8 Years and Counting

For about 8 years now I have been using THIS blog to hopefully inspire mothers and show them that it is okay to gain weight when you're pregnant and it is possible to lose all the weight and have the body you feel comfortable in afterward! I gain an average of 60 pounds with each pregnancy. That is TWICE as much as the average healthy woman. It is hard on me in every way - mentally, physically, emotionally, etc. We women often struggle to feel ourselves and see our worth and potential when we are uncomfortable in our own skin. I know that is true for me.

I had my fourth baby last year in January, and I am now almost to my pre-baby weight! I was hoping to get it off faster, but 2015 did a number on my emotional state and it has just taken longer than expected. I am grateful, nonetheless, to see that my hard work is paying off.

Here I am the day before our fourth baby SUPRISED us and decided to come! (See my last post.) Since then I've worked hard to get the extra weight off and feel myself again (AGAIN). I've been an avid supporter of at home workout programs for a very long time, and they never fail me! I also have always been a HUGE advocate of GOING to the gym! A good childcare at the gym can make a world of difference in a young mother's life. I know it has in mine.

On top of enjoying the gym and at-home workouts (like P90X and Insanity Max 30), I also LOVE running and training for triathlons! This adds to my list of things I enjoy. HOW DO I CHOOSE?! I love it all, and can absolutely NOT do it all, without making myself exhausted and my family miserable. So I'm trying to learn how to pick and choose!

This is my ultimate transformation right now. These pictures are 8 years apart. The girl on the left had gained 60 lbs during her pregnancy, and still had 3 more pregnancies to go - adding up to 240 pounds total. The girl on the right has conquered ALL but 1.5 lbs of those 240 lbs of weight gain. That's 238.5 lbs gone. That's 238.5 lbs that I do not have to carry around with me every day. That's 238.5 lbs that do not keep me from being the mom, wife, and friend that I need to be. It did not "melt" off. It did not just go away overnight. I had to work at it.

My transformation began 8 years ago here on this blog. (With this post: My First Blog Post) I was determined that I would lose all of my baby weight so that other women around the world would feel hope that they could do the same.I wanted then, and want now to diminish negativity and replace it with inspiration. Inspiring others to let go of the thought that they "can't," and replace it with, "if she can... then maybe I can, too."

If I can, then yes, you can, too.