After posting last weeks post with a photo from my UK trip in September I realized that I actually have lost weight, I see myself in the mirror every day so I don’t notice. I knew I had to get smaller pants for work because they fall down when I put my phone in my pocket but when I look in the mirror I just see how much more I have to go not the progress I have made so far. Let’s start with how did I get to be so fat…
Weight has been a struggle for me my entire life. Growing up I was a healthy weight then I broke my ankle and put some weight on in junior high. I lost the weight walking with the moms in the neighborhood in the mornings and got back to average. In high school I did cheerleading. Nothing can make you feel fatter than being a size 12 in a size zero to 5 world. That started my struggle. In high school I worked and ate at Burger King where I worked. All that fast food made it a struggle to keep the weight off. I joined my first gym and took step aerobics every morning at 5:30 am. By graduation I looked great and was almost at my goal weight.
From high school on my weight went up usually from excessive eating out, an injury that had me laid up or both. Followed by me recovering, getting irritated that I was overweight and starting to watch what I eat and exercising until I got back in shape again. I’d stay in shape until the next injury and I’d start the cycle all over again. All those times I was young and didn’t have kids. Life is different now.
My current weight loss struggle started almost a decade ago. Yes, I said decade. I fell and shattered my leg landing myself in a wheelchair for just over 6 months. The weight piled on. But, as in the past I healed up and started to get in shape again. I got married. I got pregnant. I got on bed rest. That baby had 2 congenital heart defects and was 6 weeks premature. He was in the hospital for 69 days after his birth. All that sitting in the hospital and eating take out not my husband and I put a lot of weight on and I blossomed you to my highest weight ever at 323 lbs! Once life settled and the baby was home we made a change and decided to lead a heart healthy lifestyle to set a good example for our son. We started eating right and exercising and loosing weight. I was doing awesome! Then I got pregnant again. My husband was running marathons and I was still doing a 5k a month while pushing the baby in the stroller until I was 6 months pregnant and the baby was shrinking my lung capacity.
Baby #2 was born healthy but 2 small kids and a full time job left me so sleep deprived that I started eating candy when feeding the baby in the middle of the night to stay awake. Not only did I have the baby weight to loose but the weight I gained from all that sugar. After baby #2 I struggled with energy level. I had trouble sleeping at night and still have nightmares from the PTSD I struggled with after having baby #1 and still struggle with today. My weight started to creep back up.
Now I had starts and stops in the last few years But when baby #2 turned 4 in August and I decided the “baby” is no longer an excuse and I need to get off my butt and get in shape for real. I had my UK trip in September and my birthday in October so I decided I’m getting serious after my birthday. Since that point I have been all about getting my eating habits under control. In just over a month I have lost 21.1 lbs. I still have a long way to go so I just see the work that needs to be done not what I have accomplished so far. Then I saw my face in the photo I posted last week and having just worked on our family Christmas cards I noticed a difference in my face. Now I have a long way to go still. But it’s inspiring.
Working Mom - Travel Dreams 