Before and After

Well, I am still 152 pounds. I've decided that it's good enough for now. Anyway, I had made it a goal to lose fifty pounds, but forty is pretty good, right? I'm actually down 58 from my pregnant peak! I'm within my recommended weight limit and just don't have the motivation to give up treats, so I'll just call it good. I'll start out with a photo the morning I delivered my baby. Can you tell I am so ready? I definitely was-all 210 pounds of me.

This is a very flattering picture, I know. Anyway, six weeks postpartum I still weighed an unfortunate 192 pounds. This next one is actually nearly two months later.

I had already lost 25 pounds and was down to 185. Pretty sad that "that" was 25 pounds down, but at least I was headed in the right direction. I guess I was only really 7 pounds down, because I don't really count the first six weeks' weight loss.
This next one was taken at the beginning of April when I was down to 172.

This was taken on Mother's Day (May 10) when I weighed in at 163 pounds.
This next one was taken on June 7 when I was down to 158 pounds.

July 3 I was to 155.
By August 6, I had reached 153.

I have basically just been maintaining since the beginning of August. Here is a full body shot of me at 153. I even had keys and my phone in my pockets.

Here is one more for side by side comparison.

Obviously I didn't take any specific before and after pics. I actually take almost all of our family photos so I'm hardly in any of them. I had pretty slim pickin's, which is why I'm zoning in half of these.

Well, I hope that if you feel like you look a bit like I used to, there is a lot of hope. Even if you're like me and can't seem to keep up the eating right forever, don't give up the exercise. You'll feel so much better- inside and out!
Keep at it! I'll do what i can to keep at it too!

Still Progressing

I'm still here and going strong. I've just been kind of lame about updating this blog. I'm down to 156. That means I'm down 36 pounds since mid-January and 54 since my peak at nine months pregnant.

I have still been eating right (mostly) and exercising regularly, except for last week when I had a bad cold. I haven't been as good about recording what I've been eating, but I'm determined to improve

A few Saturdays ago I ran the Heart of Hollday 5k with my mom. I hadn't run an organized race since a half marathon back in 2003, but it was great. We didn't push ourselves much; we made it in less than 36 minutes. Anyway, it was a lot of fun and made me want to run in more races.
I know that I kind of showed it in my last post, but it's amazing how much better I look since I've lost the weight. Chubby can be cute, but I sure feel a lot more beautiful slimmed down. It's pretty crazy that only three months ago I was 176, just over five months ago I was 192 and six and a half months ago I was 210 (still pregnant). It's pretty motivating for me to keep it up!

So, I am within my healthy body weight range now and have only 14 more pounds to go to reach my goal weight. At that point I can fine tune it to exactly where I want to be.

Slimming Down

I don't know that these photos really illustrate my point, but I am pleased that my face is really slimming down. I don't know that I was super-chubby post-pardum, but I certainly look better now. I'm pretty sure that my face is even a little slimmer now, but I'll wait a month until I'm in the mid-150s (hopefully).

My body is following suit. I didn't take any specific before pictures, or progress pictures either, so I can just pull from random photos. I'll save the full body before and after photos for later.

Baggy Pants

Never before have I been so excited about wearing baggy pants. Not all of my pants are too loose, but I have a pair of jeans that I could barely button a couple months ago and now I'd have to wear a belt or they might fall off. SWEET! I still am only half way to my goal, so I'm not buying any new clothes yet, so for a few months my acceptable selection of clothing will be slim and maybe a little too loose, but I'm pretty excited about it!
Disclaimer: That is not me in the photo.

Getting Fit

I can do it! So, this is rather embarrassing, but six weeks postpartum I still weighed 192 pounds. I set a goal to lose 50 pounds. I wasn't exactly sure how long it would take me. I knew I could do it in less than a year, but how much less I didn't know.

Anyway, I started exercising diligently 4-6 times a week. I've been running, rollerblading, doing aerobics and doing resistance training with weights. I started keeping track of my weight on Gyminee. After a while I got smart enough to start keeping track of my workouts and food so that I could keep track of my caloric intake.

I usually have my kids with me, so I just pack them in the double stroller- not a sleek jogger, but the gigantic kind that the carrier hooks into. It's basically like pushing a 70 pound shopping cart up the street. I figure it's great exercise that way. I've trained Parker to call out "Way to go, Mommy!" and "Go faster!"

I am proud to announce that I am 1/3 of the way to my goal. I am 175.8 pounds today. Yesterday was the ten week mark, so I've been losing just over 1.5 pounds per week. If I can keep up the same rate of weight loss, then I will be 2/3 of the way there (160 lbs.) by June 1st and meet my goal of 142 pounds by August 10, which fittingly is the week we're going up to Bear Lake on vacation.



Like I said, it's kind of embarrassing to admit my weight, but I'm making progress and that is what matters. Besides, maybe it will help motivate someone else. I am determined to get to a healthy body weight. It's empowering to know that I can do it.