The Weight Loss Journey

"Weight-Loss". That ugly 2 word phrase that immediately associates itself with other nasty little words as "fat", "overweight", "diet" etc.etc. O.k... I know it's not particularly something that everyone is comfortable talking about, but we're going to do it here on The Blog.

In order to have something to write on The Blog other than about JB or our children (although they can be quite entertaining at times), I'm also going to let you in on a slightly personal part of my life. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that I'm overweight. I know, I know... "You shouldn't talk about yourself that way", "You're beautiful just the way God made you", "You have a great personality". OK. Trust me, I don't have self-esteem issues and I've learned to deal with my looks/weight over time. But, having all that said, I still need to lose weight. 

On Mother's day 2011, after taking pictures with my boys on our "lovely" front porch, I saw myself as others see me for the first time in several months. 

I wasn't very happy about my appearance and a few hours later when I confirmed my weight on the Wii, I could see why! I weighed xxx.0 lbs! Really xxx.0lbs!!?? (Now, when I get to my goal weight, I'll let you know how much I weigh and you can do the math from there, but for now, we'll just use letters to save a little of my dignity.)


History: I've battled with my weight for years. I was overweight in High School. I lost weight in college and finally got to within 20lbs of my goal weight when IT happened. I fell in love and got married. Here's a pic of me at my smallest (Fact:  a mere -98lbs from today's weight!)

 

Needless to say, I all went downhill from there! Happiness adds the weight. Over the course of 2 years of married bliss I gained about 30lbs. I was in the process of losing the weight again when another IT happened. I got pregnant... with twins... and gained 60lbs. Here's a pic of me at 7 months

Sadly, I didn't lose any of the baby weight (it only redistributed to other parts of my body) which brings us back to present day. Mother's Day 2011 and the quest to lose weight.

Ok, now let's skip ahead 1 month to June 14. I decided to throw caution to the wind and join a weight loss group. Let's just say... good move :) First night's weigh in I weighed xxy.2lbs. Now, for all you math geniuses out there, that's a loss of only 1.8lbs from my Mother's Day weight of xxx.0lbs. That's -1.8lbs in 1 month--- not a good trend. Let's just say... I need that accountability. From hence-forth, we will refer to my starting weight as xxy.2lbs... to save confusion.

The weight-loss group claims on there paperwork, that you can expect to lose an average of 1-2 lbs per week. OK, that's fine by me, but being as heavy as I am, I kind of expected the first 20lbs to come off just by uttering the word "diet", but, much to my dismay... it didn't. Second week weigh-in, I was down -2.8lbs. Great start (that's more than I lost in a month on my own!), but less than I was hoping for. I'm an impatient person, so I suppose this is yet another way that God is teaching me patience!

Ok, I'm going to jump ahead to present day to save you all some boredom. Last weigh-in I was down to a weight of xyy.0lbs. Translated: a loss of -11.2lbs! Just in case you don't think that's not a lot, go get the sugar and flour out of your pantry and tote them around for a while and you'll start to appreciate the weight-loss! My weekly average is 1.9lbs (pretty accurate to what their paperwork says).Just call me Steady-Eddie.

Setting goals really helps me keep on track, so for my reference, here's a list of my goals for the next few months:
 I hope to have lost, by:
Sept 3 (Anniversary)  -20lbs(from starting weight)
Halloween    -              -36lbs
Thanksgiving              -43lbs
Christmas                  - 50lbs
Valentines 2012       - 65lbs
End of Tax Season  - 80lbs
June 14,2012 (1 year) - 98lbs. 

After the one year mark, we'll re-evaluate and set new goals for the last 25lbs. I know they tell you not to focus on long-term goals, but I have to see the long-term to help focus on the short term.

Here's to seeing less of me next week :)