Little Update

What a month it has been! After moving into our duplex we discovered that all of the dsl lines in Blue Ridge were in use so we are having to suffer through a year of slower than a snail satellite internet. Ok. It's not that bad. An hour ago I began uploading 41 pictures for this blog so far we've managed 12. Go satellite internet! You're the best!

7 months.

She crawls now. Well it's not really a crawl-- more of a pushup lunge but she gets around. Tugging on cords, eating random things off the floor, getting into the DVD's-- she is mobile. It's exciting to see her grow. My eyes have been opened to how un-baby-proof my house is. We're trying to house proof the baby. I spanked her hand the other day and she looked at me like I was crazy. I'll let you know how it goes. 

Pushup lunges have become second in worry land to pulling up on furniture. This is a new skill that she has developed over the past few months. She is still not so great at it so I am pulled away from laundry, dishes, vacuuming, decorating, alphabetizing my library, and cooking several times a day. There is a bang and then a terror filled scream that can only be halted with a hug and a nurse. 

She still has little to no interest in baby food. I've begun giving her small little bites off my plate whenever we sit down to eat and she seems to do alright with that but she makes a big show of coughing and gagging anytime we try baby food. I think she may go from nursing to solids. 

After she wakes up she'll sit still and watch an entire episode of Baby Einstein that is when I get the majority of my work accomplished. She is pretty content to play by herself unless she's sleepy and then she wants me to sit next to her. 

At night Brady and I like to watch movies. She sits on the couch with us, in the crook of my arm, and watches too. She is turning into a little person--it's hilarious. 

weight loss. 

In March I weighed a whopping 220.3 lbs. I decided to start the 30 day shred and adopt a couple healthier eating habits. Before I got pregnant with Avey I weighed 204 lbs and at my heaviest weight ever--9 months pregnant and ready to pop I tipped the scales at 258 lbs. 

I remember the last time I was below 200 lbs. It was in 2008. The day after I hauled all my stuff to Colorado Springs to begin attending the New Life School of Worship. I stepped on the scales and was appalled to see that I was 198 lbs. I called a friend and swore that I'd never see the other side of 200. I was on a mission to get my weight under control but no matter what I tried--eating healthy, working out-- I just couldn't seem to lose the weight and when I came home in 2009 I was 212 lbs and it was then that I was told that I had hypothyroid disease-- an autoimmune disorder that can cause significant weight gain.

When we moved to Texas in 2006 I was 125 lbs. 

87 lbs in three years. 

It was horrifying and humiliating. I was 20 years old and I had stretch marks and cellulite. 

I've tried diet plans and gym memberships but nothing ever worked. I'm addicted to food. The other day the power went out and all I could think of was going to In-n-Out to get a burger because I was upset that my plans to decorate that evening had been spoiled. I eat when I'm sad, bored, happy, annoyed--any emotion is a reason to eat.

In March I began to lose. In April we moved and I used that as my excuse to go back to the way I ate before. I told myself that as soon as we moved into our new place I'd go back to the diet. I did not anticipate that our home renovations would take us two months. 

I weighed 209 lbs the day we moved into our new home and I am proud to report that I weighed in at 197 lbs this morning. 12 lbs in three weeks. I'm very proud of myself.

I've lost 23 lbs since March and 61 lbs since I had Avey. I am very very proud of myself. 

The day I saw that I was no longer in the 200's was a life changing day. I cried. I hadn't seen the 100's in three years. 

Today was also a very happy day. When I met Brady I was over 200 lbs. I have weighed more than my husband since I met him. This morning... I weighed less. It made me feel all skinny and womanly.

I would like to get down to at least 185 before we get pregnant again. We'll see...

A tour of our new little home is coming soon!

Bridesmaid Dress

Yesterday my sister and I went to try on our Bridesmaids dresses. We were greeted by a consultant at the door. She welcomed us into the dress shop and after getting names and wedding details out of the way she asked us what size we typically wear. Mentioning that she would bring us bigger sizes than we were used to because their dresses run small.

"I just had a baby (my disclaimer for being so overweight even though I'm pre-pragnancy weight now) so I don't know. My engagement dress was a 14 but I tried on wedding dresses here and I couldn't even zip a 16 past my chest."

She brought me a size 20 and a size 22 first. I prayed that the 20 would fit. But it didn't.



It slide down my body and piled on the floor.

YES! Take that size 20! 


I've never been a size 20. I was glad that I'm still not a 20.




She brought me an 18 and it was baggy everywhere but I didn't get the satisfaction of seeing it slide off my body to the floor.

I put on the 16 and it fit just right which means I'm back to me pre-prego size 14 (their dresses run a size small...remember?).



Better than I ever hoped for and I'm not done yet! Stepped on the scale to a resounding 208 this morning which means I've lost 12 lbs so far. I just want to get out of the 200's so bad!

8 lbs to go! That is going to be such a joyous day! I am so motivated today. You could put In-N-Out in front of me and I wouldn't touch it.



Well-- maybe...

30 Day Shred

day 8.
Since Sunday is our sabbath I decided to take a day of rest so this is my 8th day of the shred.



The day I started the shred I sat down and wrote out a couple goals--

1. I want to lose at least 3 lbs a week.
2. I want to lose at least 50 lbs by July 20th (Kyle and Sarahs Wedding).
3. I want to lose 85-100 lbs total.
4. I want to complete the 30 Day Shred.

Thus far I am doing swimmingly. I've lost 8.4 lbs in 8 days.

The day that I finish the shred I am going to go with my sister to get fitted for our bridesmaids dresses. I figured that was good incentive.

In my 38th week of pregnancy I weighed 260 lbs. That is the absolute heaviest I've ever been and ever want to be. I dropped 40 lbs real quick-- over a couple weeks after I gave birth. I was stuck at 220-- until last Sunday-- for months.

I am excited to say that I weighed in at 211.4 this morning.

I am doing the shred and I am watching my calories. A great way to track meals, exercise, and progress  is myfitnesspal.com. I am a believer. 

Everyday the shred gets a little easier and I see improvements in my endurance. I have never stuck with a diet/exercise program for over a week.

Pathetic, right?

I've always wanted to cheat because the limits I put on myself were unrealistic. Fad diets don't work for me. Real life, real food, and healthy choices work for me. The shred kicks my butt. I don't want to undo the hard work I just put in for a midnight snack or a bag of cheetos. Nuh-uh. The exercise program keeps me motivated to continue to make the healthy choices.

But if I feel like I need something... I have it. In moderation and an amount that is modest and appropriate. I ate ice cream three times this week. A tiny scoop in a tiny condiment dish but that is all I needed.

This isn't a diet. It is a lifestyle change. 80/20. As long as I eat right 80% of the time the other 20% covers the cheats and my need to make sopapilla cheesecake, salted chocolate pretzel toffee and black bottom cupcakes.

Though I didn't make anything like that this week.

Progress.

Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead

I was one of the lucky ones. Those girls you hate in high school because they have perfect skin and long thick hair. When I was about 18 I started loosing my hair due to an autoimmune disease. It literally fell out in handfuls and it still does at times. It's why I cut my hair short. I hoped that no one would notice just how thin my hair had become. I'm told that no matter how they adjust my medication hair loss is a part of having an autoimmune disease and once it starts it can't be stopped.

I got a zit on my chin at the end of March. I had never gotten a zit on my chin before March 2011. That's how I found out that I was pregnant. I woke up, saw the zit and knew that that was the only explanation. Now I have a fine sprinkling of little zits across the bottom of my face and hair line. Goodbye clear skin. Hopefully you'll come back someday.

What I've learned from this is not to put my faith in my looks because they could be gone tomorrow. Find a man who loves you regardless because if you don't he'll be gone when your hair starts falling out, the zits appear, and you start putting on the "I'm comfortable with you weight."

I was 100% comfortable in my skin before I met Brady, even though I was 80 lbs overweight with more stretch marks than a pregnant woman. I started packing on the weight around 16 and wasn't diagnosed with hypothyroid disease until I had gained 80 lbs (3 years later). Even though I was fat I hadn't lost a shred of confidence because my faith wasn't in my looks.

Brady met me, fell in love with me, proposed to me, married me and knocked me up all within the span of a year and a half and my weight fluctuated. Some weeks I was up others I was down. By the time I met him I had been on my meds for a year and the docs had finally found the right dosage to make it so that I could start loosing weight again. When you're dating though you don't want to diet! You want to go out to dinner and eat pasta and bread! I didn't worry about my weight so much until he proposed. My weight was down then. I decided I wanted to get back in shape for the wedding but since we got married a month later I didn't have much time. I lost about 10 lbs after we got married and before I got pregnant. For obvious reason I am not trying to loose weight now.

After watching a documentary called, "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead," about a man who had an autoimmune disease Brady and I decided we wanted to try the juice fast. The diet consists of juicing large amounts of fruits, veggies, nuts, and beans. We are so excited to start though we are going to take it slow until I deliver and then we'll kick it up a notch and really start working at getting the weight off.

Through everything he is my cheerleader. Fat or skinny he loves me just the same... he does encourage me to get healthy though (I'm a sucker for french fries and salty foods). Who isn't? I want to be a healthy Mom. I do not want to go into my next pregnancy 80 lbs overweight. It's too grueling on my frame. I want to encourage our kids to be healthy and to stay away from processed foods. It's going to be a long journey but I think we're up for the challenge.