Also like most women, I identify myself by my pants size and weight. And this woman has been a size 12 for as long as I can remember. When I dared to dream of losing weight, I was thrilled to imagine a size 10. When I decided to set a goal weight to maintain throughout my adult life, I chose 150 pounds, because I thought it was reasonable considering I love to eat and hate exercise. But 150 was not a size 10 and I rarely ever stayed at 150 for long.
Folks, as of this morning's weigh-in, I'm 138 pounds and my brand new SIZE 8 pants are a little loose.
HOLY COW!!
As thrilled as I am, I'm more scared and in shock than anything else. I've struggled with what this means the last 10-15 years of my life has been like - I COULD have been this skinny this whole time, but my choices got me much heavier. And I thought it was who I was. So what does it mean now that I'm that skinny girl everyone gives dirty looks? And most importantly: CAN I STAY THIS WAY?!
This time I didn't do any diet, I just used nursing calories and tried to eat smaller portions. Later, I read Candace Cameron's book Reshaping It All: Motivation for Physical and Spiritual Fitness. It really convicted me that I seek out food as a comfort instead of my Savior, and I was serving my flesh and not the Spirit. It gave me a whole new perspective on weight loss and maintaining my weight. Candace is only two years older than I am, has three kids also, and looks great. In her book, she said she felt like she could do anything, and that's how I want to feel!
As I neared my weight loss goal of 140, I started cutting out fried foods and most cheese and added a little exercise to my routine. These simple changes had a huge impact and even though I met my goal weight, I'm still loosing just by continuing with my healthier choices. At this point I have no idea where it will end, but I doubt it will be a size 6. If I get that skinny I'm going in for a diagnosis, because something's not right! :)
I LOVE exercising - I go on walks with the babies around the one mile track behind our house once I drop Sam off at school at least three days a week. I'm trying to incorporate more like Zumba and yoga, but haven't gotten there quite yet. But that simple one mile has made such a difference!
It does seem, honestly, like this weight loss was a little too easy. So I know there are challenges ahead. The first one will likely be holidays and vacations, quickly followed by weaning Ben, which means my daily 600 calories burned through nursing will be sitting there waiting to be dealt with. But I'm ready for the challenge because I'm in this for the long haul!
And I through out all my old clothes, so I HAVE to stay in a size 8. :)
If I can do it, so can you! So don't hate the skinny girl. She might have been a fat girl first.
BEFORE AND AFTER
(end of September 2010) (beginning of October 2011)
MORE THAN 50 POUNDS LOST!!
5 comments:
I just wanted to say that YOUR ARE AWESOME! You didn't let having two small children stop you from getting your butt in gear, and that is a big deal!
I thought I would share some things that I do to keep the pounds off. I get bored with excercise routines and tend to plateau or even gain it back if I don't change things up often. Pilates, if you need a good night's sleep this is the one for you! You will feel great using muscles and feeling them tone up. It is like yoga but doesn't have the strange spiritual element and is more toning focused, where yoga is more focused on flexibility and relaxation. I like kickboxing because it does not require a lot of coordination/dancing. The moves are simple. Make sure you can jog for a mile or so before trying to take it though because you need to have the endurance to make it through an hour. I have heard good things about Jillian Michaels, PX90 and CrossFit. Here are my eating tidbits: I drink hot Chai Tea at night with just a little cream. It keeps me full and I feel like I am having a "desert." I eat a really good breakfast, which sets my appetite for the rest of my day. As far as true dieting goes, I just don't believe in cutting things out completely if only for a short time. I think you crash that way. I like Bob Greene's book "The Best Life Diet" because he emphasizes making long term healthy decisions that you can sustain.
Oh, sorry one more thing. Dark Chocolate, it's a good desert/ occasion snack because it is too righ to eat too much, so a little bit can be very satisfying :)
Dang dude! You look AMAZING!!!
SO proud of you!
Mom and Dad
K, you look great. To keep it off is a decision you make and stick with. Any exercise is good, I like plain ole walking--with proper shoes. It's cheap and you can do it anywhere, anytime. I'd just say be wary of much jogging as it's hard on your feet and many have serious and painful foot problems down the road. Keep up your excitement and commitment. I, too, love exercising. Love and Hugs, Mrs. A.
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