This was me in 1998, 7 months pregnant and 25 lbs heavier with my first child. I had 3 more children directly after our first. Our fourth and final child was born October 20, 2003. After a year of sitting at home with the baby blues and stuffing my face full of comfort food, crying because I felt fat, I decided enough was enough! I didn't know much about nutrition and what the BEST food choices were, but I definitely knew what was bad for me. That was where it all began. I didn't exercise right off the bat. I just made better choices in what I consumed. But I was still ignorant to the whole health and fitness industry and just started counting calories. It still helped, although it wasn't enough.
About 6 months into my "diet" a friend encouraged me to stop drinking sodas. I fretted that was going to be very difficult for me considering I had 4 children that I regularly took to McDonald's and since I was there..."Yes, I'll have a Double Quarter Pounder Meal with a coke, please. Thanks." At least I had enough sense NOT to supersize!
My friend told me I would lose a good portion of my gut if I stopped drinking cokes. I figured, since I was on the whole try-to-eat-healthier kick anyway why not experiment? I started ordering water and drinking it with every meal. Within one week - one week- I noticed a significant difference in my mid-section. It was flatter and I felt less bloated/gassy. AND! I had lost 5 lbs.. IN ONE WEEK. I was sold. I don't drink cokes but on very RARE occasions now. I'm talking once every other month. Maybe.
I'm a magazine fanatic. I have magazines about magazines. While on one of my infamous magazine rack raids at Wal-Mart, a picture of a woman's face on a back rack caught my attention. She was very pretty to me, enough to make me reach for her and pull her out of from behind all the other appealing reads. With every centimeter that was made visible of her as she emerged I became enamored. She was more than just pretty; she was strong, she was healthy, she was tan and shapely and she had a six-pack any man would be jealous of. Yet, she was feminine and had a waist and soft, sexy shoulders. I stared at her almost stalker-like and found myself wishing I could call her up and ask her all the questions running through my head. I settled for buying the mag (still hoping for that phone number) and put it in the child seat of my shopping cart so I could stare at her some more.
When I arrived home and began putting away all the groceries (most of which were foods that were only half hindering my weight loss goals, although I didn't know it at the time), I could hardly stand not being able to look inside the magazine. I put the last package of toilet paper in the guest bathroom and rushed back to the kitchen, grabbed the magazine and flung myself on my couch. I was engrossed in its pictures and articles. "FINALLY! What I've been looking for!" I thought aloud. I found tons of recipes, workouts, snack ideas, craving helps for THAT time of the month and so much more. I was on my way to really and truly achieving my fitness goal.
And what is that goal? It's changed from time to time. In the beginning I wanted to be 110 lbs...and that's it. Just 110 lbs. However, about 2 years ago I decided that 110 was too skinny. I'm 5' 7" and that weight would have made me look like Nicole Richie on a 40 day fast. 115 was a healthier weight for me. I reached that goal early last year. Now, I don't care whether I am 115 or 125 as long as its muscle weight, not fatty weight. I have managed to maintain a healthy comfortable weight of 115 for a year and a half. All from eating healthier and cleaner (meaning little to no fast food!) and exercising.
And let me just say my exercise routines are not hard. They don't take hours of my day. I exercise for 30 minutes every day except for one which I give myself as a rest and cheat day. Usually that's Saturday. I am allowed to have my cake and eat it too during this one blissful 24 hour period. Eating healthy has been the hardest part of this trial considering I am a food fanatic. Especially for ethnic foods. For the first 2 weeks I struggled with fast food and junk food cravings so severely you would've thought that Steven King's Carrie (during her time of the month) and the Cookie Monster had collided and morphed to make one big PMSing fire-breathing gargoyle! The cookies in my pantry were practically dancing naked in front of me. I salivated for them between ferocious grunting and panting. It was all I could do to look the other way.
This is where all my hard work has gotten me so far.
I have a few minor tweaks and revisions that I want to accomplish by next summer such as more defined abs, less cellulite on my rump and shapelier shoulders and arms. I will get there. This little section of cyberspace will be my 24 hour accountability monitor.
I hope you find this blog helpful and insightful for your own personal and nutritional value. I hope it inspires and empowers you to endure till your goals are met and to not ever give up on them! No matter how sexy that cookie is.
Disclaimer: I am NOT a professional, nor do I profess to be. I have not been trained in any nutritional or fitness certification or qualifying programs. This blog is based on self-explored opinion only and should one be inclined to follow in my footsteps please understand that results will vary. As always, before starting any diet or exercise routine you should consult with your physician.
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