Introduction

Well, hello!  This is my first post!  This is actually the second time I've blogged, the first being when I was a freshman in college.  I needed it then, to keep me sane.  Anyway, most of you should know me, but my name is Lesli.  I am married to Ryan and we have two beautiful daughters.  Kenadi just turned 3 and Kolbi is 18 months.  I am 23 and love to read, write, and enjoy my family.  I work full time at work and I work full time at home.  Around the clock.  I used to consider myself very much an "athlete" in every sense of the word.  I ran, played sports, and was always on the go.  Now....not so much.  Except for the "on the go" part.  But now it just means I'm constantly chasing kids, cleaning up messes, and doing the "mom" thing.  Which is my reason for this blog.  I'm overweight. 

Here is a little history:
I am 5'3 and weighed about 125 when I graduated highschool in 2005.  I married Ryan in September of 2006 and weighed about 135 then.  I had fallen into the habit of eating out a lot with him, and always eating as much as he ate, without even realizing it.  I don't know that I really ate a LOT more than what I was used to eating during highschool, but I certainly wasn't as active as I had been before.  In school, I played softball and basketball and had no problem with running or weight-training in the off-season.  After getting married, we played in a church softball league during the summer, but that's about it.  I also was working as a waitress, which didn't help with the eating thing.  Speaking of that....what I like (and liked then) to eat is fried foods (high in fat), packaged processed foods (high in sugar), and chocolate.  Fast food was my friend during my first year of college and that continued pretty much up until now.  I eat when I'm stressed, bored, sad, or happy.  Food puts me in a good mood, which is incredibly dangerous.  I hate admitting that, because that means something is kinda wrong with me, but it's the truth.  I have gotten use to eating really really yummy and really really unhealthy foods.  So that is what I crave.  When there has been an accomplishment or achievement in the family, I get excited about going out to eat "to celebrate".  When I've had a bad day at work, I look forward to eating "to cheer me up".  When I'm in a good mood and having an awesome day, I want to eat to "top it off".  It's the icing on the cake.  I love cake.  :-)  On with the story...about two years and a few months after our wedding, we had our first baby girl!  During my pregnancy, I gained about 30 lbs, putting me about 165 lbs before I gave birth.  After my pregnancy, with the help of nursing and a weird "I'm-just-honestly-never-hungry" phase that lasted a few months, I was back down to 140 lbs.  I was ok with my body then.  Wasn't like it was before, but it had just gone through a major change and I was proud of that aspect (STILL AM).  Nothing wrong with changes in your body after you've been given the most amazing miracle of pregnancy and childbirth.  Fast forward about 12 months and I'm (SURPRISE!) pregnant again.  This was about the time I stopped nursing, as recommended by my doctor.  So there went that little bit of help with the weight maintenance.  (If you didn't know, breastfeeding burns calories and promotes weight loss after childbirth.  Not to mention all the other health benefits.)  So I went to the doctor and confirmed the pregnancy and found out I had gained 10 lbs.  So then I was at 150.  When I'm pregnant, I feel this NEED to eat, so that's what I did.  This time I gained 30 lbs, which put me at a whopping 180 lbs before delivery.  I wasn't too worried, because, hey, I'll just lose it all really fast like I did the first time.  Wrong.  This time it was a lot harder!  I did the exact same stuff I did before, only this time I was chasing a toddler too, which I thought would really aid in the weight loss, but it didn't.  I did eventually get back down to 150 and maintained that weight for about 6 months.  Then I suddenly started gaining again and immediately though, "Am I pregnant again??"  Turns out I wasn't, I was just eating too much.  I was out of a job for a short time and I think I spent most of the day eating at home, while spending time with my girls.  Not so great for my body.  I know you're all wondering, "So what does she weigh NOW?"  Well, even though it's not the HIGHEST number I've ever seen on the scales, it's pretty high for me and I'm so not happy or comfortable with it.  I currently (as of this morning) weigh 167 lbs, per my scale at home.  Definitely overweight for my petite frame. 

My first big goal is to lose 30 lbs.  Then, if I decide I'm happy at that weight and can maintain it, I will stop there and continue with healthy eating and exercising.  If I still feel the need to lose more, I'll try for another 10 lbs.  I have a feeling I'll feel so much better just losing 30 and that is a healthy weight for me, so that's why I'm not making a decision on that yet.  I don't want to lose 30 lbs and then feel like I failed because I couldn't get 10 more off.  I know my body and it has limits.  I just want to be healthy and feel good about myself! 

Here's the plan:
First of all, I'll be going on a diet starting on January 10th.  I call it a diet, but it's really just eating healthy and exercising.  Diet is just easier to say and faster to type.  I'm going to do this in cycles.  It coincides with a diet called "The 17-Day Diet", but is altered a little for me, as I don't want to do a "fad diet" or do the yo-yo dieting thing.  It may sound like a diet, and look like a diet, but this is a lifestyle change for me. 

My first cycle will last two weeks.  For those two weeks, I will eat as much good protein as I want:  chicken breast (grilled, baked, roasted), turkey breast, tuna, salmon, etc.  Those are freebies.  More freebies:  Cleansing vegetables.  Cleansing vegetables are ones that have high water content and just do cool stuff for your body, like supporting detox in the intestines, blood, and liver and offering protective antioxidants.  Like onions for example.  They accelerate the break down of fats in food so your body is more able to excrete them than to store them in fat cells. Fun!  My take on vegetables is:  I can tolerate most of them.  I don't necessarily like them unless they are drenched in Ranch dressing or some other kind of yummy, fat-packed veggie dip, but that's not really what I'm going for.  I will also have 2 servings of low-sugar fruits per day, most likely for breakfast and snack.  Apples, berries, oranges, pears, red grapes, and peaches are all great options for me, because I actually like them.  Next is 2 servings of probiotic foods, such as yogurt, and I will probably have this along with my fruit for breakfast and snack.  I like yogurt.  :-)   Other than that, I just need to drink lots of water (64 oz at LEAST) and 3 cups of green tea, which offers compounds that help burn fat.  And I can't forget my wake up drink....one glass of warm hot water with lemon juice.  It's supposed to help cleanse your liver and kidneys of toxins.  Sounds good to me!  There are two more cycles after this one and each is altered just slightly from this plan.  I'll also exercise at least 20 minutes per day, every single day.  Yikes.  In addition, I'll be joining a weight loss challenge at work as even more of an incentive to stick to my plan.  I'm hoping with support from my friends here and on Facebook, my family, and my co-workers, I can really make this change!  I'm very excited for sure. 

I'll continue to update this blog with what I eat, how I'm exercising, and how I feel.  All comments are appreciated :-) 

Wish me luck!