It's something every new mother experiences...feeling like she needs to lose weight! Obviously I was no different! After Alexa was born I had no appetite. She had been on top of my stomach for the last couple months of my pregnancy, and therefore I had no space to put food. When my milk production began to suffer I took a serious look at what I was eating...basically nothing...and decided that had to change. I quickly began to head in the opposite direction of my goal.
Then Josh and Brenda set a wedding date and I realized just how fat I was going to look in my bridesmaids dress and decided it was time to make a change. Mama and I set out on the low carb trail together. We didn't just focus on low carb though; we also looked at calories and fat. Most low carb diets tell you to eat whatever fat you want to, but we all know that really isn't healthy for you, and so we watched fat and calories too. The weight began to melt off!!! What a wonderful feeling. I have said that the only thing better than new clothes are clothes that you haven't been able to fit into!
As is true with any diet, after a few months you begin to lose focus, and you aren't quite as disciplined. Then you start or should I say stop losing like you were before. I have seen this happen! After losing a little over 30 pounds I am STUCK! Why you ask? Simple, because I have lost my focus!
Over the past few weeks I have been thinking about my weight loss, and how I would like to lose about 10 more pounds, but the bigger issue for me is that I want to eat healthier in general. I look at Alexa and think that I want her to have good eating habits. So she doesn’t crave candy and sweets, and she loves healthy food. I have also realized that while it's easy for me to tell her these things, if I'm not doing them then it makes it harder for both of us. Perfect example...soft drinks! I don't let her have anything to drink but water, milk, and occasionally juice, and what does she always point to?? You guessed it! PEPSI! How can I expect her not to drink/want Pepsi when I drink some form of diet soda all the time?
So, I have made the decision that starting today I am making a concerted effort to eat healthier! I am starting my focus by looking at my water intake...previously little to none...and I am going to stop drinking so much soda, diet or otherwise! I am also considering trying to go organic. I did a speech on organic eating for my public speaking class, and I really think there are benefits to having an organic lifestyle. There are also a lot more options for organic eating than there have been in the past.
I am also going to start exercising! Starting tonight I am going to do the elliptical at least 3 times a week. I'm going to stop making excuses, and I'm going to get these last ten pounds off. It's really about more than that; it's about giving my daughter the benefit of a healthy lifestyle! I am committed to making a change in my life starting now! I've already had one bottle of water this morning! :)
16 comments:
Sounds good. Maybe you can be the inspiration I need to get started on exercising (oh, yes, and drinking more water) too!! Your Dad and I are supposed to start a new exercise plan tonight - can't wait to see what he means by "just some basic exercises". Changing the eliptical from a clothes rack back to a piece of exercise equipment sounds like a great plan to me! :) Maybe your desire to be a good example for Alexa in the realm of eating healthier will spill over to the rest of us too! Of course, I could use a makeover in other areas as well :(
We can work on all of it together!! Step one is to stop making excuses! Step two is to start using the resources we have! Step three is to pay more attention to what we eat. I guess that means no more apples! :) At least not the way we've been fixing them...oh well. We can do it together
Gosh you guys can I come live with you for awhile, I need some inspiration. I cannot motivate myself, I don't know what but it takes other to get me going. I need to really start doing something also. I hope it goes well for you both. Love ya, Jackie
do be so hard on yourself. you are a fantastic mother, a great friend and an awesome co-worker. i admire you not only for losing weight and putting your daughter above everything but going back to school too ! you give me a breath of being young just by working with you.
Blah...isnt it annoying that on top of everything else...every other issue in this world, we worry about our weight!! I HATE it!! Yet here I sit wishing I could loose some more stubborn pounds too!!
I just wish I could use the excuse "I've had a kid!!" I have no excuse except "I'm LAZY!! and LOVE dessert!!" hehe.
Anyways, good luck chicky, I think you look GREAT now!!
You know, for New Years I gave up Soda...it was pretty easy for me. I only drink water, milk and v8 juice...oh and occasionally I have a nofat, sugarfree latte from starbucks, yum.
Then I gave up..."red" meat....then sugar....there isnt much more I can give up!! I've been eating only organic and whole foods for some time now, but I will admit it is costly!! and not to mention if you do stay on a regular whole food menu...if you slip up ONCE your stomache lets you know it!!
Love u
I have to admit that I've never really cared what I actually "weighed" but more how my clothes fit and what I look like. I mean no one really likes looking flabby! :)
I'm going to take it slow and start by giving up soft drinks (or anything but water and milk) and I'm going to try and stay on the low carb again. I'm not going to commit to the organic right now, but I am seriously considering it. I know there are lots of choices out there, but since I show mainly at Ingles I don't know what kind of selection they have. I wish I lived closer to whole foods, but oh well. I guess the money factor is like anything else, it's what you get used to! I just finished my 3rd bottle of water for the day!! :)
Autumn,
I think you are doing great and look great in your clothes.
Keith and I try to eat really healthy, and I found it is all about moderation. We eat red meat, just not every day. We have dessert, just not every day. You know? I don't think I could ever cut out things all together, because for me, food tastes too yummy and life is too short not to enjoy it sometimes. We do looooove our Whole Foods, though, and we love to buy our meats and fish there. Everything is much, much fresher.
Ok, although I still have weight to lose you may not think my word is credible (although I just had a baby!), let me put to use my degree in Human Nutrition....One, totally cutting any group of food from your diet is a big no-no in my degree! It is bad in several ways but mostly metabolically (long complicate story so I will leave it in the text books) two, the word diet alone is also not accepted and should not be used, lifestyle should be used instead. And for point three (and my biggest pet peeve)... ORGANIC! It is a big joke and totally marketed for money. There is a total difference in eating organically and eating whole foods and it is a very important difference! All you bloggers out there, please do not become brainwashed into believing organic is "good" for you! Whole foods do not have to be organic and they are still very good for you. Th only organic I eat is fresh fruits and veggies due to pesticides that may be on them. Ok, I will get off my soapbox now! hehehe! Nevertheless, eating healthier is a wonderful thing to do for your child!
Mer...Thanks!! I think it's a daily thing, some days I feel like I've done a good job and others I feel the exact opposite...LOL! I wish we had a Whole Foods closer, I keep saying I'm going to get over there and it just hasn't happened yet! I know for me it's better to totally do without (like dessert) because if I splurge once then it's on!! Oh well, maybe I will be able to get these last few pounds off!
Steph, thanks for the nutrition input! I totally agree with you, cutting anything out totally is just crazy! I have realized just how many carbs we eat though! I try to limit my carb intake to 100g per day, you can go much lower as low carb diets go, but I try to be reasonable! As for lifestyle change...I have been such a slacker there! I'm really a bad example to those trying to make a change because the only thing I changed was my diet and I lost a bunch of weight! I'm trying to do better though, in fact I'm going for a walk on my break with a co-worker! The organic side of things is the same...it's all about the pesticides! According to the research I did for my speech, we consume so many pesticides and hormones from the food we eat, and it's really not healthy! I think some of it is marketing, but it is highly regulated by the FDA. I don't know that eating only organic is the way to go, but I think it's good to encorporate it into your "lifestyle"!! Here is a question for you...do you know what "all natural" means? As far as the way they market organic I know it has to be at least 95% organic to say organic on the label or 100% to say totally organic. Kashi markets their food as "all natural" and I'm just wondering what that means. I'm going to do some research, but if anybody knows please tell me!
all natural, its not credited by the FDA therefore it is just a marketing phrase anything can use. Natural does not mean healthy or calorie free/reduced! Be careful! I am glad you are researching, my senior seminar was all about this subject and research, it is so fascinating, the FDA pretty much stinks too, you can't even trust them anymore! Try this...http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/news/ng.asp?id=66212-sugar-association-natural-labeling
What a great article...it's so hard to know what you really can trust as a consumer! I know it's hard for the FDA to try and monitor all of that. It's just like any local farmer can claim everything he sells is 100% organic and because he doesn't sell enough produce no one would ever check him out! I'm not sure there will ever be a great way to control all of it. I wish we lived in a society where we still depended on local markets every day for our groceries instead of Ingles or Publix where everything is so highly processed!
I'm so excited to hear (okay - read) all of this nutrition talk and motivation talk!! I just have to share that last night I started a quest for exercise and spent 36 minutes on the eliptical!! Now if I can just keep it up!! I'll keep you posted on that one. Thanks for the encouragement I receive just reading all of your blogs!
You are right Autumn, the FDA is spread so thin with everything they are supposed to monitor that they barely get to monitor anything completely. There is also a lot to be said about politics and lobbyists when it comes to the FDA but that is a whole other issue! So glad to know there are other Americans aware of these problems! Local farmers would be great these days, I wish they could make a living around here! Diane, keep up the good work, now I need the time and energy to exercise!
Steph, it's just so hard to fit it all in isn't it? It seems I never have both at the same time, if I have time then I'm exhausted, and when I have energy I'm too busy! I can't imagine how much harder it's going to be when they get older!
I KNOW! Older? AH! Then there may be more children! What are we to do???
Oh let's not even think about more children now...we will go crazy!! I don't know how some moms do it when they have 2 or 3 little ones!
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