Accountability

Without accountability, one can be lost. This is the case with me and my weight. I started out as an athletic, active teen who was involved in track, volleyball and made the varsity team of softball my freshman year. Somehow I let boys get in the way and never took sports seriously, much to my adulthood's chagrin. My first year away at college I tried out for the Softball team and was offered a walk on spot as 3rd base with a scholarship, I never told my parents about the scholarship because quite frankly i was WAY too lazy to do all that running around outside in the Tennessee humidity.

At 20 I was working at a local private Athletic Club where i was able to get in daily workouts and nightly games of racquetball. A year and a half later I quit this job for a position as my high school's softball coach, met my future dear hubby and fell in love. I was in the best shape of my life, that year. I was 21, 5'4" and 125 lbs of all muscle. We look back at pictures and i wonder why in the world i had such poor self esteem. For the next 2 years our lives included memberships to the local gym, lots of working out in the sheets and out of them and a generally healthy lifestyle.

Then at 23 we found out the uterus who was deemed 'never capable of achieving a pregnancy nor carrying it full term due to PCOS and possible endometriosis', was in fact capable of achieving a pregnancy after the birth control had been tossed out the window and an after the fact confirmed night of ovulation. From the moment I found out I was pregnant (6 weeks) til the day I gave birth I proceeded to puke up every iota of food I dared to let pass between lips. After a few trips to the ER and a sterm high protein diet from my OBGYN, I was finally given Zofran at about 16-20 weeks. I had yet to gain a lb, my gym memberships replaced with drugs to combat the morning sickness that cost about $235 for 6, and finally the ability to go out in public, because i was no longer puking 20 times a day, but just after meals. It was a miracle I gained 28 lbs with that pregnancy and avoided homehealthcare with a nurse on watch. I swore i'd never get pregnant ever again.

And as most mom's know, the gym goes out the window with a colicky newborn who refuses a bottle. Yes, i was suddenly a prisoner of my child while she became fondly known as a boobtick. Thankfully all that nursing cut off every last pound and more and I was back to being 135 lbs with E-F sized boobies, i wasn't complaining. Sadly, I never stepped foot back in a gym. I never had time, had a very sick child by 9 months of age and had a home to run. I was ok with this, my hubby was supportive and we both missed our physical activities but knew it would return eventually. At 14 months after my first daughter was born, i somehow agreed to ttc again. Bam 3 weeks later I KNEW I was pregnant and a week later the BFP and morning sickness ensued. So much for being in the best physical shape of my life!

Ironically enough, I ended up being in the best physical shape of my life for my 2nd pregnancy. I found midwives, who were able to treat my hyperemesis with dandelion root and a healthy diet. I was active with walking and chasing a toddler around, my diet was superb and I was on numerous supplements and vitamens. I gained 18 lbs with that pregnancy and had my 2nd baby who weighed the exact same size as her sis, 8 lbs 2 ounces at home. I lost the weight within a month and dropped back down to the 120's range due to my thryoid. One would think i had passed the dreaded weight gain one hears new mothers talk about.

But oh no, my body decided to do it backwards. 9 months later I returned to work full-time and in a 2 year period I gained 40 lbs. I now sit at 162 lbs and enough is enough., I am heavier now then i was the day I gave birth to my last daughter. Thankfully in one short month I will be returning home with my girls and look forward to the daily exercise, the time to cook healthy wholesome meals and a returned sense of accountability for my health and my body. So today is the first day that I will begin boring any lingering readers with my daily meal journal and workouts. Of course it wont solely be about that, I'm a mother/wife/surrogate/friend/artist and jill of all trades so i'll try to sprinkle my blog with interesting things besides my weight accountablility!

SO today it begins:

Breakfast: 378 calories consumed

Activia yogurt, 2 tablespoons of whole flaxseed & 1 Dr. Pepper

Lunch: 767 calories consumed

2 chicken breasts, 1 small salad, 1 small french fry, 4 packets of ketchup & 1 DP

Dinner: 927 calories consumed

1 chicken breast, 1.5 cups of noodles, 1 cup sauce, 2 pieces of garlic whole wheat toast

Throughout the day I have consumed 12 cups of water

Total consumed calories = 2072 (yikes need to shave off about 300)

Workout: 57 minutes

20 minute Shred by Jillean Michales, 1 mile walked, 1 mile jogged all courtesy of OnDemand

Total calories burned =