I was so excited when Susan asked me to join this weight loss journey blog and be a "poster." I enjoy blogging about my family and our home, so of course I jumped at the chance to write about loosing weight. Something I think 99% of women have had to deal with at some point in their life. Now I must be honest and I confess something to you all right here and now... I.LOVE.FOOD.
I do! Always have, too. I remember being teased about how much I ate growing up. My parents used to say that I had two hollow legs because they didn't know where I put all of the food I consumed. I could eat the boys under the table in high school. I was a high school athlete, and never struggled with weight issues until my first year of college. Still, what I call "weight issues" were just the normal Freshman 15... or 5 in my case. But that weight came off easy after I moved out of the dorm (and the meal plan) and I never struggled again. I was a size 0 (sometimes 00- yes that is such a thing!) when I graduated college. Did you just gag? I did. Anyway... then I walked down that magical aisle to the man of my dreams about 4 years ago. What is it about getting married that make the pounds just PILE on?!?! But again, I was able to adjust my diet slightly and get things under control. THEN we got pregnant. OH BOY! Now I have always had a "picky stomach"- later diagnosed as IBS and Lactose Intolerance. Fun times, let me tell ya! So the adult Rachel had never known the joys of ice cream and large amounts of pizza. But a curious thing happened when I got pregnant. My stomach issues temporarily went away! My OB told me this is fairly common. For the first time since I was a little kid, I was able to eat as much ice cream and pizza as I wanted! And I DID. Eat. A LOT!!! The staff at Larry's (no lie) used to moan and roll their eyes when I would walk in because my big fat pregnant self would eat at least two pizzas. Not including the dessert pizza! I am not sure they didn't consider limiting my weekly visits in the second trimester! HA! Now being that weight had never been an issue, and being that I was pregnant and "eating for two," and because I was now able to eat glorious food previously off limits, I took full advantage of this opportunity! FULL ADVANTAGE! And that resulted in a hefty weight gain. I don't know exactly how much, because towards the end I just asked that they stopped saying it out loud and I closed my eyes. But I know when I stopped looking was the point I hit 180 and was officially heavier than my husband. And I still had about 5 weeks to go. Yeah. It was bad! Now I am about 5'7" (although I like to claim 5'8") and have "long" features. My dad is 6'6" so I come by my length honestly. But even being long couldn't hide the weight that was left after my sweet 7 lbs bundle arrived in February 2010. Now 2010 was a stressful year for me. Not only did I give birth in February, but in April I kissed my soldier husband goodbye as he deployed for a year long mission in Eastern Europe. (He will be home next week and I can't wait!!! The photo above was taken on his 9 day R&R in November.) So when he left, and I had a two month old to care for alone, I turned to food as my comfort. Couple that with the fact that my darling baby wouldn't breast feed and I pumped for as long as I could (only 7 weeks), I gained some weight. :) So finally, about 3 1/2 weeks ago, I did it. Months of thinking about it, talking about it, I just did it! I signed up for WW online. When I started, I weighed 166. Now I don't have a scale that does ounces, so I have to loose pounds to show anything scale wise. Right now, it reads 158. My goal is to get down those two more pounds (or at least one more) before my husband comes home next month, for a total of 10lbs. My final goal is 130. That might be stretching it a bit, but that is what I weighed when I got pregnant. So that is my desired weight. We shall see! I KNOW weight watchers works! My mom has lost a total of 103 lbs (yes you read that right!) and is a lifetime member! She is such an inspiration to me and I look to her for some much guidance and encouragement. If you ever have any questions about WW, and are doing it online like me, please let me know and I will give you her email address. I know she would love to help or encourage you! I don't cook much right now, since it is just me, but I plan on getting back to it when Cole gets home. So I hope to post some yummy dishes as well as borrow ideas from others! For right now, here is a yummy eggs Florentine recipe that is actually a WW recipe. It is SUPER yummy and a great lunch or brunch dish. And I think you could add a slice or two of fat free turkey lunch meat for some more protein and not change the points value much, if any! Man my mouth is watering now...I need to go eat dinner! I have 18 pts left! Good eating for me tonight! HAHA! Oh, and here is my tip- I am not a huge breakfast person, so I will eat a piece of fruit- usually an apple or orange- for breakfast. It doesn't cost me any points, and it holds me over until lunch! Have a great week! Enjoy this great weather that they say is going to happen soon!
Yay, Rachel. Thanks so much for sharing! I look forward to your recipes and tips!
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