What a difference a year makes...

So, one of my best friends has been encouraging me to write this post for a long time (thanks Rachie!!!) and I've hesitated. Don't really know why, but it's been difficult for me to figure out a way to get it into words... so here goes. I know these aren't the best pics to get my point across, but they are exactly one year apart.

This was our Christmas card pic last year - taken by the oh so talented Angela Wisley. :)


This is our pic taken this year by my parents' neighbor - we did our whole family pic this year - they turned out great. I'll have to share those soon.

So, what's the difference you ask??? (besides the fact that my kiddos were WAY MORE COOPERATIVE THIS YEAR...) DRUM ROLL PLEASE!!!!! I've lost nearly 40 lbs since last year's picture. HOORAY!!! I know he angle of the pictures make it a little hard to tell, but holy cow, I know (and only I know) what size those jeans were last year. Let me just say that they are out of my closet now. And I hope forever!!!!!

I don't really know what happened to me weight-wise. I had two kids in less than two years, true, but I actually lost most of the baby weight pretty quickly and then I stopped nursing. My appetite didn't exactly get the memo that "the girls" were no longer helping me burn 500-600 extra calories a day, I suppose. I was eating crappy food all the time and exercise??? What's that when you have two babies to chase. So, last year when I went to the gyno for my checkup (July 2009), I got a big ole lecture... I weighed more than when I delivered sweet Jonathan. Can you say wake up call??? But I didn't get my butt in gear until that November.

So, when Rachie invited me to go to Boot Camp with her, I went. And oh.my.word.it.was.hard! But, here's a secret. I loved it. It is challenging as heck, but I started to go regularly. It meets 3 times each week. It is such a sacrifice - of time, energy and money. But, Billy and I prayed about it and thought it to be worth the investment. I paid in advance for one 7 week session and just said, "we'll see what happens." Now, I didn't start to lose weight immediately. But I started to feel so much better and so much stronger. My boot camp teacher gave me some personal challenges early on that really helped. Finally, after 3-4 months, I started noticing some changes. but, here's my confession... I wasn't really changing any of my eating habits. It wasn't until this summer that I started to change the way I was eating. Here's a couple of things I've changed:
* I used to eat whatever I fixed for the boys for breakfast - usually carbs like Cinnamon Rolls, Crescent Rolls, Pancakes etc.
*NOW, I hardly ever eat those things... my breakfast is usually a nutri-grain bar or a scrambled egg with some cheese and maybe some ham or turkey for added protein
* when I worked full time in Frankfort, I ate out nearly every day for lunch. But I wasn't making healthy choices. I was eating McDonalds or Steak N Shake or Dairy Queen... or something like that.
* Now, I hardly ever eat fast food. I still eat it occasionally, but definitely not once a week! And I've STOPPED EATING LEFT OVER CHICKEN NUGGETS from my boys' happy meals. Geesh.
* I have given myself personal challenges. I will never be the healthiest eater because I am so picky. But, I have quite a sweet tooth that I've had to tame. I have put myself on a no sweets diet several months out of this year. I am currently on a no sweets diet for December (but will definitely cheat on Christmas!) because I want to lose 3 more pounds before the end of the year.
* oh - and probably the most significant... I've really upped my cardio. I've been running a lot. Nearly every day until this pesky snow and ice stuff started... I am working toward running a 10 mile race on January 1. You can pray that I can make it... lately, the longest distance I've conquered is 4 1/2 miles.


My results??? almost 40 lbs lighter and I can fit in most of all my pre-Jacob clothes! YEAH!!! So glad that Ann Taylor clothes never go out of style. :-) I wore some pants last week that I definitely hadn't been able to get in since 2005 - right before I got preggo with Jacob. Exercise is important to me and is one of my priorities. I'm so so so so so grateful that Billy is supportive and agrees to be superdad while I exercise 5-6 days a week. I only do Boot Camp two times a week now due to my work schedule and the finances. But I've found some personal motivation to keep it up on my own. The Boot Camp is awesome though... I would highly recommend it. It's an interval training class - with cardio and strength training combined. Let me know if you would like to join me. :-)

I also appreciate your encouragement... keep it coming! This is a lifelong journey. I never ever hope to see those big girl jeans I wore in last year's Christmas pic! :-)