Growing up I could eat anything. I could eat all the sweets I wanted and never gain weight. A few things helped with that though. I had a fast metabolism, my mom cooked healthy food, and I played sports. I never thought about it till I was in my middle twenties. That is when I went on my first diet. It was the Atkins diet. Loved it. I stopped drinking regular coke and started drinking diet (My roommate thought this was hilarious cause I always said they tasted horrible). I lost ten pounds. I felt great.
Fast forward about five years. I had met the man who would become my husband. We lived in different cities, about 45 minutes apart. There was a lot of driving on both our parts. So we ended up eating out most nights. Within one month I gained ten pounds. Ouch. It is so easy to gain the weight, not so easy to lose it.
Fast forward about three more years. I’ve had two beautiful girls. While pregnant I ate everything. I took advantage of the fact that I could. When my second daughter was born I weighted 180. I had two under two. Dieting was not on my agenda. I just wanted to make it through the day.
About a year later I was ready. My mind was made up to lose some weight. I researched a few diets and decided on the Slimfast diet. I bought breakfast and snack bars. I usually ate fast food for lunch so I did research. I never ate more than 500 calories at lunch. I was determined. It helped that my husband supported me. It helped that my children were young enough that I really didn’t have to cook for them. I lost forty pounds. Woohoo! I was excited. I weighted less than I did when I met my husband.
Now the problem of keeping it off. (Laugh)
I did what most of us do. I got complacent. I got lazy. I stopped exercising. I gained twenty pounds back. I’m not too disappointed, just a little. I know that this year I will do it again. My children are now 6 and 4. The perfect age to make me play and unknowingly get exercise. I want them to understand about being healthy. My husband still supports me (he lost weight at police academy and that is a major incentive for me). I bought a Fitbit at Christmas. I was challenging myself until I broke my ankle.
So what am I going to do? Just because I’m sitting does not mean I eat more. I actually haven’t gained any weight during this time. Yay! So while I’m still recovering I’m going to use this time to plan my strategy. I should be up and running, so to speak, by summer. I am planning meals, outings with the family, etc. I’m researching healthy meals. I don’t want to lose weight and be healthy just for me but for my family too. I don’t want to be too tired to play with them. Plus I want them to know what a healthy lifestyle looks like.
So here is to the start of something great! Again.
crazyandblessedlife 