Shapin' Up and Slimmin' Down

I have a confession to make: I love food! I love carbs and sweets (mainly chocolate!), especially. What's worse though: food loves me! Throughout my pregnancy, I gained about 32 pounds, so it was within the range of weight that my OB wanted me to gain, and I naively thought most of it would come off after I had the baby. I mean, why would it not? I stayed active until about week 38 of my pregnancy - even if I was just walking at a snail's pace, I was active. I ate fairly well throughout my pregnancy, and really just indulged my sweet tooth much more often than I do not pregnant. So after I gave birth, I instantly was down 10 pounds. I figured the rest would come off pretty easily...especially since I was breastfeeding. Well...when you only produce an ounce, at most, of breastmilk that's not burning many calories. Not to mention I ate pretty lousy the first few weeks of bringing Audrey home because it was more convenient, and anyone who has come home with a newborn knows that you don't try and eat healthy, you just try to eat! When breastfeeding came to a halt two weeks after Audrey was born, any calories that I was burning also came to a halt. Plus, I wasn't allowed to exercise until this past Tuesday (7 weeks after she was born). Needless to say, the weight just didn't come off like I had thought it would. I'm now 7 1/2 weeks postpartum and have only lost a total of 14 pounds since Audrey was born. I still have 18 pounds to lose to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight, but I was already up a few pounds from where I like to be because of the awesome Christmas celebrations we had just had (I found out that I was pregnant on New Year's Day). So anyways, I have decided to buckle down and do something to lose the weight. My goal is to lose 20-25 pounds. 

A friend of mine suggested this book called Why You're Fat and How to Get Thin Forever. She had used it to shrink down from a size 18 to a size 4! I looked into it, and bought it. I just finished reading it, and I'm excited about it! It's really not a "diet" because I can't do anything that says 'You can NEVER eat _____.' I know that I don't have the strength/willpower/desire to never eat chocolate, bread, chips, or whatever ever again. I have done Weight Watchers in the past, and have been very successful on it. Unfortunately, Michel and I just don't have the extra money to splurge on it, and though I still know the principles of it and could do it on my own, I also know that I need the accountability of going to the meetings and weighing in in front of others to be successful in losing weight. 

So today started the first two weeks of the plan. The first two weeks says to change nothing about how you already eat. All I have to do is add the following things into my daily diet: 1 c. oatmeal (not my favorite food ever, but I'll eat it if I put some fruit in with it), 2-3 c. vegetables, 2 servings of fresh fruit, 3 LITERS of water, one 8 oz. whey protein shake, 2 eggs prepared any way, and a cup of herbal tea. Again, I have to eat/drink all of that DAILY. Oh, and you're supposed to eat 5 times a day - breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and then a midmorning snack and midafternoon snack. After two weeks the plan is a bit more restrictive. It follows what is referred to as a 5+2 plan. You eat clean for 5 days and then you get 2 treat meals. She (the author) also lays out fabulously hard, muscle-building workout plans...that I can do in my living room! All of her workouts use either body weight or free weights, and I already have some at home. So I have no excuse not to work out. Audrey sleeps well enough that I can find a chunk of time during the day to workout. 

My long-term goal is to be down 25 pounds by this summer. My short-term goal is to be down 10 pounds by Christmas day. I'll be tracking my progress every Saturday, I took my measurements today and I'll update them on the 2nd of every month, and I'll be doing pictures as well (mainly to keep myself more accountable, but also eventually I want to show a "before" and "after" to see how far I've (hopefully) come. Wish me luck! When you see me around, ask how it's going to help keep me further accountable, and check in every Saturday to see progress! :)

All of my monthly pictures will be taken in the same outfit so as to best measure, and see, results. Here's my starting point:

Again, wish me luck! I have a long way to go!