Motivation

Can I just say that I am SO motivated right now??? "Motivated to do what?" you may be wondering. We all make our New Year's Resolutions and usually a month or two into them, we lose focus. I feel more motivated right now than I have ever felt in my life...and while I can't say I will not fail...I will say that I most likely will succeed in reaching my goals! And what are my goals?

To lose weight
To pay off debt

These 2 things sometimes go hand in hand. David and I eat out...a LOT. It's our social time. We eat out with friends during the week, we eat out as a family, we eat out by ourselves for lunch during the work week, we eat out every single Sunday after church...like many Americans, we eat out way too much. Funny thing is, we say we don't have time to exercise, but we always find time to eat out! And we spend a LOT of money eating out.

Part of the problem has been poor planning. We go to bed late and then wake up too late to sit down for a nice healthy breakfast or to pack a lunch. And then I don't always plan dinner, so we just rush out to eat. So the first thing I did was bought a grocery list/meal planner that goes on the refrigerator (for $1.00). I've gone through my biggest loser cookbook and through several healthy recipe websites online and I've made my list. I went through our pantry and got rid of all the junk food....ALL OF IT! I'm ready. I'm SO ready. I've been eating really healthy since the holidays have ended and I already feel so much better.

Let's talk numbers.

It's almost unheard of for a woman to tell you her weight. It's embarrassing (if you are overweight) and it's hard to be honest about it. But because I need accountability and there's really no hiding what you can see with your own eyes (those of you who know me anyway)...here it goes....

On January 1st I weighed in at 174 pounds (and just so you know, I'm 5'7"). Yep...174. That is the most I have ever weighed (besides at the end of pregnancies). Through the years my weight has been all over the map. When I was in highschool: 145. In college with a severe eating disorder: 98. When I got engaged: 125. When I got married: 130. When I got pregnant with Ethan: 161. When I had Ethan 196. When I lost weight after Ethan: 138. When I got pregnant with Noah: 155. When I had Noah: 186. And now here I am (with no child to breastfeed to help really kick off the weight loss).

This morning I weighed 167. So I'm down 7 pounds. But you know that in the beginning you'll lose a lot, then it will slow down. My ultimate goal is to maintain between 130-135. My first goal before we try to get pregnant again is 145. Which really brings me to the reason I titled this blog "Motivation". Getting pregnant again and having a healthy baby born from a healthy mommy is my motivation. I also want to be a healthy mom to Ethan and wife to David. And I want them to be healthy too....which is why David is on board with me in this whole process. We just got memberships to the gym and we are very excited about NOT dieting...but having a real life change. I'm trying some new different fruits and veggies with Ethan which has been great! Some of you know that Ethan is a really picky eater and it's amazing the child is at a normal weight because he just doesn't eat. But lately he's been doing SO much better and is even eating his veggies!

David and I are taking photos of ourselves throughout this process so we can really see the results as we go along. And as far as our debt goes...I'm making a huge chart to hang on our closet door. We will be doing the debt snowball (thanks Dave Ramsey!) and once Ethan goes to Pre-K in September and we won't have nearly the cost that we do with daycare, we will really be able to chip away at the debt.

Please pray for me to stay motivated, to keep planning, and to be disciplined. And also pray that I won't become obsessed. I tend to do that! :o)