The Biggest Loser Week 1

So, I have joined The Biggest Loser Challenge with a new friend and a bunch of other ladies from church. I'm really excited to do this for many reasons. 1) At least three of us just had babies all within the last 3 months, so we have company in losing the baby fat and weight. 2) I finally have something I'm interested in to get involved with the people from church (outside church) 3) I get to know these people better and make new friends and 4) This program focuses on helping you make better eating and exercise choices slowly and in a healthy, natural way without actual dieting. It focuses on portion control and drinking lots of fluids: Before I got pregnant, Derek and I were already on a portion controlled diet, and after the first two weeks, it was easy and during my pregnancy I actually was drinking the recommended 60+ ounces of water a day, this is HUGE for me as I HATE....H A T E!!! water lol! Okay, so I used to hate it, I'm not so bad with it now. It's more of a habit than anything now. So, I know I can do this since I already have proved that I can.

I'm also very excited about getting to know Lacey, the lady in charge, better. She has an adorable two year old and then her newest baby is exactly a week older than Lexi, so we've decided many play dates will be in the future for us.

I am going to post my progress on here. I know there are only like two people who read this regularly, but just writing it up on here and knowing people have the possibility of reading it will help me with this.

This program lasts 12 weeks (starting next week, so there will be 13 weeks posted). Many people who are participating in this one just got done with one a few weeks ago with amazing results. One lady lost 30 pounds in her last 12 week session!!

So, here are my ultimate goals over all:
I'd love to lose 20 pounds, however, since I'm built on the smaller side anyway, that's probably not a realistic goal right now, so my goal is to lose 14 pounds by October 1, which should be the last day of this challenge. I was going to put 10 because I think that will be so much easier to achieve, but then decided I really do want to lose 14 pounds by then, so I'll just work hard to get there. My other 'size' goal by the end of the 12 weeks is to be back down to a pant size of 7. My pre-pregnancy weight was 130 and my pant size was 7.

My other goals are to 1) start eating much healthier. This will include portion controlled meals, limited eating out, and decreasing my pop and sweets intake drastically. I was so good about cutting out caffeinated drinks and pop (I was drinking caffeine free Pepsi occasionally during my pregnancy) and then as soon as I was able to drink them again, I've really over done it. I don't want to completely cut these out though. I think that's a bad idea because then, it's all you can think about. So, I'll allow myself one dessert item a day, but even if it's just a small cookie, that's all I'll have. And I'll allow myself 3 'bad' drinks a week. If I crave Pepsi, carmel frappes or carmel mochas (my newest addiction), I will have chocolate milk instead as that's much healthier but will still satisfy me.

2) Start Zumba! I'm very excited about doing this. I'm looking at getting some DVDs to try at home when Lexi is napping, lucky for me, she's a GREAT napper! I'd like to do Zumba, or some form of exercise, 3x a week - Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I'd also like to try to add in a walk on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Walking, for me, is a stress relief, but it's also still a great form of exercise and I credit all the walking I did during my pregnancy to helping me have such an easy labor. Plus, the fresh air is good for Lexi and she loves our walks.

So those are my goals. I also think it's important that I actually share my weights and losses/gains. This way, I have to actually put a number down that I may not be proud of for you all to see and I think that will be a great motivator for me.

So, as of Saturday, July 9, 2011 I weighed in at 143.4 pounds (done on Lacey's scale which is +3.6 pounds higher than mine at home. This note is important for my information since I will weigh myself at home as well as at Lacey's house). My pant size is: 9.

Below is my 'before' picture. Thanks to Derek for giving me a little shopping trip for my birthday. First non-maternity clothes I'd purchased in a very long time. And I can't express my excitement for wearing BUTTONED pants and not ones held up with elastic! I plan, right now anyway, to wear these same clothes for each picture (if I remember) so it's easier to see the results.