Britnie. 24
years old. Foodie. Baking aficionado. Despiser of exercise. That last one isn’t
true now, but it sure was a month ago. Gone are the days of constant “from
scratch” baking. Goodbye to the fettuccine alfredo and brown sugar meatloaf. My
husband misses the days of red velvet cake and chocolate chip cookies. He asks
for meatloaf every week. Today ends week four of my weight loss challenge. I
began going five days a week the first week of January. Not because I’m one of
those New Year’s resolution people, but because I gained fifteen pounds since
we moved in to our apartment on September 1st. I know! Who does
that? I was absolutely mortified when I stepped on the scale and realized that
I weighed 187 pounds. My ideal weight is between 127 and 137 pounds. It
embarrasses me beyond measure to post this horrid number where people can see
it. Strangers, but mostly my horror comes from admitting to those I know that I
had truly let myself go. I haven’t been this heavy since high school. I didn’t
even realize while I was gaining the weight that I was getting so big. One day
it hit me like a ton of bricks that my “loose and comfy” pants were now tight
and uncomfortable.
I no longer had
the excuse of having a baby. Tessa was 13 months old and I’d only gained 16
pounds while pregnant and lost 24 immediately after her birth. I was forced to
look myself in the mirror and tell myself that I’d had enough. That’s not the
most fun moment in one’s life. Who wants to admit that they are fat and
horribly unhealthy? I had almost no energy throughout the day and found
cleaning my entire apartment to be a tiring challenge. So I said enough. Enough
spending my days on the couch. Enough making excuses about why I can’t make it
to the gym. It was time to get real and get moving. I gave up soda, meat, and
sweets. The no meat thing didn’t last long. I was constantly tired and needed
the protein. But I managed to curb by sweets and soda. For the most part. In
one month I’ve had five sodas. Five too many. As I write this, I am sipping a
Diet Dr. Pepper and wishing I had never cracked it open. My father-in-law
lovingly brought two 12 packs, not realizing that diet is sometimes worse than
the regular. But it’s better than the two or three sodas a day that I’d find a
way to indulge in.
Let me put it
this way: soda is my cigarettes. Or alcohol. I’m an admitted sodaholic and I
hate it. Most kids are raised on apple juice or even Kool-aid. Not me. At the
age of five, I began drinking Dr. Pepper regularly. My mom would buy bottles or
cans of it for me every week at the store, especially when it was on sale. I
guess this was one of her ways of spoiling me, but unfortunately it set me up
for failure in the health department. My addiction soared throughout high
school and stayed pretty bad until I married my husband. It tapered off a bit
since he’s not a soda drinker, but I’d find ways to get it when he wasn’t
around. I know this sounds crazy, but soda really is my vice. And I am trying
to be completely honest and keep myself accountable. Not to just myself, but
whoever else reads this. I want there to be other people who will catch me when
I’m slipping or remind me how bad it really is.
Drinking water
was never high on my list. I know there have been loads of times when I have
been dehydrated because I would go days without a single glass of water. But
those days are no more. I have just got up, poured out three quarters of the
can of soda, and opted for ice water. See? This is already working. These days
I average 6-8 glasses of water and 1-2 glasses of 1% milk. I instantly feel
better in the morning after having a glass of water. My meal portions have
shrunk, and my workouts are much easier when I have hydrated.
Monday through
Friday I wake up, have breakfast with Tessa, play with her, put her down for a
nap, and head to the gym. I catch the bus with my friend, Blaine, and we get
picked up at 2:30 by my husband, Tim. These days, my time at the gym is the
only “me” time that I get and I love it. I bump my music and get in the zone. I
get on the elliptical for 25-30 minutes, and then work out either abs &
obliques, or arms, chest, and back, or legs and glutes. Then I get in the sauna
for 15 minutes, shower, and leave. Today I upped my elliptical time to 40
minutes and I felt great afterwards. I can feel myself getting stronger. But I
have only lost 7 pounds. To me, that number is either my biggest motivator or
it ruins my day. In my head, I am thinking “only 7 pounds in a month?!” I know,
muscle weighs more than fat, but I want to see that number go DOWN. A lot.
So here I am,
looking for others to share in my journey. My goal is to lose 50 pounds, be fit
and be healthy. On this blog I’ll write about my workouts, workout tunes, recipes,
highs, and lows. I’m sure there will be chatter about my favorite tv shows, Tim.,
and of course, my amazing, beautiful, sweet, and sometimes stubborn daughter,
Tessa. How could I not?
So tell me:
what’s your weight loss goal and what are you doing to get there?
