An Anchor and a Goal

It has been 3 months since my baby boy was born and I am nowhere near where I thought I would be with my weight. I guess I underestimated how challenging it would be to get back to my goal weight after my pregnancy. I think I was looking at my weight-loss this time the way I looked at it prior to having a child. That is a HUGE No No. I forgot about the fact that my time isn't "MY" time anymore. I also forgot how important getting enough sleep each night is for weight-loss. Let's just say, I've had to make LOTS of adjustments. It's ok. I made a promise to myself that I will accept change (as hard as that is for a control freak planner like me.)

I am a mother who works outside the home so I have to make the most of MY time, when I have it. My schedule used to be a lot more flexible before becoming a mother. I could literally decide on a whim when I would exercise. Now, I have to have a Plan A, Plan B and C and they all have to be approved by my partner (husband) and my boss (my son). Very rarely does my boss approve. So how have I combatted this? I listen to my INNER SKINNY CHICK when she says to include your family in your fitness efforts. Go on walks/runs together. It's much more fun that way and the whole family is likely to approve.

Another thing that keeps me focused is the fact that I have an "anchor" and a "goal." These are two things that my INNER SKINNY CHICK will tell you is absolutely necessary for you to be successful at losing weight and keeping it off. An anchor is something that represents a time in your life that was positive. Maybe you accomplished something amazing or completed an impossible task. You may have even beaten the odds and overcame an illness. Whatever that positive experience is, find a symbol that represents that time, that's your anchor. Place your anchor somewhere that's visible to you. That way when you are challenged and times get rough, and believe me they will, you will have a reminder of just how awesome you are! My anchor is right here on this page to the right if you scroll down just a little bit. It's the picture of me in that "hot" grey dress that I wore in the commercial and print ads for Weight Watchers. The dress itself is my anchor because it represents a time for me when I was at my goal-weight and feeling FABULOUS! It also represents me sharing my story of how I was able to start somewhere and finish somewhere else. I may not have started out as healthy, but I finished as the healthiest version of me.

To make your anchor even more effective, my INNER SKINNY CHICK says to have a goal. Goals are so important. If you were to interview some of the most successful people, they all would say that they have one thing in common...they had a goal and sometimes more than one. Goals are so important because they provide a way for you to measure your success. You can say you want to be successful at living a healthier lifestyle and losing weight, but how can you do that if you have no metrics in place to measure that success? My goal just so happens to be tied to my anchor. My goal is to be able to wear my "commercial" dress again. (How "fitting!" HA HA HA) So, you know what I have done, I have hung my dress on the doorknob of my hall closet in my house. Every time I leave my bedroom, the first thing I see is my dress. This keeps my mind "anchored" to my "goal." (See what I did there?)

What's your anchor? Have you set a goal? Do it TODAY! I can't wait until I can share a photo of myself in that dress holding my baby boy on my hip. I think I will feel even more accomplished than I did the first time around.

Back for the Second Time

Hello everyone! I'm back! I know, I can't stay away this long. How long has it been? Well, about 10 or 11 months. You know what's happened in that time? I had a baby!!! Yup, that's right a beautiful baby boy. My first baby. What a blessing! I am so excited to be a mom and I am so ready for the journey.



 My baby, EJ, all dressed to go on a run with Mommy

(If you want to read more about my adventures with EJ visit The Mommy Diaries: Book of EJ)

 



Some of you may be thinking, "Wow, that's so awesome, but what about her weight-loss?' Or maybe, "Is she still a "skinny chick?" Ok so maybe you aren't thinking that and those are just the voices inside of my head. But, I still feel obligated to answer those questions. What about my weight-loss, well let's see...I gained about 35 pounds during my pregnancy which was within the healthy amount of weight-gain for pregnancy according to doctors.



 

Here I am at 39 weeks and 3 days (about ready to pop)

 



I can honestly say that I am pleasantly surprised about how great I looked and felt during my pregnancy. You always hear those horror stories about women who have gained an obscene amount of weight during their pregnancies and are virtually unrecognizable. I was prepared for that to be me. As someone who has struggled with her weight, I always tend to think the worst in that area. But, like I said, thankfully that was not the case. I made sure of it too, because when I first learned that I was pregnant I listened to my INNER SKINNY CHICK and she told me to continue with my normal habits and routines. Do not use pregnancy as a pass to forget all that you have learned and the lifestyle that you have grown accustomed to. So that's exactly what I did. I continued to remain active. (As active as I could later in the pregnancy.) But, most importantly, I made the decision that I would NOT STOP journaling all of the food that I ate daily. When people found out that I was doing this, they thought that I was crazy. "What?," they would say. "But, you're eating for two. You can have what ever you want." I quickly reminded them that I was eating for two, but not two adults! They had no choice but to agree with that. I worked really hard to keep journaling throughout my entire pregnancy. I am proud to say that I accomplished that.

 

So where am I now? Am I still a "skinny chick?" Well, it has been almost 10 weeks since I had my adorable little man and I still have about 10-15 pounds to lose. I have to admit, it has been a lot harder this time around to lose the weight. I knew that it wouldn't just "fall off," but I thought, given how careful I had been with my eating, that I wouldn't have to work this hard. I started going back to Weight Watchers meetings 3 weeks after my baby was born. I knew that Weight Watchers was the only thing that was going to work for me, since it worked so well for me before. I had to go back to basics. This time around my weight-loss journey has been a lot slower. Granted, I didn't have as much weight to lose this time, but it seems to be taking FOREVER. I lose weight one week and gain a little the next. This seems to be a pattern for me. Although, overall I am losing weight, it is just a very frustrating process. It's even more frustrating when you know you have lost this weight before and NONE of your old clothes fit and you are left with wearing maternity pants until the weight comes off.

 

I knew that once I got clearance from my doctor to begin activity, that would surely ramp up my weight-loss efforts. Not so much. Still very, very slow. I made a commitment to myself that I would register for the Peachtree Road Race (an annual 10K race in Atlanta that happens on July 4th). I have done that and begun my training. I knew this, too, was going to be challenging. I hadn't run in almost a year and in a couple of months my goal was to able to run 6.2 miles. Am I insane?? I guess I thought that since I ran a 1/2 marathon for the first time in 2012 and I did that in the same year that I ran my first 10K that this would be no different. I am on my way in my training, but not without my challenges and bumps in the road. There have been days where I have wanted to give up and say there is no way I will be ready in July. The great thing is I have an accountability partner, my husband, who is training with me. We trained together for the 1/2 marathon so it seemed only right for us to do this together as well. He keeps me focused and helps me keep everything in perspective. I am a new mom, it's only been 10 weeks since the birth of my son, and I just started back at work. I have to listen to my INNER SKINNY CHICK when she says to be patient with myself. This weight took 9 months to gain, it will not come off overnight.

 

 My husband and I at the finish line of the Atlanta Half Marathon on Thanksgiving Day 2012