My Journey to Weight Loss

It has been a fun and challenging journey trying to lose my baby weight. I never knew how easy it was to put on the pounds after giving birth. Already being overweight with a baby, and then going through the months of getting used to having a baby, I really put off exercising and eating right, which all added up to me having enough of how I looked and decided to give it a try. I never really dieted before. Frankly, I've always been very active and never really had to worry about my weight. I have learned a lot about my own metabolism through this process. Here are my statistics:

(In full disclosure, this post has been really hard for me to put together. It is very personal to me, and sharing these things with other makes me very nervous! Please keep anything on this post private. This is one of the reasons I wanted to make my blog private. I would really appreciate it.)

Goal Weight: 130

Pre Pregnancy Weight: 143

9 Months Pregnant: 170

8 months later: 153

March 25th: 132

And here is the tracking sheet of my weight loss so far:

Jan 1-153

Jan 7-151

Jan 30-146

Feb 7-142

Feb 9-139

Mar 3-136

Mar 9-135

Mar 11-133

Mar 23-132

Total Weight Lost: 21 pounds

My original goal weight was 130, and I am frustrated I haven't reached it yet, but I am determined to do it and this blog post hopefully will help me focus on getting to that goal! After that, 125 is my end goal. I know I can do it, I just need to continue my exercise program and continue eating whole foods.

Exercise Program:

3-5 days a week: Jillian Michaels Killer buns & thighs, Ripped in 30, and Killer Abs

4 days a week: I work out with my students at school

Foods I try to avoid: French fries, soda, high calorie desserts, pizza, fast food, red meat, high carb food etc. 

Foods I try to eat more of: Spinach, apples, kale, green smoothies, lots of fruits, vegetable soups, whole wheat tortillas and bread, (basically more of a plant based diet). 

One of the main reasons I started this whole thing was because of my health. My thyroid was out of whack for several months after I had Autumn. I was exhausted all of the time! I wanted to sleep all day long. I had to work, and also be responsible for my baby. I felt so inadequate that I could not be the person I so wanted to be. I had no energy to exercise, let along watch what I ate. By the end of Christmas I decided to make a big change. I had Spencer's full support. He even did a workout with me once (still need to work on him exercising with me more). He said if I reached my goal weight he would buy me a new wardrobe (which I did get some new clothes already:) The incentive was there, and I think that made all of the difference. I bought my workout dvds, my 5 pound weights, and I went to the store to purchase new foods to follow the Jillian Michaels diet plan. I started seeing results in just 2 weeks! It was amazing...feeling faster, stronger, healthier- it was an amazing feeling.

I still am not feeling 100%, but the dieting and exercising has made a dramatic improvement in how I feel. I would say I started at feeling 60% better, and now I feel 80-85% better. I can honestly say this past year has been one of the most trying times of my life since I have had all of these health issues (not just my thyroid. There have been other things wrong like lightheadedness, headaches, etc). There were certain days where I didn't know how I was going to make it through without passing out. It was so hard. It still is hard, but it is getting better. Heavenly Father really knew what I needed to learn. We are given trials that will help us grow and become better.

This has also been a year where I have learned the most about who I am, who I want to become, and where I want my life to go from here. It was not just about losing weight. It was about taking control of my life. Once I am 100% healed, I plan to live each day to its fullest. Never taking my health for granted again. Loving my family to the best of my capability, serving others around me, and becoming the daughter that heavenly father has always known I could become. I also want my dad to be proud of me in heaven. I know he has been watching out for me and is so proud of the things I have learned so far. If there is something in your life that you want to change, figure out first why you need to change it, then pray to Heavenly Father to help you find a way to overcome whatever it is you need to overcome. I promise he will help you!

Here are some before and after pictures. I know I am no where being skinny, but I am happy with the progress I have made so far :)

                                                                                

Thanksgiving: left

Present Day: Right

September: Left

Present Day: Right

                               

Now

I feel so much healthier, happier, and more confident! My old clothes fit again...and I am even a little smaller than where I was before I had Autumn.

 

And I bought my first pair of skinny jeans!

Before I started my exercise and diet routine (Day 1)

I think this was week 2 of ripped in 30

  Day 7 (don't mind the rolls!)

Week 3 or 4 

And as of March 25th, here is my before and after look 

My goal is to get to 125!! Only 7 more to go   

                               

March 25th

It feels great to be where I am at. I hope I have maybe inspired others to start the challenge of living a healthier lifestyle. I have heard a couple of people say I have been a big inspiration, which makes it all worth it. Plus, when people say "have you lost weight"? that makes me so happy! It is definitely a lot of work and requires a lot of discipline. Mind over matter has never rung so true. Thanks for all your support and positive words! More to come soon!