Motivation, Goals, Etc.

Many people in America these days struggle with weight loss. We do too. We've decided to do something about it. I think for me (and I can probably say for Brent too), my biggest motivator is our son. I don't want him to grow up eating junk food all the time and ending up with the same issues that we've struggled with. We have health problems on both sides that can be helped by maintaining a good weight.

Brent and I decided to compete with each other to help motivate us to lose weight. We did good the first week but really goofed this week. Brent started at 235 and I started at 174.5.

Brent will be posting to this blog too, but for now, I'll address my goals and motivation. I really want to get back down to the low 150s as my first goal. That's where I was (152 - 157 range) right before I got pregnant with Brendan in the fall of 2007. The old adage of "eating for two" caught up with me and I ended up gaining 59 pounds with my pregnancy. 216 lbs is way too much for a woman who is 5' 4"! I could blame my doctor for continuing to say "your weight is fine" at each appointment or I could be a grown-up and say it was completely my fault. I'm going with option B. The next pregnancy (God-willing) I intend to be MUCH better. But for now, let's start with getting back down in that range again. These are the things I want to accomplish through this:

1) Eat better. Include more vegetables in dinners. Eat smaller portions especially when we eat out.
2) Exercise regularly (ie, at least 3 times a week). When I lost my weight the first time (I went from 182 to 152 in 7 months with Weight Watchers) I did it without exercise. It was all through portion control and drinking enough water. I want my muscle back. In junior high I had a lot of muscle from swimming and track season (I threw discus and shot-put). Plus I need my muscle for hauling around my 20+ lb bundle of joy!
3) Not be self-conscious in my bikini when we go to Cancun in August!

So my current update is that I weighed 174 this morning. I worked out last night using our Wii Fit. The best thing about the Fit is that it's perfect for my competitive nature. I love beating my old scores on things and being able to see when I improve or backslide. My favorite Yoga pose would have to be the shoulder stand, favorite Strength exercise is the Plank (holding yourself up by your forearms in a push-up type stance for 60 seconds!), favorite Aerobics exercise is tied between the advanced boxing and advanced step, and finally favorite Balance game is the ski jump. In the exercises I do with the Fit, I've been concentrating on the ones that target core muscles. And between that and the balance games, I've noticed a huge difference in my stance. I have got to keep this up! According to the Fit, I need to be 129 to be at a good BMI. Personally, I think that's a little underweight for me. I weighed 130 when I graduated high school and that was with very little muscle. So a long-term goal would be 145 for me. But that probably won't happen until I'm done having children, lol. 152 is my goal. I have 22.5 lbs to go!