Last weekend the husband and I were at the mall here doing a little bit of shopping ... or rather I was doing a little bit of shopping and he was tagging along like the good sport that he is. I was pretty overjoyed to find that Victoria's Secret was having their big sale and made my way to go into that atrociously pink store to grab a few normally overpriced bras that were only like $16.00 a piece... score!While I was browsing, with Mike hot on my tail and staying close in the girly store, a little girl nearby was talking to her mom and made the comment "Look mommy, that lady is pregnant!" to which the child got met with "Ssssh, no hunny."
At first I smiled at the inquisitive child and then looked around to see whom she was talking about, but there was no one near us outside of my husband and the girls mother. I looked back over to them to see the mother looking down into the bins, acting too busy to meet my gaze and then over to my husband who gave me that "It's ok Amanda, she's just a kid, don't feel bad." sad stare. So I did the only thing that I could think of ... I pretended that I hadn't heard the little girl, smiled at Mike, paid for my overrated made in Korea bras, and hightailed it out of that store.
She was talking about me.
And even though I smiled and pretended that I didn't hear her, I was crying and quite torn up on the inside, because there really was nothing false about that little girls observation. I've known that for awhile now but just really never had the motivation to make a change in my life.
After being sick and on bed rest with both of my kids I gained an obscene amount of weight, and the truth of the matter is, I've never done a single thing really to get it off. I've made many unsuccessful attempts at dieting and exercising, but a week or so into it I give up.
I. am. fat.
and unhealthy, and mistreating my body.
And I have a spare tire around my mid-section as a result of it.
So, I've made a vow to myself to make an honest attempt to fix things, because really, I'm done having kids... and therefore don't really want to look as if I'm currently preggo if I'm not.
I'm joining a gym in a few weeks, as soon as I get the extra cash to do so, because I seriously need to take better care of myself. Plus I figure that this will finally give me an excuse to buy that ipod that I've been wanting but couldn't justify spending money on!
So ladies, got any weight loss tips for a girl who is finally making a change in her life?
6 comments:
ohhh, I feel the pain of being mistaken for being pregnant! It happened to me a little over a year ago, though in my case it was a well-meaning older lady at church who asked me if I was pregnant. I wasn't overweight, either. Just had a little of the post-baby belly that is nearly impossible to get rid of. And a penchant for loose fitting dresses. It still stung, though, mainly because I came home and realized that because of the way the dress hung against that bit of mama gut did actually make it look like I could be pregnant. I have never EVER worn a loose fitting dress since!
All of that is to say that while I applaud your honesty about your health and your commitment to honor your body by treating it well, just know that the child's comment might have been based on something as simple as the type of shirt you were wearing that day. So take her comment as motivation and be thankful for the epiphany it gave you abouty our health, but please PLEASE don't feel bad about your appearance because of it. You are beautiful.
Go Amanda Go!
If it makes you feel any better, I looked pregnant before I was even pregnant. And at only 3 months now, I look closer to 6 months, and people are constantly asking me when I'm due.
I DO have some tips, having lost about 60 lbs somewhat recently. I know you're heard this before, but eat 6-8 smalls meals a day, rather than large full meals. What I would do, is split my regular meals in half, and put the other half in the fridge to eat in an hour or two. It makes it easy that way. Eat within an hour of waking, and an hour of going to sleep. it will keep your metabolism running smoothly.
Smoothies. And always always throw in a handful of spinich. Just a few leafs, it gives you extra vitamins, and FIBER, and you'll never taste it.
Stevia, rather than sugar. Or, half stevia half sugar. Stevia is expensive, but if you buy a big $20 container of it, it will last you FOREVER. Its a zero calorie ALL NATURAL sweetener, that comes from a leaf. Its good for you, not chemicals.
Ok. I think thats all the advice I have for now. I need to follow a lot of that advice myself. Being pregnant, its easy to slide back into old habits of eating an entire plate of food at once, and loading up whatever sugary treat I desire.
And girl, get yourself the 30 day shred.
Yay Amanda that you are able to take something away from that embarrassing event.
I did Weight Watchers twice. The first time, I went to the meetings and my cousin did it with me... learned a lot and lost 12 lbs in 6 weeks (and then got pregnant with Annelie and had to quit)
Then, after having Annelie, I was a size 16 (after being a 6 pre-pregnancy) so I did WW to lose the weight... in about 2 months, I was a 6 again. I was hardcore WW... really stuck to my points. I felt SO good about myself. I'm still a 6/8 now and keep meaning to go back on WW just to get my body healthy again. Their recipes are great.
If I were you, I'd figure out what your WW points amount would be, then read some of their cookbooks (library?) or find recipes online. Its a major eye opener to find that the meals you've been eating are a lot worse for you than you thought... for instance, I was addicted to the Sonic bacon cheeseburger only to find that it was 16 points on its own... and I only had a daily limit of 20 points. WOW, no wonder I gained 45+ lbs in only a few short months!
Another recommendation... find some low fat veggie soup recipes (like WW soups). I swear, its the 0 point soups that helped get me through the dieting when I needed something to eat, but did have the points to eat it. They are also great for flushing the sodium out of your system.
If you decided to do a WW-type diet, always feel free to ask me for help/questions. I've mentored a lot of people and am ALWAYS happy to help. I'm excited for you... its a long road to weight loss, but it will make you feel so much better once your there! GOOD LUCK!
I had a guy ask me how far along I was once... he even said.. "what? 6, 8 months?"... I wasn't then and have never been pregnant... and honestly, I was maybe like 150 lbs at the time. I went home later and tossed that shirt out ASAP! (It did kind of look like a maternity shirt)
I have struggled with weight my entire life... and I loathe working out!! I did weight watchers for a few months a couple of summers ago and lost 17 lbs... but kind of back slid and gained some of it back--which I'm currently working on ridding myself of. I still follow the basic WW's rules and use some of their recipes (can't afford to sign up for the plan right now)... but I don't really have any advice. I am just waiting for the weather to warm back up (as the snow just keeps blowing past my living room window) so that I can go out and ride my bike on the Rails to Trails. Good luck though.. it definitely isn't easy... but I'm sure if you put your mind to it... you'll shed those pounds!
(I just read the comment above mine.. and there is a potato soup recipe that is really yummy... you can google WW's recipes and find places where people have posted all sorts of recipes with the points, etc. That's where I get my recipes. Also, when I was losing my 17 lbs on WW's.. I ate a candy bar almost every day! I know, NOT necessarily healthy, AND it was 5 of my 22 daily pts... BUT, it gave me that fix of chocolate that I needed. You can also get light bread that is low points and certain lunch meats are 1 pt a serving... so you can have a very low point sandwich that tastes good! AND.. you can google Points Calculators and find them for free online--instead of paying for the WW's plan... and then you can type in the nutritional facts and find out how many points things are without guessing.) :)
As someone who has had to deal with self esteem issues and obsessing over my weight even when it wasn't an issue, I can totally relate. I know I'd be devastated at hearing a comment like that. Losing weight has never been easy for me, especially when I have family members who are athletic and thin and I'm always thought of as the "chubby one". Making a resolve to do something is the hard part, but you can do it!!!
I'm here to support you! I've finally lost the last of the weight I gained with two kids, but the sad part is 10 years worth of working at a sedentary job had put on weight before the kids came along, so I still have to get that weight off. I've vowed to do it by Christmas of this year.
I'm here to be your weight loss buddy if you think it will help. I'm totally here to cheer you on!!!
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