Sloooooow Progress

Unfortunately, reality has set in. This last amount of weight is not going to come off easily. I never thought losing pregnancy weight was going to be a breeze, but I figured if I made the right choices I would shed off the weight in a few months. Now, I tell myself not to worry, I will lose the weight. Things just might take a little longer than expected.

More bad news: the weight is in my stomach, aka my "problem area." Ugh. My tummy has always been my biggest battle in weight loss. And now the war just got bigger. BUT, I'm trying to stay optimistic. In moving forward, I have to look at the good and the bad things I've been doing. In an effort to stay positive I better start with the bad and end with the good. Here it goes...

The bad:
1) I am having a difficult time breaking out of the prego mentality. I would say as a whole I ate healthy during the pregnancy. BUT, when you're pregnant it's okay to steal a chocolate here and have an ice cream there. Even my doc said to enjoy these indulgences once in awhile. Well, now I'm not pregnant, but I'm still enjoying these small indulgences. The thing about sugar (and artificial sweetener, for those of you thinking you're safe), the more you eat it, the more you crave it.
2) I haven't been drinking nearly as much water as I did when I was pregnant. I remember noticing all these small benefits to drinking a lot of water: I felt good (or in other words, rarely felt ill), I had energy, my eyes were clearer than I'd ever seen. The last one sounds funny, but it's totally true! I've always dealt with dry, red eyes. As soon as I bumped up my water intake, my eyes were white. Recently, I've noticed that with the reemergence of diet soda in my life, my eyes are back to being reddish.
3) I wasn't moving around enough during the day. Partly because I had a new baby at home, my day to day movement slowed way down. I'm not talking exercising or even taking walks, I mean I was posting up on the couch and staying for most of the day. The sad thing is that sitting around just isn't me, but I thought that's what you do when you have babies (and maybe it is slightly true for having young infants).
4) The month of October was a record-breaking month for eating out for me and my husband. We went out more than we ever have which is not good for our pocket-books or waistlines. I wasn't cooking nearly as much as I usually do, so therefore, didn't have complete control over what was being put in my mouth.

These four things are definitely affecting my goals/health. Luckily, none of them are difficult to change. I've approached November as my renewed starting point. I am and will continue to keep these things in mind as I continue to move forward in this weight loss journey. Not only have they affected my weight loss, but also my overall being. I feel better when I am doing the opposite of those things.

The Good:
1) I got the green light to exercise from my doctor two and a half weeks ago and I haven't looked back! I've been out there doing my thing at least 5 days a week which has been great. I'm feeling stronger and stronger each day and I know I will be back to my old self soon.
2) All things given, I've stayed positive. Yeah, things are going slower than expected, but never once have I thought that I'm not going to get down to my pre-pregnancy weight. I heard someone today say that life is 10% what happens to you and 90% attitude. It's with this mentality that I continue believing that I can lose this weight.
3) Not doing it alone. I've said it before if you can get yourself on a team or in a group, working out becomes easier. For me, I'm back to playing soccer and I just joined a mommy exercise group called Stroller Strides. Did I ever think I'd be the mommy group type? No. Am eating my words? Yes! Doing something like Stroller Strides (or any exercise group) makes exercise easier. First, because it gives you an appointment. Stroller Strides meets Mon-Sat 9:30-10:30. My goal is to make it at least 4 times a week. I'll try for Mon-Thurs, but if something comes up (aka baby), then I have Fri or Sat to make it up. Second, because it turns into a social event, as well. I look forward to seeing the other ladies, making getting up and going that much easier.
4) I'm back to cooking. I can honestly say that I haven't paid for a single meal this week, breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Cooking gives me control of what I'm eating AND definitely helps me when it comes to portion control. I love eating out, but eating out should be an occasional thing. I want to continue to cook healthy at home because it is delicious and will help me with this weight-loss task at hand.

So there you have it. This has been the good and the bad. I have 11 pounds to go and I know that means cutting out the bad and continuing the good. Wish me luck!