My Weight Loss Journey

A lot of you may not know that I was overweight from 19-26 years of age. So I've been searching high and low for a really good "before" picture to use.  And I wasn't just a little overweight, at one point I was 100 lbs more than what I am now.  To truly think about it is mind boggling.  That's like an entire other (albeit, extremely small) person! 

(The picture on the left cracks me up! lol. 

It was while I was pregnant with Ava,

hence the finger puppets.)

I don't know how a person gets to that point.  Well I do.  Laziness and not paying attention to your diet.  It wasn't until after I had my first child that I actually had the drive and determination to do something about it. 

A close friend of mine had gone to Weight Watchers and had great success.  She gave me the "tools" and I ran with it.  I scoured for Weight Watcher's information online, taught myself how to count points (every food is given a point based on its nutritional information, and based on your weight you're only allowed so many points per day), and kept a food journal for the first two weeks.  Hmmm, I wonder if I still have that kicking around somewhere?  It'd be interesting to go back and look through.  Anyways, I lost 60 lbs in 6 or 7 months.  And that was with having a "cheat day" once a week so I could still have all of those sweets and savoury foods that I still craved.  I was smaller than I had even been in high school.  What an amazing feeling!

See, I don't think of Weight Watchers as a "diet," rather it teaches you to become more aware of what you're putting into your body.  It teaches you portion control, and instills healthy eating habits. 

I've had to lose a large amount of weight not once, but three times.  With my subsequent two pregnancies I looked at it as free reign to eat absolutely anything I wanted.  And ended up gaining all of that weight back and then some.  Awful, I know.  And even more awful to work off!   I lost 80 lbs after I had Hudson, and am currently 90 lbs lighter since I had Everett. 

Mind you, it's been almost 2 1/2 years since I had him, and I found this weight came off in stages.  I got comfortable in certain phases and stayed there.  It wasn't until I started running that I discovered the true potential of this post baby body of mine.

A few people have made the comment that they think that I'm now too skinny.  But that mainly comes from the ones who only knew me in my fat days from 10 years ago.  It's a shock even for me to see old pictures of myself compared to the way I am now.  But I am perfectly happy with my body, a feat that every woman knows is never easy to attain, am fit and healthy with a good BMI (I didn't starve myself to get here), and I worked damn hard for this!  Do you know how difficult it is to get a 6 pack after having not only 1 child, but 3?!   Not only that, but now I look at myself as an athlete.  I run anywhere from 30-50 km / week.  I do strength training another 3-4 times a week.  I've got big running aspirations, with a goal of two half marathons this year, and a few other races in between. 

Any of you who truly know me know that I have a serious food obsession, hence the weight gain to begin with, and my extensive planning and prep for "free days."  Now I"m enjoying the freedom of not having to be so strict, giving my body the fuel it needs to become faster and stronger.  I am by no means a trained professional, but wanted to share my weight loss story since I've come so far from where I used to be.