From June to October of 2012, together we lost a combined total of more than 50 pounds! We were running an average of 20 miles a week. It wasn't hard at that time to substitute lettuce for hamburger buns and we even made tofu instead of chicken on occasion. It's not like now, where we have to take into consideration the kind of food D is willing to eat!
Then November hit and we found out our cute little D was on his way. Pregnancy cravings hit. I had food aversions and my "strict" diet began to slide into old habits. To be honest, it really didn't get bad until the end. That's when it became all about McFlurries and Dr. Pepper. (See example of bad eating here) We were still running, but only a few miles a few times a week.
Before we knew it out sweet little man was here! It's crazy the way babies and full-time classes (for Mike) change your life. We maintained some of the habits that we had while I was pregnant, both good and bad. Between taking care of a baby and going back to school, Mike had less time to work out and started to gain some of the weight back. My weight was my pre-weight-loss-challenge-weight, which wasn't bad, but not where I wanted to be.
Last Spring I began running to train for Ragnar and the weight fell right off. I was losing 5 pounds a month from April to July. I was running a lot, but not paying attention to my eats. In July I stopped running and some of my old bad habits came back, like soda and French fries. I love French fries, but man! I gained 5 pounds every month for the next 5 months before I realized I NEED TO STOP! I didn't weigh more than I did in 2012 when this realization hit, but the fact that I was where I wanted to be weight-wise in the Spring and I let it go was quite frustrating. I felt like John Cusack's character in the movie 1408, "I WAS OUT!!"
Anyway, that brings us to January, when Mike and I started being more careful of what we were eating and trying to be more active...and then Kendrick happened. We weren't planning a pregnancy but it was really disappointing when we found out that the pregnancy wasn't viable. The loss that was felt with the ectopic pregnancy has left us feeling a gap- as if something is missing in our family.
Since January, we've been wanting to have another baby, but it hasn't been until this week that we have seriously talked and started making plans for our second baby.
As with our first time, we have weight goals that we need to reach before we conceive. This is super important for both of us. I have a high predisposition to gestational diabetes and want to be very active through my pregnancy so that I can have a similar, if not better experience than my first unmedicated delivery. For Mike, it's about a plentiful amount of strong, healthy swimmers. (Yep, I just said that.)
The goal this time around is about "keeping it real" with our diets and, maintaining and improving our physical activity not only from now until we reach our goal weights and conceive, but also through pregnancy and beyond. It truly has to be a lifestyle change.
To do this we're eating real, whole foods...even "bad foods" in moderation. We're also signed up to run a half marathon in September and I would love to do So.Cal Ragnar in February 2015. (Yes, I realize I'll probably be pregnant by then.)
The whole purpose of this blog is to share our journey with the world. There are so many reasons to be healthy, but many of us face hurdles that can make it seem less important than other things or not important at all. We're out to prove that you don't need to go on a special diet or spend a ton of money on supplements and false hopes to achieve your weight goals. We hope to inspire our readers to make simple changes in life that have the potential to make them healthier. No gimmicks. Just a little family living life and striving to be as healthy as possible.
Enjoy!
