Again, just a quick update on my progress.  Today, I weighed-in & I had lost 2 more pounds!  Woo-hoo!  Feeling healthier & thinner all the time!

Well, I don’t have a long story to share this time around (so, this will kinda’ balance out with the lengthiness of my last one — ha-ha!), but I just wanted to share that I have lost another 3 pounds, bringing my grand total to 25 pounds lost, to date!  I’m so happy, especially considering that Thanksgiving was only a couple of days ago!

I wanted to start my new site, by sharing something positive, but in order to get the full idea, I have to fill you in on some negativity too, from my past.  I was actually considered a “skinny kid”, even through high school, I barely reached 100 pounds by the summer of my senior year!  As I got older though, it just got increasingly difficult to keep my metabolism going at that rate, especially considering the amount of junk food I liked to consume.

In college, I gained about 20 pounds, and I was only there for 2 years (didn’t complete a degree), then from the time I dropped out of college & got married, I gained about 20 more!  Soon, after Jeremy & I had been married for about 2 years, I realized that yep, you guessed it — 20 more pounds had somehow found their way onto my body — must’ve been all my great cooking!  Ha-ha!  At that point, Jeremy & I decided to diet & exercise together, quite extensively.  It felt like it took forever (in actuality, it was only a couple of months) because it seemed like we were constantly depriving ourselves of snacks & working out, doing “sporty things (riding our bikes for miles, playing tennis for hours, etc.) with little to show for it, but I finally lost about 10 pounds & was happy with the taste of success.  Well, then of course, we were blessed with my pregnancy, which truly was a joyous occasion, as we had been trying & were glad to get the great news!  But, of course, along with it, my bad habit of eating junk came back, with a vengeance!

I figured, “Hey, I can eat whatever I want, I’m pregnant!”  What I didn’t realize was how it would affect my body, in the long run…   When I was pregnant with Katrina, I gained a total of 50 pounds, but my doctors didn’t seem to see a problem with it, even though my hands, face & feet were all extremely puffy, from all the “water weight” & toward the end (the last month or so of gestation), my blood pressure was sky-rocketing!  Thankfully, about 24 hours after Kat was born, my blood pressure dropped (the doctors put something in the I.V. to help it along) & has been at a good, steady rate, ever since…  But, I only lost about 35 of the 50 lbs., soon after Katrina was born & the other 15 was just going to “be stubborn”, it seemed…

I dreaded going back to the strenuous workouts we were doing, before I had gotten pregnant & also, it didn’t seem very feasible to do some of those things, now that we had a newborn, lil’ sweetheart to take care of.  So, we invested in a program called “Yourself! Fitness” for the Xbox, which is best described as an animated physical trainer, who does a different workout with you each day.  At first, it was fun, but after a while, I got aggravated that I wasn’t losing any weight — I hadn’t realized that I needed to work out AND eat less, so it just wasn’t happening!

So, then, I just got discouraged & stopped trying, altogether.  After about a year & a half, I quit my full-time job, to stay home with Katrina & wasn’t worried about my physique, because I had something new & better to focus all my attention on!  During the next year or so, I only gained about 10 more pounds, but then, I seemed to be “maintaining” — staying within a 5-pound range & although I wasn’t pleased with how big I’d gotten, I didn’t figure there was anything I could really do about it…  I had come to accept the fact that I was just going to be big & that was that…

At my 10-year high school reunion this June, I realized that a lot more people seemed to be “in the same boat”, however my best friend from back then was just as I had remembered her — hadn’t gained an ounce!  I have to admit, I was a tiny bit jealous, at first, but I also thought “Man, good for her!  That is awesome!”  Plus, one of the girls that I had known since elementary school looked like she had lost a bit & I couldn’t help but notice.  She & I started e-mailing back & forth, for a while, after the reunion was over & I complimented her on how great she looked & she attributed her success to Weight Watchers.  At that point, I had already heard one other success story from a lady that I used to sing with in our church‘s Praise Team.  Both of these gals seemed to be in really great shape, but I never thought something like that could work for me…

Well, a couple of months ago, I became a member of this great online forum board, that our friends, Mike & Dea started, called Tulsa Moms.  It is very encouraging, as there are many other women there who like to chat about what they have been/are going through, mostly with their kids, but also in their own lives.  After being a member for a while, I realized that we are all like our own lil’ community/support system — it’s really a great group!  I can’t seem to remember how it all started exactly, but at one point, a lot of us began posting our struggles with weight & how frustrated we were; that it seemed so difficult to do anything about, these days…  Then, 2 of the gals posted, one about getting more exercise & the other about her success with Weight Watchers & that really summed it up for me — I just needed to go back to what I knew would work!  It was becoming clearer!  Right about then, Dea decided to add a weightloss forum on the board & made moderators of Misty & Karen, the 2 ladies who had posted about what was working for them.

At the same time, believe it or not, Jeremy had a couple of friends from work, who had just started the Weight Watchers program with their wives & although they hadn’t been a part of it for very long, yet, they had shared with him how they liked a lot of the aspects of the program, itself.  So, after all this, I decided that it would probably be a good thing for me to try, at least…  Jeremy & I talked about it, for a little while & he agreed that if I wanted to, I could start.  He never seemed to really care about my size, just that my love for him was even bigger!  But, it was a financial decision, because the program is not free, of course…  So, together, we figured it would be best for me to sign up for & use the online version & not go to the local meetings, as it tends to get really pricey, otherwise…  I also knew that having the moral support from the Tulsa-Moms board would also motivate & give me accountability, so I didn’t really care to go to the meetings, anyway…  Jeremy has been so supportive too, through all of it.  He really is a wonderful husband!

Well, September 10, I started the program, and so far, I have lost a total of 22 pounds!!!  On top of the Weight Watchers, I decided to get out the “Yourself! Fitness” game & actually stick to my routines, this time around.  So, diet PLUS exercise are really the keys to getting & staying fit.  I had always heard this said before, but sometimes, I’m pretty thick-headed & need to have things repeated quite a bit, before they sink in…  I am now about halfway to my total weightloss goal & couldn’t be happier about it!

I just want to encourage anyone else who is thinking if starting a program like this.  I know that the same things don’t work the same way for everyone, but if you can find something that does & actually stick with it, I know you will get there!  Just stay strong & don’t give up!  Get a bunch of close friends and/or family members, to help you be accountable, from week-to-week & never stop trying!

Last, but not least, by any means, I know that prayer & faith has had a lot to do with my success.  It’s not all me — the Bible says that our bodies are to be a temple & a dwelling place for God’s Holy Spirit, and I am so thankful & feel so blessed that He is helping me achieve this goal in life, as He has with so many other things, already.  If you do not know Him, I encourage you whole-heartedly to find a local Christian church, read a Bible, or watch a great lil’ program on television called “Enjoying Everyday Life“, in order to seek Him out, because He has good plans for you & loves each & every one of you.  I know that a relationship with Him will only make your life better & these are the best ways I can think of to share, as beginning steps that will lead you closer to Him…  God bless!