My struggle with weight loss....

For the last 8 years I have been pregnant for 238 weeks!  My battle with weight loss began during my first pregnancy.  That was the most I've gained in any of my pregnancies and I have yet to lose it all!  As my waste began to expand and my wardrobe got smaller, so did my personality.  When my husband and I first met I was a tiny little bubbly outspoken firecracker who was not afraid of anything!  I remember the first time I was alone with Nathan after knowing him for only weeks, I looked him in the eye and said something like, "you have got to get your life right, you are running from God and you better stop it!"  I don't know why in the world he thought that was so attractive but I guess my honesty was something he found he needed in his life at the time.  At that time I was a small group leader, worship leader, I had the occasional solo on a Sunday morning and I had great confidence.

As years went on, I began pulling back.  I became more and more self conscious of my weight, more shy, quieter, introverted.  Every Sunday morning I was in tears for hours trying to find something to wear so that I didn't look like an idiot sitting next to my husband (who was on staff) in the front row of the church.  I dropped out of choir (initially for other reasons but never went back), and when our church decided to go on television-I stopped going to church!  To be completely fairm that wasn't the ONLY reason I stopped going to church, but it played a good role.  Everyone around me at church had amazing outfits, and the Choir stopped wearing robes and the thought of seeing my huge self on the big screen on Sunday morning was a bit repulsive!  I began feeling so insecure that even going to stores on the arm of my handsome husband, who is frequently mistaken for Keanu Reeves, began messing with my mind.  I would watch peoples expressions and make up their dialog in my head, "WOW did you see that hot guy with that huge woman!  What a waste!!"  While I knew that I was valuable to God, and my husband loved me still,  I personally hated looking at myself in the mirror.  I learned that if I didn't look in the mirror much or take photos, then my mind automatically viewed myself as skinny, and that was the point of view that I wanted!

Problem was every time I had a window of opportunity to lose weight, I got pregnant!  Seriously, I would drop 5-10lbs and a week later- I'm pregnant!  Happened EVERY time!  So that was always my excuse, "well I'm pregnant, so I can't diet!"  They tell you it is unhealthy to diet while pregnant.  However, I just find it hard to believe it is healthy to be pregnant, overweight, and gaining weight!  But I stuck to my doctors advice and did not diet.  With each baby I added at least an extra 10lbs to my weight loss goal.

When we first got married I was not a cook.  I could make Ramon, Spaghetti, and a mean sandwich and bowl of cereal but a cook I was not.  We ate out A LOT!!  It was more convenient, tasted way better than I could make, and plus when I lived at home we NEVER got to eat out much!  As our family began to grow, I struggled to cook more.  It was more cost effective but still a very hard thing for me.  I never knew anything about nutrition, I didn't even know that it was THAT bad for you to eat out all the time.  I figured a salad now and then and we are golden!  It took me a few years but within 5 years I finally mastered the art of cooking to where my kids and husband ONLY wanted me to cook dinner and didn't even want to order out anymore!  And by then it was too late!

Nathan had high Cholesterol and was pre-diabetic and I had gestational diabetes with all my children and was overweight.  It was time to RE-LEARN how to cook again!!  I read a few books on nutrition, and heart healthy diets and I came to the conclusion that "God's way is the best way!"  While they tell you that heart healthy diets were low fat diets, there was just something in me that said NO, that is NOT natural!  So I got rid of all processed foods, boxed foods except for occasional pasta and rice, only bought frozen and fresh veggies and occasionally canned beans, but my recipes were the same thing over and over!  And my weight would start and stop and stay right where it was.  So I began to get upset and frustrated!  I wasn't seeing any visible results!  And then I came across Trim Healthy Mama!

There wasn't a lot of stuff out there that told you what the diet was about, but there was a lot of great reviews and amazing looking foods on pinterest, so I decided I needed to look into that book!  I bought the book and received it within two weeks!  I am still working my way through (as it is 600 pages long) but I'll get there slowly!  I began doing THM two weeks ago and will never look back!  So far I've lost a total of 3lbs in two weeks, bringing my total weight loss to 15lbs!  The great thing about this diet is that #1 it is safe to do while pregnant and nursing, #2 it has increased my milk supply, usually by now I'm lucky to still be nursing once a day!  #3 You still get to eat tasty foods, and Chocolate!!  This book teaches you how to pair your foods so that it keeps your blood sugars from spiking and causing weight gain!  This book is full of wonderful recipes!

I've become such a food snob in the last few months leading up to THM, and now I'm even worse!  When I lived in Ky my favorite restaurant was Steak n' Shake!  Living here there is no Steak n' Shake anywhere.....until now!  After we closed on the house Friday we went by there for a celebration dinner!  I ordered my old usual, cheese fries, frisco melt, and chili.  I was so excited to finally taste that amazing meal after 10 years!!  I started with the chili, it was good, but there was something missing...the taste was off and not how I remembered.  Then there was the fries.  You can never go wrong with their shoe string fries smothered in cheese sauce- they were gross!  Greasy and the cheese tasted like a can!  By the time I got to the burger- the one thing that tasted decent- I couldn't eat it because I was already grossed out!  I came home and had me a wasa cracker with cream cheese and sliced turkey.  I felt miserable after that meal and it was not worth it at all!  That was the first time we've eaten out in over a month!

Moving to this new house has really helped me with the process of eliminating fast food.  We have ZERO places around us that is convenient!  I cannot call Nathan and ask him to pick up something on his way home anymore because it is faster for me to just cook something!!  My point in sharing all of this is that I want to encourage other women and let them know that I know first hand how debilitating being overweight can be.  I know how challenging it can be to want something convenient and tasty and how the words "lets just grab something while we're out" were a part of my every day vocabulary!  This book was a life saver for me!  It has become a lifestyle of eating and not just a diet!  It has only been 2 weeks but Already I've noticed a huge difference just in my energy levels and confidence!  If you are looking for a diet that is going to change your life, please order your book today, and join the facebook page!!  With this diet there is no excuses during pregnancy and nursing...the weight can still healthily come off!  What an answer to prayer!