Journey of 35 Pounds

I started getting serious about losing the last of my baby-weight on October 16th 2012, when I joined My Fitness Pal. It's a website that helps you figure your caloric needs and goals, charts your progress while logging your food and exercise, and offering a community of support. I had never even heard of it until some mamas in my online mommy group were talking about it (thanks Laura S and Sarah H.!) and I had to get in on the action and I am so glad I did! I was 148 lbs at the time. Now, 9 weeks later, I am down to 137! That's 11 pounds in 2 (ish) months and an average of 1.35 pounds a week. I am really excited about my progress and have hit my first goal point nearly 3 weeks early!

It hasn't even been as hard as I expected. Some days (ok, many hahaha) I am either too lazy or too busy with the business to "workout", but the site has opened my eyes to how many calories I actually burn from daily activities and how to maximize seemingly trivial actions to burn more calories (folding clothes while standing burns double the amount of calories as folding while sitting does!). Who knew that grocery shopping burns (for me) nearly 300 calories?! Do it while babywearing a 20ish pound baby and you've actually gotten a really good workout without even meaning to ; ) By showing graphs and trends, MFP also opened my eyes to my hidden weaknesses (late night leftovers monching and drinking extra calories through soda and juices).

The change has been monumental in bringing back my confidence in my body. Last year, during my pregnancy, I spent 4 months on extremely restrictive bedrest. I'm talking unimaginable restrictive... I had to lay on my left side, feet elevated, only moving enough to take a drink/eat or change the channel/text, and only getting up to use the bathroom. I wasn't even allowed to be up long enough to make myself a bowl of cereal due to the risk of fetal cardiac arrest from my dangerously high blood pressure that skyrocketed with my slightest movement. Months of not moving (and being at the whim of whatever fast food my busy friends and family could drop off for me) tool me from a pre-pregnancy 116 pound size 2 to a post-pregnancy 172 pound size 14 (considered obese for my 4'11 small frame) and shattered my self-esteem.

The first part of my weight loss journey was painstakingly slow. A lot of bad eating habits had carried over from when I was on bedrest, and I had been immobile for so long that the slightest hint of exercise was extremely exhausting. As my strength returned, I started taking Cadence on walks, and babywearing to boot. The pounds came off slowly but surely, but by mid-summer I hit an unflinching plateau. I tried increasing my cardio. I tried only drinking water. I tried to go low carb. I even tried a master cleanse that promised to rid my body of toxins and help me shed at least (!) 10 lbs. as the toxins left my body. Instead, it left my nauseous and too weak to even lift my daughter from her crib.

I began to feel defeated, that maybe 148-150 pounds was just my post-baby size. The thought that I would spend the rest of my life in this body was extremely depressing and was taking a toll on my relationship. Now that I am seeing such amazing progress, I am motivated to put even more effort into the weight loss. I know I will never have the body I did before my pregnancy. This hips have given birth! But I can be at a happy, healthy weight for my height and frame and feel good in clothes (and out of them!), which is just about where I'm at now. I would like to lose 8-10 more pounds and start focusing on toning. Buh-bye bat wing arms!

{*I have not been compensated in anyway for endorsing My Fitness Pal*}