I Did It! Two Big Milestones

My first milestone is that I made my goal weight on May 11 2010! I lost an even 30 pounds. But to be honest this has been a work in progress since before I had kids. Before I got pregnant with Isha I lost 22 pounds and then after she was born I lost an additional 20 pounds. Thank you breastfeeding. Unfortunately between that time and after Diya was born I had gained a few pounds back so I needed to lose 30 pounds to get me where I am today. That makes for a total of 58 pounds lost from my highest weight ever.

Some days I am scared about how I am going to keep the weight off. It takes a lot of work, but to be honest it takes a lot of work to be fat and to constantly worry about being fat so I will do what I need to do and keep it off. I just have to realize that I am not cured and that I am always going to have to watch what I eat. Honestly though, no one needs to eat as much ice cream as I did anyways!!!

My other milestone is that I ran my 5K race!! It was a ton of fun. The weather was perfect and I was able to run the entire race without having to stop and walk. I didn't get the best time, but my goal was just to run the whole race and I did it!!!! It was such a great feeling and I hope that the girls will learn to enjoy being active and not have to ever have 58 extra pounds on their bodies.

I also went shopping this weekend and bought some new clothes for the summer. I went from wearing a size 12 to a size 6!!! Any time I feel stressed about keeping the weight off I should just pull out a pair of my old jeans and that should freak me out enough to get me motivated to be healthy and make good choices about food.

Here I am close to the finish line!!! My next goal is to run a 10K and NO I have no desire to ever run a marathon, but a half marathon... well MAYBE.

Before And After

I was excited to get rid of the baby weight after having Diya last summer. I had gained 35 pounds during my pregnancy and just like when I had Isha all of the weight came off pretty fast, but I was still 30 or so pounds overweight. I was hoping that just like when I breastfed Isha I would lose another 20 pounds over the next six months. Well, that didn't happen!! By the time Diya was 4 months old I was already starting to gain weight and I was feeling miserable. I really needed to do something and after reading a great post on the Domestic Goddess's blog and talking to a friend who teaches at Weight Watchers I decided to join the beginning of this year.

I can't believe I am posting this picture, but boy was it a motivator for me. Check out those hips. All I have to say is thank goodness for the cover up around my waist!!!

So after 16 weeks of Weight Watchers I am down 27 pounds (my goal is to lose 30 pounds) and here I am now:

It feels so good to be able to put my old pants back on and it feels even better not to be constantly worrying about whether or not other people think I am fat. I spent way to much mental energy worrying about what others thought. Most importantly I feel good about setting a good example for my girls.

Along with this desire to lose weight also came a desire to be fit and in shape. I used to think that people who loved to run where crazy. I still think that they might be because I don't know that I will ever "LOVE" to run, but I have realized that it is much easier to do when you aren't 30 pounds overweight. I set a goal to run a 5K race and this week I started my 5th week in a 6 week training program. I registered for my race, which is on May 29, so now I am committed to following through with this.

Even thought I am almost at my goal weight I have realized that I still have some work to do. Having two kids has really changed my body. Nothing is where it used to be!!! I have realized that instead of needing to lose more weight I just need to tone what I've got and accept the fact that gravity has become my enemy!!!

Fast Food Nation

Wow...Have I been a slacker or what!!!! I haven't had much to post here and when I finally read an interesting book I never got around to posting about it so here it finally is.

I read this for book club a few months ago and it was really interesting. I thought it was just going to be about fast food, but it is really about how fast food has changed the American way of life. The issues covered in this book ranged from advertising in public schools to the meat packing industry to violence in the work place. All of this stemming from our addiction to fast food. Thank goodness I don't eat fast food very often (usually just on road trips or when stuck in the airport) because this book left me never wanting a Big Mac again!! It really opened my eyes to how it effects so many lives in a really negative way.

I am glad I read this book because it has me fired up to be more involved in my dear friend Heather's Local Eating challenge. Last year was hard because I was a bit preoccupied with being pregnant, but this year I am ready!!! I am the healthiest, fittest and lowest weight I have been in years and that is a big motivator to make sure I am only putting healthy stuff in this body!!! NO fast food for me!!

Finally

I have wanted to try out this pattern for years and have never gotten around to it until now. Part of the problem is that I was never sure what size of bulb to buy because the pattern calls for a 2 5/8 inch bulb, but none of them are labeled at the store. So I started the pattern and then figured I would just "try it on" at the store to find the right bulb. I finally ended up at Michael's and found some bulbs that had measurements on them and to my surprise my attempt at this pattern was way to big for a 2 5/8 inch bulb. I guess I should have checked my gauge! This was my first attempt at crocheting with such a fine thread and small hook and my work was just to loose, but luckily I did find some bigger bulbs that my pattern fit on.

I was hoping for a nice colored bulb, but these clear glass ones were all I could find in the right size. I added the bow to give the ornament a little color. My goal now is to make a few more and hopefully I can get my crocheting tight enough to put the pattern on the correct size bulb, but all in all I was pretty happy with how the final product came out.

This one is going to one of the mom's in my Richmond Mommies group. We are having a mom's night out and an ornament exchange. I hope the new owner loves this ornament as much as I do.

W.I.P. Diya's Blanket

Actually it is Diya's Blanket 2.0. The first attempt was so full of mistakes that I pulled it all out and started a new pattern. This ones is much easier and is turning out beautifully!! I love the color and I can't wait to finish it.

I was working on it the other night while watching the Virginia Gubernatorial debate and some how I managed to miss some stitches somewhere and I had to pull out a whole row. I was so mad because I messed up my blanket due to the fact that I was paying more attention to the two idiots on the TV and not to my knitting. The worst part is after an hour of watching the debate all I know about the candidates is that they both have a plan for everything. No specifics were given, just that they have a plan. Well DUHHH, I figured that. Anyways...while undoing my knitting I managed to do something weird to a few of the stitches and I had no idea how to fix it. Luckily I have a friend whose mom is a knitter so I went over to her house and she showed me how to fix it. Yeah!! So now I am back on track and making progress on Diya's blanket.

Dress Up

Jai's parents were here and Jai's mom dressed me up in her Sari.

Fun to dress up in but not practical for the SAHM!!

A Little Knitting

I have finally been motivated to start Diya's blanket!! I was so motivated that I broke my rule of knitting in complete silence and now I have a mistake that I don't know how to fix!! (That's what I get for getting overly confident in my knitting skills.) There were to many distractions and somehow I miscounted something and when I went to fix it I managed to add an extra stitch. All I need to do is undo a few stitches and then I could fix the problem, but that is the only problem with knitting for me: when I make a mistake I get stuck!! I decided to put it down for now and once the house is quiet tonight I might try to fix it. Wish me luck.