In light of Lady Gaga speaking so openly about her struggle with body image, Demi Lavato sharing with the world her personal battle and inspired by Jessica Simpson and her journey…. today I shall shed some light on a personal battle of mine.
I don’t want you thinking I am unlike you by any means. Everything I post on Little Miss Mama about myself is always positive, and as much as I know you come here for smiles, giggles and happy thoughts, I don’t want to be painting any facades. I want you all to know my life comes along with struggles, battles and unfortunate situations too. Sadly, I have focused so much of my life around my weight. And until now, my main focus on loosing weight was for looks, nothing to actually do with my health. Now being a mother, my take on the weight loss journey is different. It’s main reason is for lasting as long as I can on earth for my baby girl, with my secondary reasons being a hot mom. We can all have an underlined goal can we?
{feeling not so fabulous at 200lbs plus} |
The day Sofia was born, I was 220lbs. I gained a whole 18lbs with my pregnancy. The doctors had a close eye on me after diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes. Having diabetes in your family line somewhere, somehow brings me as being a candidate I was however, one of the lucky ones. I did not have to use any insulin, and I was able to keep my blood sugars in check with a strict diet plan. 24 hours after Sofia Marie was born the GB disappeared. Although I’m not going to lie, was a little bit of a wake-up call for me. Always something that stays in the back of my mind, since Diabetes runs in my family tree I have to be careful. Which is another reason for my new way of life.
What I find most difficult in loosing weight is not actually loosing the fat, but celebrating when I make one of my mini goals. I set myself small goals at 5 to 10lb intervals. When I reach these goals I find I am lack luster and bull ahead to the next goal, not giving myself props for what my body and hard work just accomplished. I am horrible at this, and I am working on being better. With being better coming in a gift form. Once I hit my goal, I will give myself a reward. The rewards thus far have been Clothing, Accessories and Shoes. Nothing better than a little retail reward.
I have worked very hard to get to where I stand today… 166lbs. I have chosen to live the lifestyle of one on Weight Watchers, counting points. However I have taken my own little spin with it, as I do everything in life. I am very strict with my water consumption, high fiber breakfast and low calorie lunch, and very rarely snack. With this rigorous eating routine, I don’t track much of my Dinner. I just visually know portion sizes and I never go for seconds. I have many low calorie snacks up my sleeve if I just MUST…. and with the first sign of hunger I drink 16oz of water before I even toy with the idea of looking in the fridge.
{feeling beautiful at my smallest at 158lbs} |
My goal weight it 150lbs and I am confident that I will be there January of 2013. I deserve to be there, and I know if I stick to my plan, celebrating when I have earned it. I will be there.
Is anyone else on a weight loss journey? Share with me, make me feel like I’m not alone. I love comments and I love to connect with like minded woman. I know I am here today because of friends and family who love and support me, noticing what I am doing and paying a compliment of two when they see me. A little “you look great in those jeans” goes a long way with me!
PS: If any of you lovelies are on a weight loss journey and would like to share it with Little Miss Mama Fans, send me an e-mail with your story I would love to share and inspire so many more to start their own road to success. lovinlittlemissmama@gmail.com
PPS: If any of you feel so inclined to share you recipe for success on tiger stripes…. or some may better know them as stretch marks…. I know you can see I need all the help I can get.
vodkainfusedlemonade says
I just wanted to say good for you for sharing your story. I think its cathartic for yourself and for others to hear your story. Its never easy to lose the weight and I truly believe that its not about dieting but about changing your eating habits for life. I know that when my son was born I also thought I need to be as healthy as I can be for my son.I want to be here a very long time. YOu should be so proud of your accomplishments. Its not easy, remember to be patient and to be kind to yourself. Good luck with the rest of your weight lose. Try rubbing vitamin E oil on your skin, that should help.
Agi:)
vodkainfusedlemonade.wordpress.com
Bits of Bee says
Way to go mama! You are absolutely gorgeous in all of your pictures, but feeling good about yourself is important, so keep it up and you’ll totally hit your goal!
Eschelle Westwood says
Oh love I feel for you, I was 120 before I got preggers with Lawrence, then with alex, by the end of it I was 200lbs and still struggling. I am not naturally active either so it is a struggle for sure!! You’re so inspiring and you’re doing INCREDIBLE!! I must be more dedicated like you!
thewritemama says
Thank you for sharing…I have also had a life long struggle with my weight so I completely understand. I think one of the things is that no matter how much weight I lose, I have a hard time really seeing the new me in the mirror because of the body image I have inside….congratulations on your journey!! You are fabulous!
Diana says
You go mama!! You are a beautiful woman, I love your pregnancy photo…gorgeous.
You have a great health plan and it sounds like you are really strong keeping the snacks away, drinking lots of water. I did really horrible this week and now I’m trying to kick my ass with Jillian Michaels. See that is the hard part, celebrating the little things, and not kicking yourself when you eat too much or don’t exercise for a day or two. It’s all about taking care of ourselves, mind, body, and soul.
Thank you so much for always inspiring me and for sharing your story.
Maegan Morin says
I was always overweight as a child but it really wasnt that bad. However when I was 21 I quit smoking and ended up gaining 70lbs that i have never been able to get rid of. With two pregnancies gone by I have yo yo’d between 250-280 lbs (I know awful right?) The worst part is that I was very very stupid and started smoking again 3 years ago and I am PETRIFIED to quit again because of all the weight I gained last time 🙁
Tairalyn says
You all have no idea how much it means to me that you have all chosen to comment. Leaving such kind words, but more than anything giving me the “go” that its okay to get a little more personal that I have in the past on my site. THANK YOU!
You dear sweet Maegan….. please don’t give up! Be healthy if not for yourself then for your babies…. They need you around for a goooood long time.
Thank You x10 for all your amazing words of encouragement.
XO
Tairalyn
Misty says
I grew up with a mother who never knew how beautiful she was and has ALWAYS struggled with her body image. I remember summers of not going to the beach because she didn’t want to be seen in a bathing suit and plans being cancelled last minute because she hated the way she looked in all of her clothes. Meanwhile, she was wearing a size 10…and certainly wasn’t considered “fat” by anyone else. When I was a teenager, we were wearing the same clothes…imagine the message that sent me about my own body!
All three of her children have struggled with eating disorders at some point in our lives. In high school, I was anorexic and dropped down to 80 lbs. My sister was bulimic in college and law school. My brother used exercise anorexia (working out for up to 8 hours a day) to control his weight.
I’m 34 years old and I feel like I’ve finally figured out what it means to have a healthy body image. I don’t have to be perfect. I’m never going to weigh 120 and I don’t want to. I feel my absolute best and most energetic at about 140-150 and I think that having an idea that my ideal weight should be in a range instead of measured by a particular number gives me the freedom to have a life that doesn’t involve analyzing every meal. I can’t just eat whatever I want (I’m not a teenage boy!), but being conscious of what I am putting in my mouth goes a long way.
I don’t have this down yet. I am guilty of looking in the mirror and finding fault, too. But I am very aware that I have a 9 year old little girl watching me look into that mirror and her body image will be directly affected by the messages she hears from me.