Weight Loss Wednesdays

New Year – New Me…..  Can I get anymore cliché? 

Yes, I’m jumping on the “lose weight after New Years” bandwagon.

I read somewhere that if you are on a diet, tell everyone you know.  That way you can be held accountable.  I think its good advice.  So here I am – telling everyone.  I’m going to start Weight Loss Wednesdays.  I will check in and let you all know how I am doing weekly. 

This Wednesday I thought a nice way to start would be to give a little recap of how I got to where I am today.  I’m not one to play the “oh I’m so fat” card.  I know I’m not huge.  And I know a lot of people heavier than I am probably look at me and think what’s the problem.  But I’m doing this for me.  I’m not comfortable with my current size.  I’m tired of sucking in my stomach for pictures or having Lyla stand in front of me (kids are GREAT props)!  I want to be comfortable in my body.  I want to be able to put a swimsuit on this summer and feel confident, not ashamed. 

This is what I looked like in high school:

 

 

 PS, I thought I was fat.  Oh what I wouldn’t give to be that “fat” again!  Keep in mind though, I ran around with a lot of petite girls who couldn’t break 100 pounds.  I weighed about 110 – 115 and was at least 5 inches taller than all of my friends.  I think in my mind I mistook tall and healthy for fat.  Just because I was bigger than everyone else.

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Here I am in the summer of 2003:

 

I was hot!  ;)  2003 was definitely my best year as far as looks go!  I would love to get back to this size.  Obviously I know I will look different.  I’m not 20 years old anymore and I have had a kid…. BUT  I bet I can get pretty close!  This is what I’m aiming for, my motivation.

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This picture was taken August 14, 2003 – the night Gary and I met. 

 

This is the girl he fell in love with.  The one he was so impressed by….. 

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This is a picture from my wedding, August 6, 2005.  Two years later. 

 

 I gained a LOT of weight REALLY fast.  For starters, I was in love, that means you eat a lot.  I turned 21, so I also drank a lot.  I moved out of my parents’ house and lived on my own for the first time.  Therefore I could eat ice cream for dinner if I chose to.  There wasn’t anyone to tell me I couldn’t.  If I chose to eat McDonalds for dinner 5 nights a week – go for it.  From there the weight just continued to pile on. 

 

 

I was at my heaviest before I got pregnant.  I weighed 168 pounds at my first doctor’s appointment when I got pregnant with Lyla.  I was told I was overweight and should only gain 20 pounds during my pregnancy.  

Ok here is one of the last picture taken of me while I was pregnant. 

 

 

This is the most I have ever and will ever weigh in my life.  185 pounds.  That’s where I topped off.  I was so afraid of breaking the 200 pound mark.

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Most moms get to blame their weight gain on their children.  I’m sort of the opposite.  I can thank Lyla for getting me back to a healthy weight.  This is me two months after she was born:

 

I can’t explain why or how I dropped the weight so fast.  I lost more weight than I gained pregnant.  I very quickly got down to around the 155 pound mark.  And that is where I have stayed.  I may gain or lose 5 pounds here and there.  Depending on the season, depending on what is going on. 

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In 2013 I was in two weddings so I was being careful and thinned out some…. But nowhere near where I want to be.

 

 

 

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So here is where I am today:

158 pounds.  I would love to lose 30 pounds.  I downloaded an app on my phone, I am using it to count calories.  I bought a treadmill.  I’m getting serious.  This is where the journey begins.  Check back in next week!