What's Next

So I am trying to figure out what my plan should be. Travis has been talking about starting a new program P90X, it is a 90 day plan and would help him to stay in shape and build muscle. This sounds nice figuring that we could do it together and hold each other accountable. I also have a gym membership and could go do work outs on the days that Hudson has preschool or I could even take him as they have childcare provided. However, it hard to decide what to do with the baby. Dont really want to put her in childcare. I have seen moms leave them in the car seat and put it by the treadmill but this seems dirty to me and I have a treadmill at home so not worth the hassel. I have formed a little walking clan. I literally had 10 friends that were pregnant at similar times. One had her baby two weeks before me and one will have hers two weeks after. We have already started walking on Tues and Friday and enjoying the Greenbelt. Much easier when I can just take the baby (the other two friends only have one baby) and Hudson would want to run around.

I have had some self realization while thinking about all of this. #1 I am addicted to carbs. I love bread, snacks and mostly sweets! I think I really need to get a handle on that. I dont want to cut carbs but if I could just avoid the extra treats that would be great!

I am also trying to figure out the root cause of this weight gain as I never struggled as a child/teen. Actually growing up I was one of the smallest kids in my class both height and weight. I watch the biggest loser and every contestant has something going on mentally/emotionally. This has made me think..what could my problem be. The funny thing is, I can't seem to put my finger on it. I live in a beautiful place, I have been blessed with a wonderful husband and two children, I have a good job, good friends and luckily we have never really had to struggle financially. So what might it be? There are a few things that I can think of...but they if that is causing it, it must be subconscious because I definitely am not losing sleep over it.

I've also been thinking that I should sign myself up for a 5K run or something. So that I will have something to accomplish with in a specified amount of time. This might help to keep me motivated as well.

Two Weeks

So baby girl Reese is two weeks old today. During my pregnancy I gained about 26 pounds. I think I started out around 226. I was happy to see that when I weighed today that I weighed 233, already down 19 pounds which tells me that a lot of my weight gain was baby and fluids. Now to actually lose the real weight. I know that starting at my delivery weight is kinds of cheating but I want to weigh around 150 and that makes it an even 100 pounds. Kind of had a good ring to it. I have started a walking group with new moms on Tuesdays and Fridays (the days that Hudson goes to preschool). I will try to fit in other forms of exercise on the other days. However, exercise is a small part of it. I realize that it is 90% what I eat. You can gobble down a donut in about 15 seconds and it takes you an hour and 15 minutes to burn it off. Because I am nursing I have been drinking lots of water which has been good. It keeps the hunger pains down and gives you that sense of fullness. I dont really want to put myself on a strict diet as I know that I wont stick to it. I really just want to have portion control and eat out less!! I am also hoping to take advantage of the extra caloric burn that you get from nursing. (I think it burns an extra 300 calories each day).

How it all began

This year I turned the big 30. I have been struggling with my weight for the past 10 years. As a teenager I never struggled. My first job was an aerobics instructor and I was very active with dance and other sports activities. When I first started college I lived in the dorms; signed up for the all you can eat plan. I'd go to the SUB for meals and I could choose a scone or a bowl of raisin bran. What do you think I chose? The scone. Nevertheless I gained about 25 pounds my freshman year. I was engaged to be married the next summer and began taking birth control. I thought the Depo Provera sounded convenient. One easy shot every three months. However, my body hated the Depo shot and I instantly gained about 30 more pounds in a time period of three months. I went to the doctor and he said that my endocrine system had went nuts and he suggested that I get off the Depo and contributed a lot of my weight gain to the shot. Also over the years I have been careless with my eating and gained a few pounds each year. Over a period of 10 years this resulted in another 30 pounds. Then throw two pregnancies into the mix and that caused me to retain more weight. So here I am a good 100 pounds over weight and desperate to lose it. When I graduated from high school I weighed 117Lbs. When I delivered my baby two weeks ago, I weighed 252 Lbs. Yuck. While I feel that 117 Lbs is unrealistic I am trying to lose 100 pounds from my delivery weight to put me around 150. This would be much more healthy and help me to retain a better lifestyle and the ability to be there for my kids. I think that most people would describe me as highly self motivated and usually an over achiever. I am highly competitive and I cant figure out why this has been such a struggle for me. Most things that I attempt to conquer, I am able to with vigor and speed. Yet, my weight has been my crutch and no matter how hard I try it seems as though I have not been able to do anything about it. I will be off work for the next four months and thought there would be no better time to jump start this program; while I have some extra time and flexibility. Here goes nothing!