I began Operation Happy.
Before
Before
Is anyone else out there holding onto a box of your former "skinny clothes" that you are having a hard time letting go because you just might fit into them someday soon. Well that's been me for the past five years. I recently parted ways with my "skinny clothes" much to the shagrin of my husband.....how ever will he poke fun at me? I think he thought I would carry that famous box around until I was 40 years old. The funny part is that I could actually fit into some of the clothes in that box when I sold them in the garage sale last month. Problem is they were so outdated that I wouldn't have wanted to wear them. ;) I forged a new beginning back in mid-March and haven't looked back since. I first wrote about Operation Happy on my family blog after returning from an eye-opening girl's trip to Dallas with my best friends. I was so inspired by the transformation I've seen in my friend Ashley over the past few years and found myself envious of her healthy eating habits that she's made a part of who she is. We made a pact to be eachother's accountability partners and it worked surprisingly well. My friend Heather has been on a journey of weight loss right alongside me and she has shrunk back down to her high school size and looks stunning! I've slowly but surely made some big changes in my eating habits and exercise regime. Over the past seven plus months I'm ecstatic to say that I've watched 20 pounds disappear and have dropped three pants sizes. It seems hard to wrap my mind around this because I still feel like that post-baby momma wearing my pants high to cover up my big belly and hiking up the back of my jeans to cover up my lovely muffin top. Oh the joys of motherhood!
One of the biggest milestones was getting back down to my pre-baby weight. If I recall correctly it took right around ten months. Ten months to put it on, ten months to take it off. Oy! My next goal to tackle was to get down to pre-real world weight. The moment I finished grad school I began a slow spiral into unhealthy eating habits and a very poor commitment to working out. I'm going to blame most of it on my job. We placed a lot of emphasis on mealtime which was a great way to distract us from work but it was also a great way to expand my waist at the same time. After failing miserably at "The Biggest Loser" work edition twice, I was getting pretty discouraged and dare I say a bit depressed about never getting the weight off. The part that frustrated me the most was that I didn't have an awful lot to lose but instead of chipping away at it slowly I just kept gaining little by little because I'd already given up.
Weight has always been a struggle for me since leaving the nest and heading to college. The freshman fifteen did not have mercy on me and brought along it's friend freshman five which left me at 20 pounds heavier after just one year. I've bounced from 135 to 180 to 138 to 160 to 165 and now finally back down to a comfortable number. I'm going to go ahead and blame the 180 on my first year of grad school. Those darned Panera cookies and soup were way too good while studying my life away. ;) My saving grace was ironically when the hubs was deployed to Iraq. I dropped a whopping 42 pounds while he was away over the course of eight months. That time and this time I've used the same method: counting calories, cutting caffiene and exercising on a daily basis.
So while this blog is a celebratory look back at the journey, I can't help but wonder what the secret is to keeping the weight off.....for good. "Eat in moderation.....small portions....exercise....cut the caffiene....limit the salt....blah blah blah." I know the answers but how do we live by these rules that we know so well. Discipline. I guess that's the real answer. Ironically, I am typing this as I eat one of my freshly baked cupcakes at midnight. How's that for discipline!? Actually I choose to look at it as my celebratory treat! Here's to keeping this weight off and then some......seven more pounds and a lot of toning to go! I'm taking applications for workout partners who don't mind a screaming baby in a stroller while you are running beside me. I know, I make it so enticing, right? ;) Even though I've used the 's' word (skinny) a lot I'm not saying that being skinny is the answer. It's being healthy. We only get one chance at life....live it well.
If you are reading this and you are holding onto some pesky pounds that you'd like to say goodbye to, please don't wait. Don't say "I'll start Monday" because you won't start Monday. Don't forget how great it feels to slide into your "skinny jeans." And for heaven's sake, don't eat a cupcake at midnight. ;)
After
After
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