How I lost the Weight!

So I am going to admit this...before I began; this is a strange/narcissistic type blog entry. Oh well... that is your warning. (I think I know what narcissism is???...I don't know for sure though.) Ok, now to begin! Here is a picture of me after I lost all my weight after having Weston. Mind you...Weston was 3 years old at this time. So Aubrey had taken this picture of me, because I was so happy to be in my skinny pants. ( The funny thing here is I bought these 2 months after Samantha was born...not fair, it totally gets harder with each kid.) So back to the story. Aubrey took this picture and I was so proud I was going to do a blog entry on it. I had lost 25lbs and done it through the holidays. I had been doing a challenge with my sisters and mainly just ate right and exercised and the weight came off. Well, so then I decided to get pregnant again with Spencer and this happened about 5 days after taking this picture. Needless to say, I soon lost the body I had worked so hard to achieve...and was left with a beautiful baby boy and...

This body!

Me at 8 weeks after Spencer was born.

This is the worst picture in the world by the way. Aubrey took this of me and I was going to quickly delete it from my camera, when I thought..."ooooh, this would make a great 'before' shot." So I kept it as motivation. Actually I never looked at it again, but I made the first picture (my skinny one) my screen saver to motivate me to work out/ eat right and lose the baby weight! So, I set a goal to lose 20lbs before my baby was 6 months old. I am proud to report that I am very close to this goal. My weight fluctuates, but I am just 2 lbs shy of that goal. Baby Spencer is 6 months in 5 days. So the other day I was longingly looking at my first picture and wishing I was that thin again, and suddenly I realized, I am. Here is my new picture, taken about a week ago (by dear Aubrey.)

Me Today!

Now I am not just posting this because I think I look totally awesome or even swimsuit ready. I even understand why people get tummy tucks...but that is a whole different blog. I am just journaling the fact that I did it! I set a goal and lost the weight. Here is what I did.

*I have worked out about 5 days a week for the last 4 months. (this means walking, jogging or doing exercises taped off of the tv.) I usually do about 1/2 hour or 45 minutes. Some days I did 15 minutes. What ever I could do with 3 kids. (I had no excuses for this. My secret was to never get ready. Seriously. I used to get ready in the morning, then I wouldn't want to get all sweaty. So now, I look horrible until I exercise. This has helped me a lot. Although, I am sure anyone who sees me before 3 pm thinks I am a total slob.)

*I don't eat after 7:30pm or after my kids go to bed. That's my rule...no exceptions.

* No soda

*Always eat breakfast. I eat a lot of fiber in the morning.

*Other than that...I have pretty much stayed the same. I don't really snack, unless it is healthy...like veggie/fruit or yogurt.

*I have always drank a lot of water, but of course you have to do that.

* I also weighed myself every day and wrote down my weight every Sunday. This showed me when I was at a plateau and also what was working. I also got to know my body better by doing this. Now I am addicted.

So if anyone needs motivation...just know that it can be done. Set a realistic goal (my first goal was to lose the weight in 6 weeks....didn't happen.) Then stick with it!

Also, I would still like to lose 5 to 10lbs and I am not opposed to hearing more advice on how to do it! I have a lot of great friends who have really been a good example to me on being healthy...so thanks all you ladies! I also thought I should add this has been great for my kids. Yes, sometimes they complain when they are drug around in the stroller or have to turn off cartoons to watch me exercise. But usually they love the trips to the park. Weston loves me running around with him and they even exercise with me quite a bit of the time. I have a gift of making things fun...so I finally just made this a priority and it has worked for us.

If anyone read this whole thing...thanks for being my friend. :)