Body in Motion.

Back in March I ranted a bit, on the blog, about not being satisfied with my weight.  My dear friend, Emily, saw that post and sent me an email about a fitness program she was engaged in.  I thought the regimen looked promising; but at the time I wasn't ready to make any lifestyle changes.

I felt that I had very valid excuses for not being physically active.  I mean, I have 3 children and my jogging stroller only seats 2.  Cohen has never been a good sleeper, and I wasn't about to sacrifice any of that sleep by getting up early to exercise.  Nick's work schedule varies all of the time, and that makes it difficult to find regular time to exercise.  I just plain LOVE food, and wasn't about to give up eating what I wanted.  I kept telling myself that my hypothyroidism was the main villain behind my lack of energy and my not-so-thin figure.

So, Fast-Forward to May.  I was having a myriad of problems.  My blood pressure was high (I've actually, always had blood pressure on the lower end).  And I was getting random chest pains.  It felt like my heart was having muscle spasms.  It was very painful.  I developed a bad case of acne on my forehead.  The headaches I had when I was pregnant with Cohen were persisting.  And let's not forget about the stress-incontinence!  I dared not jump on our new trampoline with the kids.

I did a little reading... and a common thread through all of these ailments was: the least invasive way to rid myself of them was via weight loss.

I still was not convinced.

Until, we went to St. George, back in May.  I looked at the pictures of me in a bathing suit.  Gross.

I decided to do something about it.

A neighborhood friend, Wendi, suggested I look in to a program called: "Spark People".  I downloaded the app for it, to my iPhone.  The app has you put in your information, and a goal weight, and date.  It then, calculates a eating and exercise program for you.

I knew I was wearing a size 14, at the time.  But I had no idea where my weight was?  I nearly died when I stepped on the scale and it read 180 lbs.!  At my 6 week appointment, after I had Cohen, I had weighed in at 174.  I was surprised that my weight had gone up since then.

I deleted the bathing suit pictures of me, from our St. George vacation.  But, just to give you an idea: here are two pictures of me from May.  The killer thing is that, in both of them, I am wearing spanx!

I started Spark People on June 1st. My only real option for exercise was to walk on our cheap-o treadmill. I fired up my ancient iPod, and listened to my 80's rock music while I walked.
As soon as I put Cohen down for his first nap, in the morning, I go jump on the treadmill.
The girls make this very tricky for me sometimes.  They are always vying for my attention while I walk.  They will do things, like throw toys on the treadmill in front me.  So, it's more like I'm doing an obstacle course, than a walk.  But I persist.

Changing my eating habits has been easier than I thought it would be too.  I had no idea what my caloric intake was before I started doing Spark People?  And therein was the problem.  I've learned a lot about portion control.  I love that I can still eat whatever I want.  Just in moderation.


With the exception of our trips Colorado, and Wolf Creek; I have been disciplined in what I eat.  You should be able to indulge on vacation, right?!
And I am happy to say that it has paid off.
I have lost 20 pounds since the beginning of June, and my size 10 jeans are getting loose.  But more than that: my blood pressure is on the lower side again.  My heart pains, and headaches have stopped.  I have more energy.  I can jump on the trampoline without fear of wetting my pants.  My self image has improved.  The problem with my acne ended up being solved with a prescription medication, not exercise, but you can't win em' all, eh? I'd like to loose another 20 pounds.  And I think I am off to a good start.  I know I'll never be a size 2, or even a 4.  But I'm OK with that.   I took these two pictures right before I did this blog post.  No spanx, this time. 

Forgive the dirty mirror.  It's unavoidable in a house with little children.
I made peace a long time ago with the fact that I'd always be curvy.  It's my body-type.  I'm OK with that.
I did expand my workout repertoire.  I bought a work-out game for our XBOX Kinect, I really like it's Yoga classes.  And I started running (both on the treadmill, and outside- when I can sneak it in).  I'm a slow runner, but I never have been fast, so it wasn't surprising to me that I didn't suddenly turn in to a speedster.  Again, I'm OK with that.  I did start having pain around my knee.  My friend, Caroline (she's a personal trainer, and all-around expert at many things) deduced that I was having problems with my IT band.  I'm working through it.

So, I've been doing this weight-loss "thing" for 4 months now.  I haven't wanted to mention it before, because I didn't really want to put it "out there" if I failed.  And, it's not like I'm some amazing success story... But I feel better, and that's what matters.
Now back to more posts about my wonderful family, and less about me.