Of course I love everything about being a mom, but it can be tough emotionally to carry extra weight and struggle to get it off.
When Blake was 7 months I still had a good 5 lbs to go to my pre-pregnancy weight and I wasn't exactly thrilled with my pre-pregnancy weight. I had struggled all summer with terrible sugar cravings and just didn't have enough motivation to exercise like I needed to. So when we returned from Chicago I set a goal to lose 10 lbs by the time Blake turned 9 months.
To be honest, I was scared to tell anyone about this goal. I was scared to vocalize it because I didn't know if it was even possible and I didn't want to fail. I'm still nursing and have to keep a decent amount of calories in order to maintain my milk plus I really have never had success losing weight before. 10 lbs sounded like so much.
My weight loss efforts gained momentum when Matt trained with me for a sprint triathalon in late August. From there I just kept upping my mileage and started training for a half-marathon that I completed with my sisters last Saturday. Throughout the last two months I ran about 18-28 miles a week, did Jillian Michaels 30 day shred a few days a week, and swam every once in a while just to mix it up.
I also reduced my chocolate intake and replaced it with apples and peanut butter. I started taking doTERRA's LifeLong Vitality supplements and Slim & Sassy metobolic blend. The Slim & Sassy helped me control my afternoon cravings. In no way was my diet perfect, but it was definitely an improvement.
Every week I was astonished as the scale started showing lower and lower numbers. I always thought I was just getting lucky. And some days I would get discouraged. The scale would go back up, even though my efforts continued, but I learned that fluctuations are normal.
After I competed my half-marathon I came home and weighed myself. I was shocked to see my goal weight staring back at me.
I think this picture shows a little bit of my journey. On the left I am standing next to my sister who was 7 months pregnant at the time. I was visiting her in Texas in July. The picture on the right was taken just this last week on mine and Matt's anniversary.
I have read many fellow blogging friends weight loss stories and have been inspired and motivated. So I thought I would add mine to the blogging world. If you are struggling with weight loss, you can do it!
And more importantly than losing weight, I have become more disciplined in my life and have a new found confidence that I can do hard things!
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