A lot of bloggers are talking about looking into weight loss programmes at the moment - must be the hint of summer in the air- that pressure of having to be seen in public, possibly in a bathing suit will do that to anyone.
Like so many women out there, I am not happy with how I look. I feel fat, I feel unhealthy and I don't fit in to any of my pre-pregnancy clothes. I have always been a yo-yo dieter, but before my pregnancy with Master Z, I was at my ideal weight, I was comfortable in my own skin and loving life because of it. I then got pregnant, and unfortunately suffered a miscarriage at 8 weeks. In my infinite wisdom, I decided that spoiling myself with all my favourite meals and food treats was going to make me feel better and take the pain away - nothing like emotional eating hey!! For about 4 weeks, I ate everything in sight - so proud of myself that I wasn't resorting to alcohol or anything silly to make the pain lessen. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but I now know that in times of hurt, I eat to feel better and it is something I am more aware of and definitely don't want to do again.
Fortunately, we got pregnant again straight away, but the damage was done. I had already put on 18 kilos when I found out I was pregnant the second time and through the course of the pregnancy with Master Z, I put on a total of 42 kilos. I didn't think about what I was eating or doing and even my obstetrician said that pregnancy was the one time you can eat what you want, so I did .... and then some!!!! I have managed to get rid of 23 kilos, but am stuck in a cycle of excuses about how I am going to manage getting back the old me.
One of the blogs I follow is Dr Duncan Jefferson and as I was eating a pack of Tina Wafers last night (not even Tim-Tams! C'Mon Chantel, if you are going to do something, at least do it in style! - but no, I don't keep Tim Tams in the house as I would only eat them - hence the Tina Wafers!!!) I read his post about Stroke prevention. I looked at the risk factors he mentioned and aside from not smoking, I am really not doing anything to look after my health. As I am carrying a significant amount of extra weight at the moment, I am sure if I was tested, I would have high blood pressure, high cholesterol and be heading towards developing Type II Diabetes. These are all factors that can cause significant health complications and even death.
I need to look at being overweight as first and foremost a health issue and focus on getting healthy. I want to be healthy and fit enough to run after my kids, I want to feel good about myself, be able to fit into pretty clothes and most importantly, I want to be around to watch my kids grow up. My biggest short term motivating factor for getting healthy and losing weight is having more kids. If I fell pregnant at the weight I am now, I would not be comfortable and would be putting myself and the baby at risk.
I had been toying with ways to get back on track, when the universe delivered me I received an email from Huggies, promoting Michelle Bridges' 12 Week Body Transformation. It starts on 26 September and finishes at Christmas. I saw this as a good way to get myself started, get back to eating well and starting an exercise habit back up again. I realise I haven't exercised at all since Master Z was born, so going on 20 months now!
So please cheer me along, be stern with me when I falter and remind me of where I want to be at the end of these 12 weeks.
Chantel x
linking up today with Jess from Diary of a SAHM for I blog on Tuesdays.
