Take Charge: Enough Is Enough!

Have you noticed how when it comes to losing weight the masses seem to be looking for a quick fix.  Give me the magic pill or surgery.  Heaven forbid we exercise and/or change our diet to lose the weight.  I've known people who have tried the different gimmicks; some worked, but most didn't.  What's worse is when you try the quick fix and learn you can't keep the weight off without it.  BIG FAIL!  We should be able to maintain our weight reasonably.  If you can't maintain your weight on your own than something isn't reasonable.

To get a little personal, I want to say I gained 28 pounds when pregnant with Kaitlyn Joy.  The lactation specialist commented several times over our five day hospital stay on how I didn't look like I just gave birth.  I didn't.  And thanks to insane pumping for my child who refused to breastfeed, I lost all the baby weight before she was two months old.  When she was nine months old we started back with fertility treatments.  It was the fall so when I gained five pounds I just contributed it to early holiday weight.  I ended up doing three more rounds of fertility treatments and gained weight with each of them.  It was in the middle of one extraordinarily long IVF cycle that I learned the drugs cause weight gain.  Not cool.  Since being back stateside, I've done one more IVF.  I kept hoping I would get pregnant than all the breastfeeding or pumping would melt the pounds off which wasn't the case.

What goes along with weight gain, but health problems.  Just to name some minor issues, I shouldn't be winded from walking up my stairs.  I would rather be winded from an hour on the elliptical than from walking up stairs.  How about bending over and feeling like you can't breath?  Yeah, that's a nice one.  I know some of my family might be thinking, "I'll tell you about not breathing" or "walking up stairs? Try walking to the mailbox."  Yes, I know I didn't have 50+ pounds to lose.  However, noticing the different weight issues, some more important than those mentioned, I hit my breaking point.  Let's talk sizes...  who wants to go up a clothing size?  Okay, there may be a skinny model out there or some girl recovering from a health issue or eating disorder, but I'm talking about your average chunky girl going up a size.  I went up two sizes and was on the verge of three.  Enough is enough!

In February I decided to turn to my magic pill of weight loss.  And guess what... it's working.  I was one pound lighter than my top pregnancy weight when I started so I had 27 pounds to lose.  I knew, magic pill or not, it was going to be a challenge to lose the weight because I wasn't trying to drop 50 pounds or more.  In the first six weeks I lost 12 pounds, in week seven I lost one (ouch) and in week eight I maintained (double ouch).  Now week eight was last week and we had a birthday party and family here all week so maintaining is pretty good considering.  So what's my magic pill you ask?  Cutting calories and exercise!  I just lost you didn't I?  Who cares to cut calories and what in the world is exercise?!!!  Cutting calories isn't really that bad.  Start noticing what you're eating.  Read the labels.  Do you need that second helping or do you just want it?  When the numbers start dropping and you notice your pants being to lose, you will be glad you skipped that banana pudding.

2 Corinthians 9:27 talks about beating your body and making it your slave.  Do you know how liberating it is to say to your body, "you can go farther" when it's ready to give up?  And guess what, it really can go farther.  My body is my slave it can't just gorge on donuts.  The Bible says my body is temple of the Holy Spirit.  Who am I to not take care of it?

Today a couple at the gym told me their fitness class uses Lose It! to keep up with how many calories they can eat a day.  I tried it and it's pretty cool.  It asks how many pounds you want to lose a week, takes your birthday, gender, height, weight, and goal weight, than tells you how many calories you can eat.  Go check it out and lose some weight!