The Skinny on Getting Skinny

I’ve never been a stick-thin model type person. I think the smallest I ever was was a size three. And that was waaaaay back in Junior High when I was finally able to fit my ridiculously short legs and oversized rear into a pair of jeans from the Junior’s Department. Even those didn’t last long. I jumped from a size three to a five and was a size seven and then back to a three/four when I got pregnant with Noah.

I’ve always been relatively “average” when it comes to size.

Size 7/8 jeans, Medium Size shirt, 7.5 in shoes. Everything about my size was average.

When I met Josh I weighed around 114. The smallest I have ever been in my life. I was competing in pageants and was wearing a size four. I was working at the hospital on second shift, so I spent about 8-12 hours a day on my feet running around like a crazy person. I usually grabbed a sandwich for dinner and that was it. My calorie intake was low, my energy level fluctuated and I barely slept.

Not exactly the recipe for good health.

When I got pregnant I gained about 36 pounds. The day he was born, I weighed in at 156. I remember groaning at the number and how huge I felt. But, I walked out of the hospital about 28 pounds lighter and was back in my size seven jeans within six weeks.

Fast forward four years later. I weighed 130-132 when we moved to Kodiak. After almost two years out here, I put on 15 pounds. Then added another 40 pounds to that when I got pregnant with Jonah. And this time the weight didn’t come off as easily.

It’s been an uphill battle for me losing weight after pregnancy. Having always been a size 7/8, it was a tough pill to swallow when I had to either keep wearing maternity jeans or buy a size 16. My height and body shape does not look flattering at all in a size 16. I’ve dropped nearly three sizes since then, but I’ve had to work really hard to get there.

With Noah, it seemed to just fall off. Granted I was 21 at the time, we were living in Florida where the weather is sunny and pleasant all year round, and I took my sweet new baby out walking four miles at the local park every day (Yes. Four miles. That’s how far it was around the trail two times. Took me 45 minutes).

Now, here we are in the last frontier where a “good” day weather wise is 45 degrees and you just hope the sun stays out from behind the clouds long enough to get the groceries out of the car without freezing. We eat a lot of comfort foods out here (meat and potatoes, soup, breads….stuff to keep warm during the winter). And we have adopted some pretty crummy eating habits since we left Florida.

We used to buy fresh fruits and veggies weekly at the Produce Stand less than five minutes from our apartment.

Now? We snag something from the hot-n-ready area of the Safeway when we go grab groceries.  Not to mention that “fresh” fruits and veggies are hauled across the country, thrown on a plane or a barge and delivered out here past their quality fresh date. So, when we do get fruit, you may get a few days out of it (if you’re lucky) before it gets old and wrinkly and starts to mold.

The other day the husband and I both just reached out breaking point. I’ve been trying to eat better and lose weight since November, but it’s hard when no one else in the house is on board and has no reason to count calories and watch what they eat. But, the husband decided it was time for him to step back and reevaluate his eating habits as well. So, we made the joint decision to start out by cutting red meat and processed foods out of our diet completely. That’s a big step for the two of us because we are big meat eaters. Being from the south, we are used to our meat & potatoes type dinners pretty frequently.

We’ve been on this about a week now, but we both already feel 100 times better. The first two days I felt a bit “off.” I didn’t drink my coffee in an attempt to cure my caffeine addiction and help curb my need for Dr. Pepper later in the day. I’m sure eventually I’ll start drinking coffee again in the morning, but in moderation. I need to get a handle on my need for a caffeine fix, first.  Surprisingly, there were only two days of caffeine deprived headaches.

I’ve started going to bed at a decent hour at night. Typically, I stay up until midnight or later to work or write. But, I’m opting right now to just do as much work as I can during the daytime and go to bed and get some decent sleep at night. I’ve been in bed by 10:00 every night for the last two weeks.

I’ve completely cut out junk food. No candy. No cookies. No cakes or pie. No chocolate. The only thing sweet that we keep is Nutella (which I’ve just recently come to love). We stocked up on Granola, Fresh Fruits, Skim Milk (for smoothies) and Special K cereals and snacks.

I’m using My Fitness Pal to track my calorie intake and weight loss and so far, I’ve lost about 2 pounds. I had a little crisis on Facebook the other day when the scale went UP instead of down. But, I increased my calorie intake by 250 and the numbers have gone down again (turns out I was eating too few calories).

I know a lot of people hop on the weight loss bandwagon and then fall off again when they get to the weight they are wanting to reach. But, we’ve really made a lifestyle change around here.

While I want to lose the weight and be back in my normal size jeans, I’m really more hell-bent on losing the weight and keeping it off for my own health. Obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, and a slew of other weight related health issues run in my family. My mom has struggled with her weight for as long as I can remember and I don’t want to find myself in the same situation 20 years from now. I want to be healthy and fit for my husband and for my boys. Healthy and active so that I can go and enjoy my kids when they’re out at the park running around and having fun.

I want to be able to run beside them without feeling winded. I want to be able to keep up with their energy (at least, for the most part…). I want to still be in good shape when my grandchildren are born way down the road. I want to be able to enjoy them. And I want to instill a healthy lifestyle and eating habits in my boys so that they grow up fit and active.

I’m really beginning to believe that that’s one of the best gifts I can give my kids…a healthy ME and equip them to be the healthiest THEY can be.

What are some of your favorite get fit activities or recipes? Share them with me! We’re looking for as many yummy new recipes as we can find!