The First One

Good Morning!  I wanted to start a blog, but of course like my conversations, my ideas of what I might blog about are all over the place!  I'm starting this blog to document the next lap of my weight loss journey.  I started off as a normal kid.... actually somewhat skinny. 

My blogging abilities are nil, this pic just keeps turning!  I was approx. 10 years old here.

 

During puberty I put on some weight in my lower abdomen and thighs which got me labelled as "fat" all through junior high.  In high school I wore that label.  Looking back at those pics, I really looked pretty good!  A few sit ups and a little less mashed potatoes and I would've looked AWESOME! 


Here I am around age 14.

And here's me at age 17.

Through my adult years I struggled with my weight and had a lot of personal issues that contributed to frequently gaining or losing large amounts of weight in very unhealthy ways.  As my lifestyle sorta stabilized I met and married my husband (going on 8 years now) and we started our family. 

My wedding day <3

After my second child I tipped the scales at 225 pounds!!!! 

A friend and I began counting calories and I lost a whopping 40 pounds 185!!!...then I got pregnant with baby #3.  After babe was born I was at 210 pounds.  Resuming my caloric restriction I shaved off 25 pounds, 185 again....and then baby #4 on the way :)  For some reason I left no donut, burger or cake uneaten during my last pregnancy.  I knew this was our last baby and I way OVER indulged!  Baby was born Oct 5, which of course was followed by Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Add in an attempt at homeschooling and by February I beat my old score of 225 by 15 pounds...240!
Ugh.  Me?  Really!?  Ew.  I was so unhappy.  I cannot find one pic of me at that weight.  Kinda nice   actually... maybe I should pretend it never happened ;-)  I started counted calories again but found it increasingly difficult.  Almost a year later I had only lost 20 pounds. 

Finally, my friend and I made a New Years Resolution (cheesy, I know) to go to the gym 3 days a week.  We started the second week of January 2013 and decided to run.  We used the couch to 5K running plan and although we never ran 5k, in the end we had the stamina to run for 30 mins!  Pretty impressed I will say.  In just 3 months I lost 30 pounds!!!  Staggering. 

This picture is actually incredibly flattering, I have a VERY accurate
depiction of my current weight coming for tomorrow.

Right around then I was unable to fulfill my commitment to the gym.  My husband's work hours picked up and finding child care for 4 children is more than a little challenging.  I continued trying to eat well but lost my focus on exercise.  I lost another 5 pounds in April but then I got stuck at 185 and I've hovered around that number for all of May and June.

Time to go get the two oldest kidlets off to school.  More about me tomorrow. 

Niftymamaof4