This is going to be a lot harder than I had thought.

So, if there is anyone out there actually reading my blog you will notice I haven't even found the time to write a second entry. It's been over a week since I started my blog and I had wanted to write every Friday and update on how I am doing, truth is; it's Monday and I am not doing too well.

It is very difficult to find the time to exercise let alone do anything else for myself. Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining, I love every second with my son and I wouldn't change a thing, I just think that I am going to have to set off a lot slower than I had thought. The first problem is that it is so very hot outside and by the time it cools off enough to take my little one out for a walk I am way too exhausted, or some how the day just slips away from me and it too late. I know this is completely understandable considering the circumstances.

This past week I had gotten two walks around the neighborhood in, and a few short stints of playing Dance Central on Kinect. If you haven't tried Kinect I highly recommend it! The Dance Central game sure gets the blood pumping and it is crazy fun! My fiance downloaded some extras for the Your Shape Fitness Evolved and it has a post baby work out which I can't wait to try.

I have some road blocks already though. First off, my fiance started a second job today and he will be gone a lot more now and I will be alone with Marcus for most of the time. Second, my legs and back are feeling awful! It is hard to get up and down and hard to walk at times. I am hoping with more movement that all of that will fix it's self. I developed a sciatica problem during pregnancy and.... Well see right there... Now it's Monday, I couldn't even finish my blog in one sitting. Where was I? oh yes, a sciatica problem, it seems to still be present and that slows me down a lot. I am hoping with movement that I can overcome this issue and it won't be a big problem.

To make the ending to this short and sweet, I am going to try and get moving more this week, and of course I am going to try and cook meals again so I don't settle for fast food, take out, or ever frozen processed junk. It's going to be hard, but I can do it!

Take care!

I Gained the World.... and Then Some

This is my world!

He is my everything! All 9 pounds 2 ounces of him! This is my son Marcus, born June 24, 2011 at 7:33am. He weighed 9lbs 2oz (which he is over 10lbs now) and was 21 inches long. I was lucky with my labor and delivery. I labored for under 5 hours all natural until the last possible second when I got an epidural. No sooner than when I laid down from getting the epidural my legs were up in the air and I was pushing (it's a long story about a short birth) and 15 mins later Marcus was here. I couldn't be happier with my beautiful baby boy, he has brought so much joy to my life.

...And then some...

I feel that I was at somewhat of a disadvantage going into my pregnancy. Pre-pregnancy I had lost over 35 pounds by changing my diet and exercising a ton. My highest weight at that point was 235 pounds and around July 2010 I had hit 199 pounds on the scale and I was so ecstatic! Then I went on vacation and kind of lost my motivation for a while and in the fall I ended up around 209 pounds. November 6, 2010 my world changed when I found out that I was pregnant. It was such an amazing feeling knowing that there was a life growing inside of me.

As soon as I knew I found out I had it in my mind that I could eat more food! Food that I had been depriving myself from for over a year. I didn't go too crazy though because my first trimester and part of my second was filled with horrible morning sickness. I couldn't eat veggies but I could eat fruit, especially citrus; until I ate a grapefruit and threw up - that was the end of the citrus craze. My lifeline was McNuggets and grapes, they soothed my tummy.

After the morning sickness subsided around week 17, I ate pretty well for awhile. Once I hit week 24 I was so hungry all the time. They say when it's a boy that you eat like a teenage boy. I gained 10 pounds in one month, and my weight gain was pretty high at every appointment. During the end I couldn't stop eating! I was constantly hungry! My 39 week appointment was June 23, 2011, and I had gained 7 pounds from the last week, I weighed 268 pounds. 7 POUNDS IN 1 WEEK!! How embarrassing it was when my doctor mentioned that I gained 43 pounds the whole pregnancy. I thought 43 was a decent number, after all I enjoyed myself. However, it was still embarrassing that she called me out like that. 

Little did we both know, that the next morning I would be losing at least 9 pounds 2 ounces. When I returned home from the hospital I weighed myself and I was at 256 pounds. I was a little disappointed by only losing 12 pounds. However, about 2 or 3 days later I weighed myself again and was at 245 lbs, I lost 23 pounds, and that is where I am now.

I am 4 weeks postpartum today and I am ready to start this journey to a healthier life. I had done it before which means I can do it, and I sure as hell am not going to waste all my previous hard work losing all that weight just to be up there again. My hope is by writing this blog I can be held accountable and be more credible for what I am doing. I also hope that I can motivate other women out there who are in the same boat. So come on and join me! After all, we have already proven ourselves capable of surviving those 9 or 10 months of pregnancy AND childbirth, so what else do we have to lose except a bunch of baby weight? We can do this, and we will do this!