The Beginning

Hey! I'm Britt, and this is where I've decided to discuss my Road to Fitness/Healthy Lifestyle Changes. I have tried so many times to start doing something to try and lose weight and I am now at my all time high weight and I know that if the pounds don't stop now they will just keep going. I am going to be super brutally honest in this blog. So much so that it might get uncomfortable, but I know that I can be healthier and I WANT to be healthier, and if unlocking emotional baggage and dropping it off along the way is part of that then I need to be honest. I know that I'm hiding a ton of emotional weight on me that is just bearing down on me as well, and hopefully this will help in aiding my journey so that I can be better emotionally, physically and spiritually.

A little bit about me!
I am the youngest of six kids. Four brothers and one sister, we have a huge range of diversity in my family. Everybody can do a little bit of everything, but everybody has a specialty branch, so to say. I am the daughter of a Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force and a wonderful homemaker/friend/confidante who is my mother. In September of 2009 I met my eternal sweetheart and best friend Jon and in March of 2011 we were married in the Ogden Utah LDS Temple. In July of 2012 we welcomed our beloved son, Liam, into the world.
Before I had my baby I was 180 lbs, give or take a couple pounds. During my pregnancy I gained 40 pounds and was 220lbs the day I delivered; at my six week check up I had lost 10 pounds (210)! But giving birth to a 7 pound baby/placenta will do that for you. I opted to get the Mirena IUD (that will be its very own blog post about the side effects of that on my body and mind) and because of that I gained nearly 30 pounds; partly because my body just wouldn't lose the weight and I was not taking care of myself. So here I am now nine months after my baby was born sitting on 240 pounds. UGH! Just writing it makes cringe. I had a bout with postpartum depression which I tried to hide for months (you can read that story at my family blog here) and so after I finally came out of my PPD funk I knew that I needed to make a change. So here I am! It is so hard to admit just how much you weigh! There are two numbers that you should never ask a woman: her age and her weight. Are you uncomfortable yet? That was a lot of honesty just now.... HA! 

Ok, so here is my lists of goals, and how I will achieve them, or attempt to at least!

SHORT TERM GOALS

1. Only one soda a week- ok, so I know that drinking soda is sooooo bad for you but it just tastes so good! So I can't cut it out completely cold turkey just yet. So my short term goal for the month of April is just have ONE soda a week. The rest of the time drink water, which funnily enough leads us to.......
2. Drink more water!- yeah.... enough said. I think the rule is drink half your body weight in ounces? I'll have to look that up later....
3. Go to the gym AT LEAST three times a week for a half hour- my brother is the fitness guru! He is seriously awesome at this whole being healthy thing. He gave me a workout plan that I need to follow religiously! (That will be another blog post! His workout plan for me)
4. Stop putting myself down- this is mental workout that I need to start exercising. For months I battled feelings of doubt, low self worth, low self esteem and a constant badgering of how I was just not good enough. Every day is a battle in my mind about who I am and how important I am. Seriously, it's like in Emperor's New Groove where the angel and devil Kronk are arguing with one another. I'm getting better but it's still hard, and I still have episodes of crying because my little she-devil won      

Ok now for my LONG TERM GOALS!

1. Get to my pre-pregnancy weight: I would honestly give anything to be able to fit into my old pants again. I have a limited wardrobe selection because my old clothes just don't fit. I want so badly to just wear all of my clothes again! I don't have the funds to buy new clothes, so I need to get back into my old clothes. Pre-pregnancy weight was 180lbs and a size 10/12, I have resigned myself to the fact that I will never get a much smaller waist size than that because I have child bearing hips that actually really came in handy nine months ago. 
2. Be able to get on the ground and play with Liam: Honestly, he is one of the main reasons I have chosen now to start this so heavily. I want to be able to play with my baby without feeling out of breath so easily. He is nine months old now and he is so close to walking, he can crawl super fast and I just want to keep up with him and his seemingly endless energy.
3. Be able to fit into an adult medium shirt and it not be too tight- this might be difficult as well, because to accompany my child bearing hips is rather large baby feeders. So this one is iffy...
4. To not feel guilt or shame when I think about stopping breastfeeding- this was a big one during my PPD, and it was a common reason for crying for many months, and even now I still feel guilty for having to stop. Again, that will be its own blog post.

Alright so those are my goals! I really am excited to start this journey! And now it'll be easier for me to keep up if I know people are reading..... or at least I will pretend they are! As they say, it takes nine months for the pounds to come on, it'll take nine months to get them off. Since I have a late start it'll be nine months from now! Hopefully by Christmas or New Year I'll be a little lighter in body and spirit!