Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Halloween & Hallelujahs

Another Halloween has come and gone.  Many parents seize this opportunity to devour endless amounts of free candy.  Having six children this year, one would think that meant I'd have an endless candy buffet.

But, alas, dear sojourner, I abstained.

Yes, you read that correctly.  I did not limit myself to five or ten pieces.  Instead, I stood fast in my commitment to get back on the healthy bandwagon, and I had not one piece of Halloween candy.  I'm not bragging.  I'm making a "hallelujah" statement!  As in "HALLELUJAH!  I don't have to start over.... again!"  NO regrets!  NO setbacks.  First. Time. Ever.

I doubt I would have been so successful, except I'd already started down the clean-eating trail and by the time Halloween rolled around, I had no desire for Halloween candy.  Seriously.    I enjoyed meeting new neighbors and visiting with neighbors I already knew.  I loved watching my kids run up and down the street with neighbor friends while I snuggled my six month old princess in our driveway.

And when I woke up on Saturday, I didn't have a tummy ache.  I didn't have a sugar hangover, or a mountain of regrets, fueled by a night of extreme gluttony.  When I woke up on Saturday, I felt rejuvenated, excited, energized, and ready to press onward.

And then I got on the scale.

Friends.

I couldn't believe it when I saw it, but I'm down almost ten pounds.  Yes.  Ten.  My first numbers goal!!  So now suddenly, staying on this path doesn't seem so impossible any more.

Because of the way I am built, one might not be able to tell just by looking at me, but my scale isn't lying.  Those few weeks of hard work and wise choices are really starting to pay off.  If this continues, I'll reach my long term goals in no time!

Am I sharing this to brag?  No!  Not at all.  I just wanted to take a moment to say- hey friend!  I'm doing it!  I'm really doing it!  And you can, too!  So you ate your child's entire bucket of Halloween candy... so start over.  No excuses, remember?

I'm in this... with you.  Start again today, right now.  Don't wait until Monday, or even tomorrow.  Start now.
You can do this, and I'm here to walk with you, one step at a time.

Until next time,

The Fat Girl, Slim.

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

TRANSFORMED (a revisit from years past)

I was re-reading some of my older posts for motivation and I came across this one.

TRANSFORMED

And I was so inspired...

I hope you will be inspired, too!

Take some time, read through some of these old posts.  I'm re-learning a lot of this and I hope it will help inspire, inform, or encourage you in some way.

Here are a few more to help get your started:

THE FAT GIRL, SLIM

BEFORE AND AFTER PHOTOS (Round one- there will be new before and after photos this time... better than before)

And this classic

WHAT I ATE TO LOSE 100+ POUNDS

See you on the journey!


Survival Mode

It occurred to me the other day, that you may have thought I reached my goals and abandoned you.  Alas, dear friend, this is not the case.  I've been absent from writing for the past year and a half because during the course of my ongoing transformation, well....  we had another baby.

Meet Kennedy Noelle.

She's officially our last baby- number 6 of 6.  She's not only completely healthy, but also completely wonderful.

However, getting her to this point took a major toll on my body.  Between an extremely difficult pregnancy and compounded stress, I have spent most of the last year and a half in what I like to call "survival mode".

Survival mode is where you do whatever it takes to stay alive- like eating things you normally wouldn't eat, and laying around for almost nine months because of overwhelming nausea... the entire pregnancy.  I HATE survival mode.  I DESPISE the thought of having to go through the transformation all over again.

But, here we are.  Almost 100 pounds heavier than when I last wrote, and supremely uncomfortable.

I realized, the other day, that I've become a hermit.  Seriously.  I LOVE to be around people, but I'm embarrassed and ashamed of what I allowed to happen to my body- so I realized that I'm hiding.  I guess I feel like it's safe here... in my house.  No one can judge me.  No one can see the damage I'm doing to my body.  No one can criticize me for my sin- this gluttony that I'm wrestling with.

You see- that precious angel didn't do this to me.  The FIFTH C-Section didn't do it to me.  I did this to me.  Yes, I was in survival mode during pregnancy, and even for a while after.  Yes, I had to eat whatever I could to function and to keep baby healthy and growing.  But I took it too far.  I ate well beyond my natural limits.  I pushed myself, often finding comfort in food.  Postpartum has been rough this time, and as depression tried to creep in, I felt out of control, and tried to manipulate a false sense of security by gorging myself.

So when I got on the scale the other day and realized I'm still at the same weight as the day I delivered her... pre-surgery, I realized it's time to change.  I cannot live like this any more.  I owe it to all of my kids, and to my self to get my health back.  I don't want them to watch me die a slow death, brought on by health problems linked to morbid obesity.

I want to live- to really live.  I want to run and play with them again.  I want to jump on the trampoline and swim with them, without being worried about breaking the diving board or ruining the trampoline.  I want to watch them walk across the stage at graduation and down the aisle at each of their weddings and not be hiding beneath layers of well-dressed fat.  I want to set a good example, leaving a legacy, not just for my children, but for generations to follow.

So, friends, I'm back on track, and I hope you are, too.

Looking forward to journeying with you,

The Fat Girl,

Slim.