Weight Loss and Family

I haven't heard it much lately, but people have already asked me when I plan on having children. My response used to be "When I have a house". Well, we now have a house, so now my response has been "When I lose some weight". I will not mention actual weights in this post, but I was always a healthy weight (actually perfect weight) through my childhood and high school days. After starting college, my freshman 15 turned into a good 30, and continued higher and higher from there. Part of my weight gain was the fact that I wasn't eating very healthy, which I never did during my younger years, but combined with a sudden decrease in activity, it was a very bad combination for my metabolism and body. Since graduating high school, I have gained a total of approximately 97 pounds in 10 years. Over the years I have tried a few times to lose weight, with some success here and there, but that not-so-good-for-me-but-oh-so-yummy food always called to me and roped me back in to gluttonous eating habits, making the pounds come back with extra friends. One year I was even tested for thyroid problems and diabetes, since they run in the family, and thankfully the tests came back negative. So, in looking to start a family, I did not foresee having a healthy pregnancy with the extra weight I carry around. All I could imagine was bed rest and all sorts of complications due to hypertension, gestational diabetes, etc.

So my husband and I have started "dieting" yet again. We began back in February, and our weight loss plan is based on counting calories. We have figured out how many calories we are allowed to eat in a day in order to lose a certain amount per week. I'm allowed 1121 calories/day, which is no problem most days, and some days very hard. We do "cheat" every now and then, but since starting I have lost 18 pounds (he is down 20!). I would probably have lost even more by now if we hadn't cheated as much as we have, but for the most part I am on my way. We have tried this method of dieting before, with success, but holidays with not-so-healthy foods always tempt us back into weight gain. Other than just wanting to lose weight, I never had a serious motivator. Until now. Wanting to start a family has been my main motivator this time, and keeping healthy as well as raising a healthy family will continue to be my motivation in the future. I had a goal to lose a total of 40 pounds by July, which seems like a lot, but was attainable at the time I set that goal. With some of the cheating we have done, I still have approximately 25 pounds to go by then, so it may no longer be attainable at this time, but I'm certainly going to try!

We went to go visit my grandmother yesterday for Mother's Day. I have not seen her for about a month. One of the first things she said to me was "You're getting skinny!". That made me feel so good, especially coming from her! Keep in mind, this is the same grandmother who went prom dress shopping with me in high school and decided to "announce" from the dressing room that I couldn't fit into a certain dress because I was "too chunky" (style of dress didn't fit my body shape). I was kind of embarrassed at the time, but she was only being honest, and I love that quality about her. I can always count on her to tell me the truth, whether I like it or not. I get enough of the typical grandmotherly love from my other one - you know, how you are perfect to them in every way, no matter what. So to hear that from her, to have her notice that I'm losing weight just by looking at me and not knowing that I did lose or how much, made me feel really good. It's hard to visibly see it myself, since I look in the mirror everyday and there's not a huge difference from day to day, but I have noticed some extra room in my clothes lately.

So I will continue to try my best to meet my goal by my deadline - it might not happen at this rate, but I will be very glad to lose whatever I can by then. I have a long way to go, so that is just my short term goal, but it's a start! Stay tuned for updates...maybe even some before and after photos later on when I have lost enough to show off some "after" photos!