Before/After: June 2013- Dec 2013

Here are some before and after pics!!

About Me

  

   I'm thinking I should start things off by telling you all a little bit about myself. Some of you already know me but its likely a few of you don't, or at least not well. And as I said before, I've never blogged. I'm also easily sidetracked, so I might start off with a point in mind and suddenly veer off and never get back, lol!!
   I'm a mother a 2 little ones, a 2yo boy and a 1yo girl. They keep me very busy day in and day out. My husband is deployed right now but we are at the half way mark, so soon enough he will be home to help lighten the load around here!
   While I was pregnant with my son, I had gained 38lbs and after his birth in 2011 most of it lingered. I hired a personal trainer at a local gym and she helped me shed those pounds within a 6 month time period. When I had reached my pre-baby weight, I plateaued. During those 2 weeks I was really getting frustrated and neither me or my trainer could really pin point my problem............ then one evening I noticed I had a pregnancy test left under the sink and figured what the hell, I'll give it a go. I'm sure you guessed it! Yep, I was pregnant again (my son was only 8 months). Needless to say I was quite shocked and it took a couple of days to process it, but from then on it was all impatience and excitement.
   With my daughter I gained 52lbs. Unlike my son who was born 2wks early, she went past her due date and I had to be induced. I was on bed rest for 3wks (until I reached 38wks) so that probably contributed to my gaining more (as well as her cooking longer). But I would lay in bed for months if it was in my baby's best interest.

   Both these pics were taken at 38wks. As you can see on the right, my 2nd pregnancy I was a bit bigger. It wasn't by a lot, but remember, I gained 15 more by the time she was born 2wks later ;)

 This was taken the same week she was born.

   Anyways, my sweet girl was born and I lost 15lbs within a week or so (which is normal after a baby) and then the rest just kind of stuck. I didn't really do anything about it and continued to eat as I always had.  I was nursing so that probably helped me not gain but it didn't help me lose. When my daughter was 6 months I went back to my gym and tried doing the workouts I had saved in a binder from before. I also attended morning gym classes. I was pretty good about sticking with everything for about a month, but when the scale wouldn't budge I got really frustrated. My diet was better but I wasn't following it as strictly as I had before with my trainer. So I'm sure that played a big part in my failure to lose pounds......that and I think the rumors are true: losing weight after baby #2 isn't as easy as baby #1  :o)
   Then while I was scrolling through my FaceBook feed I saw before and after pictures of a friend of mine. She had joined CrossFit and had 1-3-9 month progress pics that were absolutely AMAZING!! Then not long after, her sister was posting about how awesome CrossFit was too. So I messaged them both and got the inside scoop. After that I googled high and low and read so many reviews on CrossFit. Both the bad and good ones. I wanted a good well rounded idea of what I was getting into and whether it was worth the money. Then while visiting my hubby at work, one of his co-workers told me she was a CF'r too and also encouraged me to sign up. I can't tell you how a little crazy it was to suddenly come across all these people I knew all doing the same thing, lol!! And in all honesty, I'm still very thankful to them for inspiring me to take that first step because it has changed my life!
   Shortly before my husband left I started my foundation classes at the CF box in town. Foundations is where you are one on one with the coach learning all the different lifts and movements. Its very important that you lift properly or you will hurt yourself, and a good coach makes sure you are ready before you start WOD'n (Work Out of the Day). June 3, 2013 was my 1st WOD.
   From that day forth my life took a new direction! Along with CF'n, I also eat strictly Paleo... well sort of strictly. I do it 80/20. Sundays are my designated cheat days which includes a stop at StarBucks! But if something comes up like holidays, birthdays, etc, I will eat what's served but do so with portion control. I feel that if you give up everything you love, you will get frustrated and give up on your healthy new lifestyle of eating. I say lifestyle because it shouldn't be a diet. Diets come and go, so this eating healthy thing has to be a lifestyle change that you can stick with.
   I came across this and I think it is so true!!

   Since my husband was deployed, it was easy for me to change my ways of eating. I love veggies, so eating a lot of those (all the time) was no biggie for me. My hubby only likes a few here and there, so it wouldn't have been as easy if I was cooking for two. My kids for the most part will eat what I eat... for the most part. My son will NOT eat a vegetable no matter how hard I try. I'm hoping it will get better and is just a phase. But he likes most meats, LOVES fruits, and really likes Ezekiel bread (this is a gluten free, non-processed bread) and almond milk. My daughter on the other hand will eat anything you put in front of her, so she's easy to feed Paleo..... and let me add one more thing, I'm not nearly as strict with my kiddos as I am myself. They eat cereal, crackers and macaroni and cheese (omg, pasta! Lol!!) and other kid fun food. But for one meal a day, I prepare them something Paleo friendly. 

   So I was able to cover a little bit of this and that, but there is so much more to share. It is getting late and my kiddos don't believe in sleeping in, so I'm going to call it a close for now. In my next lil diddy, I'll talk more about what my daily meals look like and what my exercise regime is. Thank you all for taking interest in what I have to say and have a great morning, afternoon or evening!! God Bless!! 

  

Why Blog?

   I decided to start blogging about my journey to a better me. Its been a very positive experience thus far but it wasn't without a few road blocks. So instead of just posting how many pounds I've lost and sharing my progress pictures on FaceBook, I figured I would start a blog too. I want people to know it hasn't been all easy peasy for me and there were times I really REALLY wanted to give up. There are also days (sometimes weeks) I am plain and simply lazy, and fall back into old habits. So I'm just going to tell it how it is and see what happens.

P.S. I've never blogged before so please forgive me if I break any blogging "rules" along the way!! There is also no way to link this to my FB, therefore I will just post and let you all know when I've added a new entry!


             
This is a 45lb plate; the amount I lost in 5.2 months, June-Oct 2013