3.5 Month Check In

.....14 weeks later. The pictures speak for themselves.

Day 1

Week 14

167lbs                                                                                                142lbs

Week 8 Update

Here are my week 8 update pictures. Over 15 pounds down. Still about 15 left to lose to get to my final goal.

Slowly but surely.

Chapter 1

Here we are at the 6 week mark, although to me it feels like it's been months.

All of last week I was in a rut. Not physically but mentally. This rut is textbook for most people's weight loss journeys and I knew that, but it was still hard. What I mean by that is most people hit this point in weightloss where they are doing all this hard work. Saying no to foods that are unhealthy and choosing to work out even though they're tired and don't feel like it; but their body isn't showing the results they feel should be showing.

I knew I was doing something right because the scale was showing it, but when I looked in the mirror I couldn't help but be discouraged. This frustration could have led to a downward spiral but to be honest it actually just motivated me to do better. To run a little harder and to eat a little healthier.

I feel like mentally i'm over that rut simply because I came to terms with the fact that this whole losing 30 pounds thing takes time.

One of the things I do to stay motivated is look at inspiring before and after pictures of others who have lost weight. I have found that this visual motivation really helps me, but there were times when i'd see a before and after picture without dates on it and I would feel discouraged that I wasn't further in my own journey.

example

Then I read something that I really needed to see at that point.

That's exactly what I was doing. These pictures I was seeing with no dates on them could have taken that person years to get to that point so it was ridiculous for me to compare my 6 weeks to their years of hard work.

At the end of the day I simply have to take this whole thing one day at a time. That's not an easy pill to swallow but it's just the reality of weight loss.

Right now I am down 12 pounds (from 167 to 155) and chugging along nicely. My pants are getting slightly more loose which is encouraging and I'm just trying to keep my motivation up.

Week 4 Update

I saw this quote today and I thought to myself, EXACTLY!

I feel like I have gotten a very good start so far. This is just a quick update showing the itty bitty bit of progress I have made in the last 4 weeks. I am only a fraction of the way into this journey and have a long way to go, but it helps to acknowledge that all my hard work has actually done something. 

So keep in mind, the progress is not super obvious but this is almost 10 pounds down. 

Things are moving along great, although I have started to worry that I might actually be taking in too few calories in order to keep my milk supply up.

 I got a new fitness tracker which has been really motivating the last few days, and I have to give a shout out to my friend Nicole who has been an amazing accountability partner. We have both committed to doing a workout challenge for all of September and having someone to talk to about the ups and downs has been a huge factor in my success so far. 

Probably my biggest achievement in the last 4 weeks was working up to a 3 mile run! Right before I got pregnant with Judah I was running consistently and I would typically run around 3 or 4 miles so it felt amazing to be able to do that again. I feel very strong and very capable of achieving the goals I have set. 

Speaking of goals, I have decided on the date I want to set as a goal to lose the weight by, and that is Christmas. I would like to be at least 140 by Christmas, if not to my pre-pregnancy weight of 136 but that might be pushing it. I guess we will see! Thanks for following me on this journey! 

Week 3 Update

It's officially been three weeks since I started my new lifestyle changes and I must say I am pretty happy with how things are going so far. The first few weeks are kind of a toss up cause people don't always see results right away and that can be discouraging. I think part of the reason i'm seeing pretty good results already is because i'm breastfeeding so even if I don't get a workout in, i'm still automatically burning 300-500 calories a day.

I weigh myself often when i'm trying to loose weight and that is just a personal preference. I know for some that can be counter productive but for me it really motivates me to keep going or to do better.

I started day one at 167 pounds and this morning I weighed in at 159. (Yay for being in the 150s!)

So far the day to day changes have been fairly easy. The part that is the hardest for me is simply looking into the future and realizing how long I have to sustain this lifestyle in order to reach the goals that I have. It's kinda like, "Wow, I did so good today! I ate really healthy and got in a really good workout.....but wait...I have to do this tomorrow, and the next day, and every day after that if I want to lose this weight...."

That's just a little daunting, and I honestly have no idea how long to expect this to take.

So I really have had to just take it one day at a time. One decision at a time.

My Diet

For those interested I just wanted to go over my current diet restrictions and what I plan to do in the future.

So this is basically what I have done the last 3 times I've lost weight. I know what works for me and I kind of just stick to it, but it's not an particular diet trend. It's just eating a "balanced diet" and cutting out all the junk.

Usually I jumpstart my weightloss by doing a complete sugar fast for at least 2 weeks. This is basically just to detox myself from all the crap I was eating before and get into healthy eating mode. When I lost weight after I had Abigail I actually jumpstarted with a 3 day juice cleanse which was really hard but so worth it and that helped a lot. I can't do that while breastfeeding so I had to settle on a sugar fast.

I don't do a 100% sugar fast where I literally don't eat anything containing sugar. Mine is more just cutting out the obvious unnecessary sugar. For example I cut out ALL: ice cream, cake, pastries, juice, jelly, honey, chocolate, pop, etc.

After the two weeks are up I allow little treats here and there but the majority of the week I eat none of these things. I also just try to find replacement treats that are actually healthy. For example, instead of ice cream after dinner, having Vanilla Greek Yogurt with frozen berries.

This time I also decided to cut out coffee for the first two weeks, just cause I have been hesitant to be drinking so much caffeine while breastfeeding. I will probably drink decaf once the two weeks is up because I simply LOVE the taste and experience of drinking coffee.

I also cut out white carbs: white bread, white rice, flour tortillas. I will have (limited) whole wheat bread, brown rice, and whole wheat tortillas.

Honestly I go on Pinterest and there are millions of healthy food ideas and recipes. Mostly I just try to eat protein, veggies, fruits, healthy fats, healthy carbs, and a tiny bit of sugar.

That's really the gist of it. I eat smaller meals throughout the day which is suggested to keep your metabolism going all day, and also is suggested while breastfeeding. I'm finding that I really have to retrain myself to eat smaller portions and be OK when I'm not super full, especially when I go out to a restaurant.

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It has been just over a week of the start of my new diet and I can say that I am doing very well. It has actually been easier than I expected, mostly because it just feels so good to know that I am eating good again. I have been doing good with no sugar and honestly miss my coffee way more!

My plan right now is to continue this diet until basically I see the results I want and am at a good weight. At that point I allow myself to splurge more on things like pizza or cheeseburgers but only once in a while. I am also considering doing a workout program such as Beachbody's 21 Day Fix to help tone and tighten all the muscles.

Acceptance is the Key

I just read an article that really hit home for me when it comes to body image and I just had to share some thoughts on it. 

When it comes to my body, I have good days and I have bad days. Some days I see little bits of progress and I am proud. I feel positive about where I am at and I can look in the mirror and smile despite the imperfections. Then I have days where I just feel....well...fat and ugly. I look in the mirror and get depressed at the amount of things I want to change and at how long I know it will take to change them. 

I know that this weight loss journey is just as much mental as it is physical. One of the things I would say to myself is that I have to learn how to "love my body" despite its imperfections. This was an overused statement that I would just kind of say without thinking about too much, but if I'm honest with myself I know that I never came anywhere near achieving it. 

Since having Abigail I've been aware of the fact that my self image is extremely important because she will see the way I look at myself and follow in my footsteps. I don't ever want her to base her worth off of her appearance, even if she were to become overweight. I want to teach her about her worth in a healthy way that doesn't put too much emphasis on looks, but that starts with me and the way she sees me look at myself. 

So I just read this article that totally blows the whole "learn to love your body" thing right out of the water. The main point of the article is that 'love' is an extreme emotion, just like 'hate.' So really it is unrealistic to expect yourself to 'love' your post-baby body. What you should do is simply learn to accept it. Accept it for what it is, nothing more and nothing less. 

This was written in response to the article that Kerri Washington wrote for Self magazine about her post partum body. When someone asked Washington, "Do you feel like you're back?" she responded with, "You know what? I try really hard not to use that language, because it’s not about going backward in life." 

We shouldn't want to go "back" to how it was before because that would mean we wouldn't have our precious babies that we went through so much for. It's not about being "back to our pre-pregnancy" self because that's not possible. This process of pregnancy, birth, and motherhood has changed us in so many ways and to go back would be a shame. 

So with this knowledge I take one more step in my journey towards accepting this body and not letting it take away from this precious time I have with my newborn. 

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THIS is the original article I was talking about. 

THIS is the article about Kerri Washington's interview.