Double Digits, Baby!

I have fallen off the blog bandwagon. Finding time to sit down is just not happening right now. I miss it. A lot. But working, keeping up with the house and spending time with my family are top priorities right now, especially the latter. My kids consume all my time!

But, even though my blog has unfortunately been lagging, my weight loss journey has not. I am ever-so-diligently trucking along at my weight loss goal.

And, it's paying off!

As of this morning, I am down 13 pounds since committing to losing weight (9 of which is pre-pregnancy weight). I still haven't reached my pre-infertility weight, but if I keep up this hard work, I hope to reach that goal soon. 13 pounds in approximately six weeks is not too shabby at all, and honestly, I'm quite proud of myself for keeping it up. It's no easy feat for me.

I promise to write a longer, most interesting post in the near future. There is A LOT going on. But, for now, Ella just woke up, Tristan's grunting in his swing and I think his morning "slammer" is waiting for me, and I have two hours to get ready for work. That used to be more than enough time, but now...it barely feels adequate! LOL! :)

Weighing In

I haven't updated you all on my weight loss journey, since I first mentioned I would be joining WeightWatchers. Because of the holidays and family visiting, I didn't really start the program until the beginning of the New Year. But, since I last weighed myself before Christmas, I have lost 6 pounds.

That means I'm 2 pounds under my pre-pregnancy weight!

Boo-yah!

I can't really tell a difference yet. I still have the baby gut, but I hope that slowly disappears. Just gotta start using my ab muscles. Haven't used them for quite some time. :)

I'd like to lose 30 pounds, but I'm not going to be overly zealous about this. For me, I just have to take one day...one meal...at a time.

"F" the New Year

No, I'm not referring to the "F Bomb." If you know me, you know that word never leaves my mouth.

But, what I'm referring to are the personal goals I'm committing myself to with the coming of 2012.

It goes without saying that 2011 was a wonderful year for my family and me. The year started out with sadness and despair, but also a sense of hope. (If you click on that link, you will see that I wrote, "2011 is going to be the year. I can feel it!" And, boy, was I right!).

Going into 2011, I resolved to let go and let God and redirect my mind. I went into the New Year without knowing when we would move forward with our frozen embryo transfer (FET), or if we even would (due to finances)! I went into the New Year not knowing that our FET would result in a healthy pregnancy, and a healthy baby boy. I went into the New Year with so many questions unanswered and so much pain, but I am coming out of it with all my questions answered and a healed heart and soul. I now understand why God insisted I waited so long for my son. I know why I went through a failed IVF cycle. Tristan is the answer!!! If I had gotten pregnant any other time, Tristan would not be my son. He is the little man God intended for this family all along. I just needed to have more faith in God's beautiful plan for this family...for my son.

But, now, going into 2012, my resolutions will not revolve around conceiving my second child. Instead, they will revolve around making me a better me!

I resolve to work on:

Family... Time management is so key in life, and especially when it comes to my family. Now, with Tristan here, I clearly see that I need to manage my time better to allow for more time with my family and more "me time" (so I can keep my sanity!).

Faith... My faith always has room for growing. Even though it has grown so much the past few years, I feel like it can grow even more. Infinitely more. Other than attending church, I plan on committing to some sort of devotional that challenges me. I already read Proverbs 31's daily devotions, but I'd like to get some spiritual enlightenment from recreational reading and other devotions. I gain so much through these types of things!

Fitness... Fitness has pretty much left my vocabulary the past few years. While trying to conceive, going through infertility treatment and then being pregnant, I stopped exercising. I feel "flabby, fat and lazy" (know what Disney movie that line is from?), and now that I am pretty much fully healed from my c-section, I am finally going to get my exercising "mojo" back.

Food... Along those same lines, I'm going to commit to eating healthier. I have joined WeightWatchers to help keep me on track. Two words...portion control! I'm not going to give up a trip to In-n-Out every now and again or some frozen yogurt with Reese's on top, but I am going to portion control. Infertility took my body and had its way with it, and I'm going to take control of it and return it to what it used to be.

Happy New Years, everybody! May 2012 bless each and every one of you. :)

Baby Weight Almost Gone

I'm almost down to my pre-baby weight. Just 4 more pounds to go! But, this doesn't say much, since I had gained weight during our infertility struggles, so I'm not close to where I was before I gained the "Infertility Fifteen," (if I'm being generous).

My cut is healing well. There is definitely going to be scar tissue, but I had that with my incision from Ella's delivery, so it'll look pretty much the same. I surely feel like I'm healing a lot faster this time around, and I think a big part of that is due to the fact that I wasn't in labor for 30 hours beforehand, with 2-1/2 hours of severe pushing. My body went through so much with Ella's delivery. This time around, the delivery was like a scheduled surgery.

And with my cut healing well, I'm feeling the urge to get out and be more active. I'm able to walk faster now, which sounds ridiculous, but it feels good to not be waddling my big pregnant belly around or walking softly due to my tender incision line. I'm looking forward to power walks (and eventually jogs) with Tristan in his jogging stroller. And, "Santa" is bringing Ella a brand new bike for Christmas, so I'm sure she'll enjoy tagging along for these walks as well.

As a way to hold myself accountable on my upcoming weight loss journey, for Christmas I have asked my parents to pay for my enrollment with WeightWatchers. If I have people aware of my commitment, I will have more ways to be held accountable. I really want to lose this extra weight. As Tristan gets older, he's going to require a mom that can keep up with him, and I just know he's going to be a rambunctious handful.

I don't have a particular weight loss goal in mind. I just want to get to where I was, both with my self-esteem and with my energy level. Infertility consumed me. It sucked so much life out of me. And, now that I have "defeated" infertility (I say that with quotes because I think infertility will always leave a scar in my life), I want to find myself again. Get myself back, physically. Mentally and emotionally, I can tell I'm better. The darkness has left and I am happy again. And, goodness, it feels good to feel that joy deep down in my soul again.

Physically, I'm not where I want to be, though.

But, I'm determined to get there!