My Body isn't a Temple. But it's Getting There.

Many of you have struggled with the same thing I am about to talk about: weight loss after pregnancy. And not just after pregnancy but weight loss anytime. I have struggled with my weight ever since junior high. I have summed this up to a multitude of reasons and any or all of them could be the culprit. I won't bore you with a list as it would be a long one. I've had periods of highs and lows but I've never been really able to consistently keep at a steady healthy weight for an extended period of time.

I was pretty small for me when I met Drew 9 years ago (quick sidetrack.... 9 years???? Holy Crap!). Mainly since I was bring treated for hypothyroidism and my endocrinologist gave me this litte magic pill that decreased my appetite. I very rarely ate more than 1.5 meals a day. As of now I've had my thyroid levels checked before, during and after my pregnancy a few times and my levels have been normal. I'm not sure if the doctors I've seen use a different scale based on my levels than my endocrinologist did or because he was also basing it off family history, but I'm not currently being treated. Even though I started being treated at 15. I'm still not entirely sure what to make of that. 

Anyway, I stopped seeing my endocrinologist a couple of years after I started college and moved to Oregon. Traveling to San Francisco 2-3 times a year plus the expense of the doctor didn't really work out too well so I stopped my meds and definitely noticed a difference in my weight. After Drew and I got engaged though I was determined to get the weight back off and dropped about 20-25 pounds for our wedding. At first I kept it off but life got in the way and I ended up gaining it all back. I've always reached a certain weight and stayed there or hovered around that weight which I'm very thankful for. During my pregnancy with E I gained about 40lbs and was almost 20lbs over my pre-pregnancy weight at my 5 week post-partum check. That was enough to give myself a good kick in the ass. But after all the changes in my body, working out and eating like I had done in the past (lots of Subway and SmartOnes meals) wasn't cutting it. Even changing my workouts and meticulously monitoring every calorie and every meal wasn't getting me the results I feel I should have had by now. So I made a last ditch attempt and tried something new. 

I've been wanting to get back to the trainers at the CrossFit gym I joined during the fitness challenge I did through our health insurance, but the membership is pretty pricey and it definitely cuts into how much we like to keep in our bank account after bills so for right now until I go back to work that isn't an option. So I figured getting a gym membership, any gym, would be beneficial. But staying home with E makes it problematic. I kept seeing the ads for DailyBurn on Hulu and figured what the hell? What I didn't expect is that for an extra five bucks you also had access to their nutrition program so I thought I would give that a try too. I mean, the first month is free, why not? 

I like to think of this as more of a lifestyle change than a diet. Why? Not only is it working for me but its changed the way I look at food. I've been a bit of an ingredient Nazi since E has started eating solids. I'm way worse now. I completely raided our pantry, fridge and freezer, spice and baking cabinet. I don't even know how much food I got rid of. It was a lot. I'm really thankful that Drew is completely supportive in my obsession with eating better. We barely have anything processed in the house anymore and if we do I double check everything that we buy. If it has a stupid amount of ingrediets, something I can't pronounce or I have no idea what it is, we don't buy it. We don't eat out much anymore either. I've kind of learned to like cooking and Drew has always been a fabulous cook so eating at home is something we do most of the time now. Pinterest is my mecca for recipes. I have found so many great recipes and cooking tips that cooking at home is easy. Especially if we plan ahead and do a weekly menu. 

So what have I been doing? I avoid gluten, dairy, soy, alcohol, artificial sweeteners, some naturally occuring sugar and if it does have sugar it has to be less than 10 grams per serving. That's it. The first 21 days I avoided all of that and now I can have foods that contain those but only a very limited amount a week. I've lost about 7lbs in the first month but the weight is starting to come off even faster now that my body has adjusted. I lost over 2lbs during the week of Valentine's Day. That NEVER happens. I have officiay lost all the baby weight and am below my pre-pregnancy. Yay me!

Drew will be the first to tell you that I'm a picky eater. And in the past health foods have not tasted very well. That is not the case now. We've done a lot of taste testing over the last few months. Two compaines we really like are Daiya and Earth Balance. Some of the products will still sneak some soy in but they have soy free options too and so that's what we go for. And the Earth Balance butter and mayo we can't even tell the difference. I still haven't been able to find certain things that fit my new criteria, like coffee creamer and yogurt, so there are a couple of things I miss but I've learned to live without. I've really taken the time to educate myself on ingredients and the process of making certain ingredients. And I've learned that some "health foods" aren't exactly healthy. The biggest thing is to read labels so you know what's in your food. You don't need to eat Azodiacarbonamide. Just because the FDA says its okay Subway doesn't mean you should be using it to make your bread fluffier and whiter. Seriously. 

So, DailyBurn you ask? I like the program.They have a lot of variety and I'm sweaty and sore the next day which is good. But I haven't been using the videos as much as I thought and I have the basics down for the nutrition program so I'm not sure if I'll continue the membership or not. Most of the time I would prefer using the elliptical or since its been so nice put E in the jogging stroller and go for a run. But I also still want to tone up and give myself variety so I'm still on the fence. I'll make a decision by the next time we have to pay for it. 

Really what has given me the biggest push to change my ways has been Evelynne. Last year when I had my yearly check-up and bloodwork everything was good except my weight and cholesterol. High cholesterol runs in my family and I've always had higher than normal levels for my age. But last year it was in the high range, not just high for my age. A lot of people have given me a hard time about being vegetarian and now almost vegan (I'm seriously annoyed with the stigma attatched to that) but that was one of the reasons why I made the switch. Now its probably the biggest reason. I really don't want to have bypass surgery when I'm 45. And I know working out is something I need to do almost every day. I want to be able to keep up with her when she's five and playing soccer. I can eat better all I want but if I'm not in decent shape I won't be able to keep up with her when she's older. 

I know that people say, "My grandfather smoked, drank and ate red meat until the day he died at 99." Well, good for your grandfather but this is what I've learned: in the last 50-60 years the way we eat has completely changed. Why are we the fattest country in the world? Why has certain diseases (heart disease, cancer, diabetes, etc) been on the rise? For hundreds, thousands of years, people didn't eat that much meat and didn't eat processed foods until this last century. Yes, animals were put on Earth to be eaten. But not at the amount and not in the way we are eating it now. Hunters and gatherers and other ancient civilizations only ate meat (not including fish in some areas) when crops were scarce during the winter and drought. And don't fight me on that, I spent enough time studying history to know that is exaclty how people ate. I'm not saying that people shouldn't eat meat. And I'm not one of those vegetarians that judge people for eating meat. I live in a house with two omnivores and I personally feed my child meat. But my body is telling me that I shouldn't and that I should extremely limit or avoid animal products altogether. And I think many things in moderations is fine. But eating bacon and hamburger two times a day, seven days a week isn't what I think God had in mind when he had Noah save cows and pigs. 

Alright, I'm aware that I got a little carried away. But for me I know that the way I've been eating has significantly affected my weight and how my body is tolerating food. This post wasn't meant to suggest that everyone is eating wrong. I wrote this ridiculously too long off a blog to say that this works for me and I plan on living a different and healthier lifestyle. Not just for myself, but for my family and for our future together.