It’s about to get real up in here.
Today I’m going to tell you how much I weigh. And some other crap.
Not that I particularly want to, but I think it’s important to keep it real here on the blog.
Until yesterday, we did not have a scale in this house.
I like it that way.
You see, while you would never know it now, in high school and college I was like crazily obsessed with working out, to a point that it was unhealthy. I would literally work out 6-8 hours every day. My senior year, I would play tennis, then go to competitive cheerleading practice, then 2 days a week I went to private tumbling and conditioning classes, had some private lessons with a Ravens cheerleader, signed up for yoga and Tae-bo classes during the school day, and I would go home and do an additional workout video. After the workout video I would do between 500 and 1,000 sit-ups because I read an article in some teeny bopper magazine that said that’s what Britney Spears did.
In order to keep up with that pace, I ate ALL OF THE THINGS. It didn’t matter because I burned them all off.
I’m not going to lie, I had quite a body. As a matter of fact, my friend’s mother actually nicknamed me, “The Body.”
This was me in some hotel somewhere before a cheerleading competition (I can tell from the fake hair on the dresser). I have no idea why I’m making that face.
In this picture I weighed 125 pounds.
I realize it’s not realistic to go back there again.
I don’t care if that’s where the BMI chart says I “should” be. My body needed at least 6 hours of exercise a day to be there.
Ain’t nobody got time for that.
Then I grew up and got married…
135 pounds
and had a career and then babies, which made it impossible to work out that much. 145 pounds and growing…
You know the story, “My kids made me fat, wah, wah, wah.”
My kids did not make me fat. Eating crappy food and not exercising as much as I should made me fat.
I do watch what I eat pretty closely now. I try to eat local and organic REAL (not processed) food as much as possible.
But I hardly exercise at all.
Part of me is scared that I will take it overboard again and be an unhealthy role model for my daughters, but part of me just got lazy.
And part of me is pissed off at the BMI charts and the magazine covers and wants to scream,
DAMMIT, I AM NOT FAT. I GAVE BIRTH TWICE. I HAVE BREASTS AND A SQUISHY TUMMY AND STRETCH MARKS AND THEY ARE ALL PRETTY FREAKING AWESOME.
Well, ok, I might be a little bit fat, but I certainly wouldn’t consider myself “obese” like the BMI charts do. And I wouldn’t consider myself ugly like the magazines would, either.
I have jeans and skirts in my closet that are a size 8 and fit me just fine. I also have several that are a size 12. Whatever.
I’m pretty happy with the way I look and so is my husband.
Do I look obese to you? Don’t answer that.
This picture was taken in October (3 months ago):
And this one was taken just two weeks ago
I realize I do have some weight to lose, I’m not delusional.
But I’m going to do this in a healthy way that sets a good example for my children, particularly the girls.
So here’s what we are going to do. And what we are NOT going to do.
Every week I’m going to weigh in and if you want, you can do it with me. I’m going to call it Get Skinny Saturday. I might not get skinny, but I will get skinnier.
I’m NOT weighing myself more than once a week.
I’m NOT exercising more than 45 minutes a day.
I’m going to eat mostly real food and drink mostly water.
I am NOT going to join some diet club and eat their fake food in a box.
I’m NOT going to cut out chocolate. Nope, not gonna do it.
I’m NOT going to set unrealistic goals like “I want to get back in my wedding dress by our anniversary.”
I’m NOT going to focus on the number on the scale.
I am going to join this diet bet website with a few friends, and we are going to try to lose 4% of our body weight together this month in a healthy way. For me, 4% is about 7 pounds. 7 pounds in a month, less than 2 a week, seems realistic enough to be able to do in a healthy way. If I’m successful, I win money and I’m donating part of the proceeds to children in foster care, which is a cause close to my heart.
Today I started taking the first steps by drinking water instead of tea (which I always put sugar in) and doing a free 20 minute Denise Austin exercise video on YouTube.
Ok, time for the first weekly weigh in
180.2 pounds.
Yep.
Ouch. That is about what I weighed when I was 9 months pregnant with Abby.
It is what it is.
What it is is a beginning.
This is where we are starting.
Let’s see how far we go.
Are you coming with me?
Are you brave enough to post your weight in the comments?
I can totally relate! I was a gymnast for 15 years & graduated high school at 120 lbs. put on way more than the freshman 15 in college, which ruined my collegiate gymnastics career. Got IBS before my wedding & lost a ton of weight (living on pretzels will do that). Gained it back. Took a job that made me anxious & depressed – lost a ton of weight again. & then gained it back again when I quit & became happy again.
All of that to say that my ideal weight only happened when I wasn’t being healthy. I was at that magic BMI number when I wasn’t eating. Unfortunately, 2 kids & the love of crappy food has put me at 188 consistently. I will lose some & gain some, but I always end up back there at 188.
Partially I blame the boobs… These milk machines must weigh 10 lbs a piece haha
I am not at a place where I have the physical or mental energy to join you in this weight loss journey, which I have decided to accept recently instead of beating myself up about it. There will come a time that I’ll make it happen 🙂
But I wanted to share that I understand where you are coming from & also that you are not obese! You look wonderful, & I commend you for trying to be the healthiest you can be!
Thank you so much for the support! Are you sure you are not living my life? Like for real. That is MY story, right down to stress-induced IBS because of a crazy stressful work situation. And gigantic knockers.
Hahaha right down to living in the same county :-p
I am completely not brave enough to put my weight in the comments. I wish you all the luck in the world as you kick off this healthy and inspiring trip down the scale.
Aw, thanks. And you, my dear, are quite the inspiration yourself.
I am planning to get back on Weight Watchers soon. I need to finish clearing out all the holiday food from the house first, and make sure I buy lots of healthy snacks (fruits and veggies) next time I go shopping. We, too, usually eat pretty healthy, but I don’t get nearly enough exercise and portion control is challenging. It’s impossible to make a good snack choice when you have leftover pie staring at you. Just weighed myself and I’m at 180.8. When my husband was deployed a couple years ago, I lost about 20 lbs and felt great. Then I got pregnant again and I’m starting all over again. I’m still nursing the baby, and one of my hardest challenges is to cut back on how much I eat when I wean him.
That holiday food is a killer. It feels so wasteful to throw it out and yet it’s so bad for us. Total Catch 22. Please thank your husband for his service. And thank you to YOU too for being a military spouse!
I weighed 115 when I got married at age 23. I weigh 170 now ! This is mostly due to being arthritic and on steroids and being 55 yrs old. I’m starting an Aqua Fitness class end of January twice a week. Hope this will help to loose some of the weight. I wish you the best Steph. I know you can do it because you are committed to doing this.
I can’t wait to hear about your aqua class!
I have lost my motivation to exercise. I know how much it took when I was at a weight where I felt good and I really do have time for it, I just . . . don’t do it. Thanks for giving me a little inspiration. Not quite sure how much I weigh because I have been afraid to step on the scale since Christmas. Not quite ready to get that reality check. Go you! I admire you. Ellen
I weigh 195 but I’m down 30 lbs because I drink 1 pink drink a day called Plexus slim. I’m not the kind of Mom who likes to exercise partly cause well let’s be honest it’s hard &I don’t like it but also because I’m a homeschooling Mom of 3 kids and I like eating real food 😉 I also have pcos which makes losing weight harder than normal. I love reading your blog because you keep life real like the rest of us crazy mothers. Thank you for that….
http://Www.plexusslim.com/nicholekoval
This is so great, and I can relate to every word (except the sports – I wasn’t nearly that cool!). I exercised obsessively in college and got down to a ridiculous 125. Not good on a 5’9″ frame! Later I got to a slightly more reasonable 140, but like you, I had to fight to stay at my “proper” BMI with hours of daily exercise and barely eating. After my 3rd baby, coupled with finally being happy (and so, less concerned with controlling my appearance), I’m hovering around 170. Not huge (except according to charts and magazines) but I’d like to lose some. You’re so brave to do this so publicly – I’ll be following along and cheering for you!
Good for you! Similarly, I played sports year round in high school – tennis, basketball, softball. Then college, then marriage, then three babies, etc. I am 5’7″ and weigh just shy of 160 (and it took a lot for me to admit that here.) I definitely have self-image issues and I’m always trying to lose a few pounds it seems. I hate exercising and, with kids, eating healthy is hard. I admire you for putting it all out here on your blog and I’ll be following along – and, hopefully losing a little too!
I’m here from your post on HuffPo. Thanks so much for sharing, I really liked this post and your article. Here it goes…
I’m 314…I obviously have a very long ways to go, but I did just quit smoking cigarettes 3 weeks ago, so that was a huge step in the right direction health-wise.
Baby steps 🙂
Congratulations on quitting! What a big step!
Saw your post on huffington. I too always knew I needed to lose weight, but all my labs came back either normal or excellent, so I wasn’t too worried.
January 4, 2014, it was bedtime and I was snuggling in with my 5yo son and 20 month old daughter when a nutrisystem commercial came on. My son looked at me and said, “mom, you should try that. I want to be a skinny family and you aren’t skinny like daddy, baby girl and I are. You aren’t big fat, just little fat.” Those comments still hurt and I promised him I would be “skinny” before he starts kindergarten.
I spoke with a nutritionist and we determined the best way for me to stay on track was to count calories. Up to 2 cups of any steamed or seared veggie doesn’t count, I can eat whatever I want, but I need to track every little bit. I have learned that while I can splurge and have a nutty butter bar, that’s 460 calories I can’t have later. I also find myself hungry, every day and to me, that’s awesome! Reminds me to eat and tells me my metabolism is working!
I have lost 15lbs, went from 170 on January 4 to 155 yesterday morning. I go over my calories every once in a while, but unlike the atkins diet and others, I don’t berate myself over it. I just keep on tracking.
I will do a happy dance when I hit 130 and plan to celebrate every 10lbs!
you are truly inspiring !