I am a 30-something mother of five very active kids; 12 year old Madison, 7 year old Jakob, 5 year old Gracie, 22 month old J.J. and 3 month old Delaney I'm also the wife of almost five years to the most awesome husband, Jason.
I have struggled with weight my entire life. I remember my first "diet" before I was even 12 years old. My pediatrician gave us a large chart on thick cardstock-like paper that listed what I was supposed to eat and it hung on the door to my bedroom. Thus began the yo-yo dieting pattern that would follow me to this day.
By the time I graduated high school I was 5'4" and 230 lbs. I had a handful of good friends, but in time we all drifted away and I spent the next several years battling weight and depression. The remaining friends would ask me to do things with them and I would decline embarassed by my size or afraid they would chose and activity I couldn't partake of. I couldn't fit comfortably in a theatre or stadium seat so movies, concerts & sporting events were all out of the question. So I would hide away in my house as the pounds piled on... and the more I gained, the less I went out until eventually I only went to work and home again and my friends quit even coming around. There were several very dark years and at one point I actually tipped the scales at over 350 pounds!! I was 25 years old had high blood pressure, obstructive sleep apnea, weight related arthritis, degenerative joint disease in my knees and had about outgrown even the largest size available via the retail Plus-Size Stores.
I knew I had to do something but I had no idea where to begin so I began in the worst place possible... the internet. I tried every fad diet available. I ran through Atkins and South Beach, Mayo Clinic and Slim-Fast, Fasting and even Weight Watchers. I would stick with it a few weeks, maybe even a month and lose 10-15 lbs only to gain back 20-30. I began researching surgical alternatives as it was clear I could not do this alone and I had just been told I would need both knees replaced by 30 and that I was a prime candidate for a heart attack.
I spent the next 3 years researching every surgical option available. I found a doctor who was supportive of my decision and for 6 months prior to surgery I worked with her and weight watchers to give myself one last shot at losing on my own. At the end of 6 long months I had only shed 18 lbs. I
n September 2007 I weighed in at the surgeons office one final time the morning of my procedure. I would be 28 years old in one month and I was 310 lbs. I opted for Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass. It was done laproscopically and I was home in just a few days. I lost 40lbs in the first two weeks after surgery. I thought "FINALLY! HERE is the answer I've been looking for!" By January 2008 I was down 90 lbs and by November 2008 I had lost a total of 140 lbs and was loving life at 170 lbs. The BMI charts still considered me "Obese" but I didn't care about charts any longer. I could walk around the block without being out of breath, I could go out with friends, I didn't need a seatbelt extension and I was just about to get married.
I married my husband in November 2008, he was a widower and I instantly became a wife and mother of three. It was a transition but I was handling it well. Then Jason was laid off from his job in April 2009. We decided to start fresh where he had grown up in Georgia. We moved cross country from Utah and settled in Rossville, GA. Months went by and the savings dwindled with no jobs on the horizon.. the weight started to creep back on. By October of 2009 I had gained back 40 lbs!! We spent 9 months total in Georgia and moved back to Utah in February 2010 after exhausting all job prospects in the South. Jason was subsequently re-hired by the company who had laid him off in Utah and we started over AGAIN.
Jason's new position required him to work out of state and he was only home 5 days per month. I had unwillingly become a virtual single parent for 90% of the year. I needed a stress release so I started walking on the treadmill in our apartment gym. I wasn't seeing a huge change on the scale, but I was feeling healthier. I took up the couchto5K program and ran my first 5K in June 2010.
In September 2010 we found out we were expecting. I was 206 lbs. During my pregnancy I gained more than 50 pounds and our son was born in May 2011. A good deal of the weight just seemed to fall off after my son was born but I eventually hit a plateau at about 210 lbs. In January 2012 I started searching my smart phone for an app that would help me shed the remaining baby weight. I stumbled upon
LoseIt! and started counting calories. Suddenly the scale was moving down, down, down. As I began to feel better I added back in exercise first walking, then the elliptical and finally began alternating with Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred. By April 2012 I had lost 30 lbs by counting calories with LoseIt, tracking exercise and burn with my
fitbit and just getting off the couch.
April 2012 found us expecting again. Again I gained more than 50 lbs ending my second pregnancy at 240 lbs. My daughter was born 12/12/12 and I hated the scale. It took until she was over 2 months old before I found my motivation again. I'm back to using LoseIt! and my fitbit and various exercise- walking, elliptical, 30 Day shred, running the stairs at my house- and I've lost 15 lbs in 3 weeks.
LoseIt works for me, my fitbit keeps me motivated, moving and accountable and I will lose this excess weight. I will do it MY way, the REAL way- no liquid diets, no crazy restrictions, no cutting out entire food groups. That kind of stringent eating doesn't work with my lifestyle. I will be moving more, even if only 10 mins at a time. I'll walk the stairs one extra time even if I don't have to. I'm a REAL mom, who's REAL busy, with REAL life but it's time to get REAL about losing this weight. Join me on my journey and I'll share my recipes, tips & tricks and I hope you'll share yours. Real Weight Loss 4 Real Life, we can do it together!
