Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Oh boy, here we go

So here's the deal:

I was pregnant for 8 weeks in July and August 2010. I was then pregnant for some of September, October, November, and most of December 2010 to 15 weeks. I also moved twice in that time, rediscovered all my favorite American foods, and lived under a tremendous amount of stress (Matt had no consistent work until February '11). After the 2nd miscarriage, I decided I had already gained weight, so "who cares?" and ate what I wanted to.

So all the weight I gained during my 2nd pregnancy, has stayed put. I was still so early with the first I hadn't gained much, if any. But all 15 that I gained in those first 15 weeks of the 2nd pregnancy - those aren't going anywhere.

And while I'm still on the "small" side of normal - I don't fit in my clothes and *I* know I gained 15lbs. *I* don't like the way I look. *I* stand in front of the mirror and think, "That muffin top wasn't always that big,... was it?" (((It wasn't))).

S0 here's the truth.

*I've gone up at least a pant size, sometimes 2 depending on the brand.

*My tummy refuses to hide - I watch peoples' gazes. Some people think I'm pregnant again because the tummy won't go away.

*My girdle is worn every Sunday, just to keep things looking "smooth". But the truth is I wear 2-3 layers every day to try and disguise my stomach. I got caught out one day, a friend asked, "How many layers ARE you wearing?" It was a nice day and I had on 4 layers to try and disguise myself....

*I've never been on a diet (or a healthy living challenge, nothing of the sort). I have always relied on my metabolism to help me out.

*My metabolism seems to have forsaken me. I have always lost all my baby weight within 9 months of birth, with a steady decrease throughout.

*As my best friend said, "Ha! Welcome to the real world Hunni!" (She has to work out 2hrs a day to maintain her weight).

*I have a Planet Fitness membership. But they have no childcare, it's 15 minutes away, and Matt works about 12hrs a day. I don't see him much, so I try to stay here when he's awake. But I don't have the energy to go work out at 10pm. I've done it a few times. But after I recently was so tired on the treadmill that I started losing my footing, I decided I'd need to try something different.

*Oceana is headed for Guiness Book of World Records "slowest walker" ever. Getting out with the kids and pushing a stroller doesn't do much because I spend (literally) the entire time telling Oceana to catch up. She's too dramatic for her own good (note to self: look at getting her into a drama group/class).

And here's the plan:

I'll be documenting (complete with pictures, **sob**) my weight loss and toning travels.

"Taming the Muffin Top: One Mom's Journey to find her Abs"

Eesh. Pictures to come. OMG.

10 comments:

  1. Good luck. You can do it!
    Just a thought though...have you had your thyroid checked? I had mine checked with regular bloodwork and found out i have hypothyroid, which can cause me to gain weight, which would explain the the same things you have..I have...Just a thought....might be worth checking into.

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  2. i tend to be some what radical when it comes to healthy, fitness and over all wholeness. So i realize that I may seem very extreme to the one who has never thought about it until their metabolism forsakes them. Truth is, since puberty I struggled with my weight. Even while at Elim, in the three years was able to gain and lose over a combined weight of 100 lbs. gained about 40, lost about 50...and went a little back and forth in the "healthy" range.

    After children, it was even harder. At least before children I knew that if I was disciplined to work out and not go nuts on sweets I was gonna lose. Not after children. I had to now watch EVERYTHING!

    But i was still able to do it. And though I never thought I would proudly say how i did it...i did it through Weight Watchers. To tell you the truth it broke every proud bone in me because I have been a "green" living organic machine since I went on my health kick in '06., advocating if you eat organic whole foods you would BE at a healthy weight. But even eating green and organic wasn't cutting it for me.....my calorie consumption was still to high. But I didn't want to buy into the diet fade of replacing my calories with nutrition-dense foods. But I hand it to WW, because without the help I know the journey would have been much longer on my own. (I didn't buy weight watcher food because most are nutrition-dense, but just gave a point system to what I would eat normally eat). After the babies, even working out 5 days a week for an hour and half wasn't cutting it. yes....exercise is essentially, but with both the help on my diet and getting active I felt like I was going somewhere (and i was surprised at how fast). I've tried EVERYTHING! And I refuse to calorie count. I want to be at a healthy weight, but I want to be "healthy" while doing it. And I see far too many "Skinny" people who are very unhealthy.

    Suggestion: Does Oceana refuse to sit in a stroller for your walks? I finally purchased a double jogging stroller for the girls so my walks would be more enjoyable and easier pushing. Also you may just want to purchase some nice cardio videos (i hear Biggest Loser at home videos are amazing)! The you can do them during the children's naps. Exercise is also a stress reliever and fights depression because of the release of endorphins. You can do it Susie!

    Lastly, what help me the most, ALWAYS....was prayer. I remember the first couple runs I went on at 210 pounds!!!! I cried my whole way through it. But I prayed and asked God to give me the strength to do this...to be persistent. And each time I pushed past the pain and i knew it was Him being faithful. Settingcaptivefree.com also offers and awesome teaching coupled with trying to lose weight God's way called "the Lord's table". Wonderful 60 day devotional and it comes with a fasting schedule.

    To me, 15 lbs is nothing! (i had 60 to lose with both girls, each time). And I'll be in the process of doing this think again come mid-summer. You can totally do this! I believe you got this. Once the desire and discontentment is enough to plow forward, the momentum to lose is there. Many blessings and perseverance as you embark on this health journey!

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  3. Can you find a video rental store that also rents out Wii's? You and the girls could have some fun and you could get exercise without the expense of buying. Good luck, my "babies" are 27 & 25 and I am trying to get my baby weight off too!!!! Course, I have a lot more than 15 pounds, so I won't be sharing pictures, hahaha!!

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  4. "Taming the Muffin Top: One Mom's Journey to find her Abs"

    I LOVE IT! Good Luck!

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  5. I'm on that journey as well. A few people are reading the book Made to Crave along with us on my blog and I'm posting on it on Mondays. I'm hoping it will be an encouragement to those of us trying to lose weight/get healthy.

    Praying for you on this journey. Keep on keepin' on!

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  6. YaY! I was wondering after you posted on my wall if you were going to post this on your blog. You can totally do it. If I can do it, then you can do it. I am happy to help you out with suggestions & encouragement as much as I can. The two biggest things that helped me, was 1) A food journal, I worte down everything single thing I put into my mouth, and the apporx calories and 2) finding a weight loss accountablitliy partner. I was emailing a friend once a week with the food I had eaten and the workouts I had done and she gave me great healthy critisism and encouragement, as she had just lost 50lbs herself.

    you can do it... lots of water too

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  7. I'm a mom of 3. My kids are 6, almost 4 and 2. I have had c-sections with each of my deliveries and I have tough pregnancies. I gained 40 with the first, 20 with the second and 15 with the third. Since Christmas Ive been using myfitnesspal.com. Its free and I think it works. I'm within a few pounds of my pre-(first) pregnancy weight. Good luck!
    Laura

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  8. oh Susie, I can soooo understand where you're coming from. I'm working on losing about 70 lbs & it stinks! I have a private weight loss blog if you want to see it, but I can tell you this much...you won't be too inspired. It's mostly me whining about how hard I'm working & the numbers not dropping on the scale. LOL

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  9. You can do it! Once you start to notice a difference you will be motivated to continue with it! I am mom of 5 now, ages 11,5,4,3 &2. I too am starting a diet and exercise plan mid April at our local gym. Maybe following your journey will help keep me on track too! Best of luck!

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  10. I was looking for a way to contact you privately, I don't want to seem like I'm "advertising" or pushing anything on your blog. I couldn't find one, so I'm just going to post it. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this workout site, they are home workouts and often they don't require any equipment, or you can substitute things(like a backpack with books for a sandbag, two chairs for a dip station etc...) and you can look up a free online tabata timer for the interval ones.

    http://www.bodyrock.tv/

    Most of the workouts are VERY short. Like 12 minutes or less, with the average workout taking 20 minutes. It's free and worth a shot right? I've gotten loads stronger, now if only my diet would shape up then I'd have lost some weight and be able to see those muscles...

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