Weight History :)

We all have one right?! I thought I'd share mine today! This might not be interesting to anybody, or it might strike a chord with someone out there, so read if you want! It's long! :)

Something I'm passionate about is eating well, not dieting, not stressing, and being comfortable with the way you look. I have not always been this way, so let me back up and tell you a little bit of my weight history.

In high school, I was always about a size 6. I was unhappy with certain parts of my body, but for the most part, I stayed about the same size, whether I was "on a diet" or eating whatever I wanted. I'd fluctuate about 5 lbs off and on, but mostly remained the same. When I went off to college, my eating habits when south really fast. I quickly gained the freshman 15 just by staying up late in the dorms and eating junk food with my girlfriends. It was tons of fun, but not good on the hips. I kind of knew I didn't look the same, but I really was in denial about it, and still tried to squeeze myself into the same jeans! :) Every time I'd go home, I'd quickly drop the weight, just by eating my mom's home cooking, but as soon as I'd get back to school, I'd go right back up.

The summer after Sophomore year of college, I went to Florence, Italy, to study abroad for 3 months. I had the time of my life, and even though we walked everywhere, I still managed to creep up to the highest weight I'd ever been in my life, by eating lots of incredible pasta, gelato, and other Italian treats. By the time I got back, I had about 25 lbs to lose. Over Thanksgiving break, my mom and I decided to go out shopping and get me some new clothes, since it seemed like I wasn't going to go back down to my old size.

Literally, THE NEXT WEEK, I started loosing weight. It's kind of a funny story how it started, but my roommate and I ordered a pizza to split. Instead of getting our cheese pizza, they accidentally brought us cheese bread (the size of a pizza). They said they'd go back and bring us a cheese pizza and that we could keep the cheese bread. Well, I was so hungry, that I ate a good amount of BOTH! I was so sick after that, had so much heartburn, and was so disgusted by the thought of cheese or pizza or cheese bread, that I couldn't eat anything but the healthiest of foods for a while. I have a memory of going to a reunion with my study abroad people a week or two later, and still just wanting to throw up at the thought of that. It literally took me months and months before I could let cheese bread enter my mind without gagging. :)

Well, I decided to start weight watchers soon after that incident, because I figured I might as well start when I have no appetite. That was one of the best decisions I've ever made! I fell in love with the diet and had so much fun doing it. I never went to any meetings, but just borrowed a book and got the hang of it fast. I loved how I could eat anything I wanted on it, just as long as I stayed within my points. I always rounded down, because I didn't want to be too strict with it, but I dropped 30 LBS quickly and so easily! No exaggeration, I have had NO trouble keeping it off since (besides pregnancy weight). It truly just taught me how to eat! I loved how I could save 5 points for a Snickers bar, save 3 points for a bag of popcorn, etc. I have not done the points since, but I just sort of know in the back of my mind what I can eat now and stay about the same weight. And I'm NOT someone who just has a super fast metabolism and can eat whatever I want.

I gained 50 lbs with my first boy and lost it pretty easily, within 4-6 months. I tried not to stress, and actually felt so great every time I'd drop another 5 lbs. Even though I had another 20 lbs to go at one point, I felt to tiny, since I'd lost 30 already! :) With boy #2, I tried hard not to gain 50 again, and only gained a whopping 45 lbs! ;) This time, it took much longer to get off, but I still tried to have a laid back, no stress approach to it all. My first 20 lbs melted away within a couple of weeks. Then, over the next 6 months, I lost about 5 lbs! That was frustrating at times, but I tried to keep it in perspective. I felt like when I started working out this summer, my weight that was stuck (that last 20 lbs), finally started budging. Little by little, it came off, and I've now stopped weighing. Once I got within 3 lbs of my goal weight, I decided to stop and haven't done it since (besides at the doctor's office). I finally!!! got back into my "skinny" jeans on Christmas day (1 year after delivering him)! The top button did pop off, I will admit (it was loose anyways:)), but they finally fit fairly comfortably.

My body is not the same as it was in high school, but somehow I am more comfortable with it than I ever have been in my life! I feel so free from not feeling the need to diet, and I'm so thankful for learning how to eat right from Weight Watchers (I promise this is not an advertisement for them :)). If you're struggling to loose 5, 10, 15, 20, 30 lbs, and can relate at all to my story, I'd highly recommend doing this diet (and I think in the most laid-back, real-life way possible). You're never going to stick to eating no carbs the rest of your life, you're never going to want to eat just grilled chicken and veggies with no butter the rest of your life, so you've got to find something that's practical and reasonable that you can stick to. I have no sweet tooth at all, but my weakness is queso, and Mexican foods. Oh, and dips. I get queso when I want it, but just try to cut back in other ways. I make sure to NOT FEEL GUILTY either. Just enjoy that spinach dip, but don't eat the whole bowl! :) I also have found that the more I eat at home, the more my body just seems to like it, and I don't cook low-fat either. The way you cook at home will be much lower fat than what you find at restaurants, and you're just as satisfied, if not more! I also highly recommend finding a friend or group of friends to work out with. I simply would not do it otherwise! I would have quit long ago, but have thoroughly enjoyed meeting friends up at the gym! Not only is it good exercise, but it's a great social outlet for me, which is much needed when staying at home all day with little children! It also allows me to eat even more dips and queso! :)

I hope you found something in there that you can connect to in some way!!