It's not so hard!

I was going through old pictures recently and It made me realize how far I've come in my health and weight loss.  I really have never been one to give numbers at all because I'm embarrassed, but, hey, why not?   Remember im 5'7.  When I got married, I was 135 pounds.  When I got pregnant, I was 140.  My wedding gown was a size 4 and my clothes when I got pregnant were a size 6 or so.  I gained 60 pounds while pregnant, so that topped me off at 200 pounds!  When I got home from the hospital, I thought for sure the weight would have been gone, you know I just had a 7 pound baby so for sure the 60 pounds would be gone, right?? Well, I busted my butt and worked out and ran for months and months just to get down to 145 which was close to the weight I was when I got pregnant and I was happy.  I was still a size 8 and not in near as good of shape, but I was fine.  Then I gained another 5 pounds over the course of the next year until I got pregnant with Garrett.  I was 150 pounds and a size 8-10 when I got pregnant with Garrett.  With him I gained 35 pounds, a I was about 185 when I had him.  This time I didn't have as much weight to lose to be in pre Garrett clothes, so it didn't take as much effort.  I in fact got down to my pre Corbin weight at 140 when Garrett was about a year old.  But yet again, I was content and stopped even caring what I was eating or if I was being healthy at all.  This made me start gaining weight again! Arg!  I hit 148 pounds and got upset and decided that I couldn't just diet to lose weight, I needed to change the way I lived.  I needed to exercise and pay attention to what was going into my mouth, not just to get to a certain weight, but because it was healthy for me.  It needs to not just be a short period of time but a life time change.

So,  in order for me to just pay attention to how unhealthy I was eating, I downloaded the my fitness pal app.  Not only could I see calories, I could see all the other nutrients that I was under or over eating on.   I was amazed.  I mean, in all honesty, I'm sure that on some days where I was bored, I was probably eating up to 3 or 4 thousand calories a day!  What was I thinking?!?  It has taken just the eye opening of writing everything down to see.   Now, I have NOT given up the things I love.  I still love chips and salsa.  I just use different types of chips that are better for me.  And I still love cheese, I just pay attention and use 1/4 cup instead of a full cup!  I still drink my diet cokes (don't judge!), they are my guilty pleasure for sure!  I cheat once a week and allow myself to enjoy a full fat, full cheese meal (or whatever I happen to be craving!),

The other change I made was I started exercising!  I used to get on my elliptical and try to burn enough calories only to get to where my weight was comforortabke.  Now,  I am running outside because it can be fun.  I run in fun run races to enjoy it!  I do circuit training and weights on days I don't run, just to make running easier and more fun!  I enjoy having goals and making them.  I don't have to be gone from my family for very long and I still am doing cardio and strength most days. It's good for me in the long run and good for me now.

I have been doing these things for 10 weeks now.  And I'm down to 128 pounds and in a size 4-6.   And I am LOVING not only my body, but the way I feel, and the fun I'm having and honestly the recipes I'm trying.  I love food more than maybe anyone reading this, and I can still promise you that something like this is possible, and anyone can lose weight the right way!  

Here is a picture of me after Garrett and me now :)