008 everything changed. I met Brent. I had been in a relationship before, but he lived 1200 miles away and did not really affect my day to day life. Brent lived here, and he started to dominate my time. Not that this was a bad thing, but it completely changed my routine and my habits.

I started eating meat again.
I stopped working out regularly.
I started to sit around a lot more.
I lost my motivation.

This was Fall 2008.

With these new changes the weight crept back on. For awhile I held steady around 160, and I was happy there. I did not dislike my body, but I hated how out of shape I had become. I decided to get back on track. This motivation streak did not last long. Due to some unfortunate events a lot of drama, confusion, and conflict I completely stopped everything. I also graduated from Central and lost my access to the gym.

During the rough patch, I gained more weight and stopped working out completely. Brent and I also got engaged.  This was fall 2009.

Winter 2009/January 2010 I decided enough was enough. I was back to my highest weight - 168 lbs. and needed to turn things around.  I signed up to start boxing lessons. These went really well. I loved being active again, and hitting the heavy bag felt so natural to me. Things were looking up again, until Brent and I had another falling out. This one was bad, and I even packed up my bags and left. I went to a friend's house in Ohio for the weekend. I felt funny the whole time, but I played it off as my nerves and anxiety. I decided to come home Monday morning. I spent almost the entire drive in tears, but could not explain why. Even though deep down, I already knew the answer.

As soon as I cane in the door I went straight to the bathroom. Since we had been "not-trying-but-not-preventing" for a baby we had stocked up on pregnancy tests. I pulled one out, peed on the stick, and sat it down to wait for 3 minutes. It had barely touched the counter when the second line came through clear as day. I sat there completely in shock before taking the test to Brent. He was beyond excited, and in that moment I knew things would be okay.

Fast forward through a complicated pregnancy where I was not allowed to do physical activity, an emergency c-section that came with a six week recovery, and then laziness after a year of being sedentary and I am here today. I am around 200 pounds. I'm not proud of it, but I'm ready to change it.

Now comes the hard part... learning that what worked for me back then will not work for me now. I cannot work out for 2 hours a day. I have a baby to watch and a Husband who works full time outside the home. I cannot dive right into a vegetarian lifestyle with such a carnivorous Husband, there will always be meat in the house. I cannot throw on my sneakers and go for a run anytime I want... did I mention the baby? Oh, and my endurance and strength are completely out the window.

I would not change any of this for anything. I love my family and Brent and Elly are my whole world, but discovering what works for me now is proving to be a difficult task, but one I am slowly trying to conquer. The weight is not dropping quickly, but I'll get there. My goal for now is to set small, obtainable goals to keep myself from getting discouraged. So far it's working. :)

Time to Commit

I created this blog a month ago, but I needed to know that I was actually ready before I felt comfortable enough posting these.

I can now, with full confidence, say that I am ready.

Last week was very, very tough on us. We had no money for groceries, so we took $15 and bought what we could. This ended up being frozen pizzas that were 10 for $10, hot dogs, some ramen, and bananas. Any chance I had at wanting a healthy diet went right out the window. BUT I ate in moderation and I did a decent work out 3 days last week. This is a big improvement for me and my body. I still get extremely sore for what most people would consider "nothing" but I am very out of shape and am trying to get back in tune with my body after being sedentary for almost 18 months.

So, here we go:

before.

I did not take measurements because I feel like I always do them wrong and inconsistently. I am trained and educated in doing measurements correctly, but for some reason cannot perform them on myself.

Pre-Pregnancy:
weight: 168 lbs.
pants: 12
shirts: small/medium
boobs: 34A

At Delivery:
weight: 214 lbs.
pants: sweats :)
shirts: large/x-large
boobs: 38C (!!!!!)

Now:
start weight: 203 lbs.
current weight: 199.8 lbs.
pants: 17/18
shirts: large/x-large
boobs: 38B

I have been doing consistent work outs on the Wii Fit, as well as running when I can and strength training regularly. I have started Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred about 8 times, but it is so hard to do with Elly. I realize it's only 20 minutes, but with a mobile baby it is near impossible to finish one session uninterrupted, so for now I'm holding off on that.

I am hoping to post progress pics every month as well as weigh in updates every Sunday! I am trying to avoid exercise logs/schedules because right now I just squeeze in what I can, whenever I can and it seems to be working :)

Side note: I am proud of my stretch marks and they do not bother me as much as I thought they would, I do put lotion on them after I shower but am not doing anything else to actively help get them to go away. If they fade, they fade but I am proud of my body for growing my little peanut so they are like my battle wounds :) AND I can still wear my rings on my finger but I choose not to because I am terrified of scratching Elly with them while I'm changing her or holding her. :)