My Weight(y) Issue

The Rockin' Redneck Mommy is not so good about keeping up with her blog. Surprise! So, now that we've got that out of the way, here's what's on my mind today.

In August 2007, a year and a half after having my first son, my doctor pretty much told me to lose weight or risk facing some fairly serious health problems. My diet was horrible and exercise was practically nonexistent. As a result, my cholesterol levels were over the normal range, and my blood pressure (though not in the "dangerous" zone) was elevated. So I started the whole "diet and exercise" routine, and a year later, had lost close to 35 pounds. I looked great and felt even better. However, another year down the road found me pregnant with my second son. Now, mind you, I kept on exercising through all but the last several weeks of my pregnancy, but I had gained a few pounds...well, ok, about 15 (that hurts to admit!)...in the process of trying of trying to conceive said son. Although I managed (somehow) to stay within the acceptable weight gain limits, I'm still hanging on to some of my pregnancy weight...and the weight that I gained beforehand.

My wake-up call came yesterday afternoon. My mother-in-law threw a housewarming party for my youngest brother-in-law. Armed with her trusty camera, she snapped pictures of everything and everyone so that she could chronicle the event on Facebook. She has a tendency to catch one somewhat unprepared as she snaps away, so I'd love to be able to blame bad positioning and surprise for the horrible picture she took of me...but I can't. When I saw the picture she had tagged of me, I almost cried. I look HUGE! No, really, I mean Marge-large. It's baaaaaaad. I realized that all the work I had done three years ago had disappeared. Talk about a slap in the face.

Now, in my defense, I will say that I did not gain ALL of my weight back. Not even at my heaviest point in my pregnancy did I gain back up to where I started from in 2007, but I have a long way to go to get to where I want to be.

So, I'm setting my goal. And I'm writing about it on here so that I will (hopefully) feel a sense of accountability to stay on track. I need to lose 3o lbs. to put me at the goal weight I had for myself back before my pregnancy. Which, coincidentally, I never did reach during my first efforts.

How am I going to get there? I've found that, in order for me to drop ANY weight, exercise is a must. Dieting alone simply doesn't cut it for me. Therefore, I've got to get AT LEAST 3o minutes of good heart-thumping cardio a minimum of 4 days a week, preferably 5. Next, I'm going to have to work on portion control. I like to eat, so this is a daunting task for me. I'm going to have to be a LOT more conscious of how much I'm eating; otherwise, I'll sabotage all of my exercise attempts, and that would suck. Another issue for me is emotional eating, which sometimes causes me to eat when I'm not truly hungry, which is a big part of why my behind won't fit into my skinny jeans at this point in time. But, don't they say that admitting the problem is half the battle won? We'll see.

As you can see, I have my work cut out for me--even more so, since I have to schedule my life around a husband and two small children. But hey, that's life. Other women do it, so why can't I? I don't want to keep being the Fat Mommy I saw in that picture. And so, my weight loss journey begins...