This blog entry has been a long time in coming. In September 2013, I made this post titled "Fatty Fat Fat" where I tracked some of my weight issues and swore to do better. And I did, somewhat, losing about 20 lbs from that September until January 2015. It was slow going and I wasn't exercising much. Still, it was progress and I really made some improvements in my eating habits. With my particular thyroid issue, if I lose weight too quickly, I start to retain water, so slow is how it's going to be whether I want to or not. Knowing that has stopped me from jumping on many fad diets and "fixes" and programs so in a way, it's a blessing.

In January of this year, I got super sick with the flu, an intestinal infection, gallbladder issue, and extremely elevated blood sugars. I ended up in the ER and then, shortly afterwards, my doctor who analyzed my blood work and diagnosed me as pre-diabetic. I knew I was prone to that as I'd had horrible gestational diabetes and there's family history on my dad's side, which I tend to physically favor. My doctor spoke very firmly to me about this being a defining moment in my life and that I had two choices- deal with this now and develop a healthier lifestyle or ignore it and have ongoing illness and shorten my life span. The man does not mince words and it totally got my attention.

I wasn't eating horribly, but I started eating more blood sugar balancing foods and paying better attention to that. I also got back to the gym- regularly. I think that has made the biggest difference for me. I dabbled in Zumba in years past, but something about it this time really appealed to me. Since February, I'm at the gym 5-6 days a week. I never, ever thought I could love exercising, but now I can't wait to get to the gym. I mostly do Zumba, but I also do weights and throw in a little treadmill and elliptical action.

My Zumba peeps, this has made all the difference in the world!

Where to start... about 6 months after I had Julian, I revamped things. I was working out daily and doing yoga, body sculpting, step class, zumba, running, etc. I was eating well and had my thyroid medication pretty balanced. I lost about 40 lbs. It was great. I felt good and was even doing 5k runs (big deal for this top heavy, heat sensitive, asthmatic!). 

It's not hard to trace where I fell off the wagon. Enter miscarriage one, two, three, four... I stopped all exercise but walking out of fear that it might be contributing to the issue. I was on and off my thyroid meds with each pregnancy. I felt depressed and couldn't even get my head to a place where I could prepare ahead and plan healthy food choices. The weight crept back on. 

When I did have a successful pregnancy with our baby Jane, it was far from an easy one. I had gestational diabetes that was just out of control no matter what diet they put me on. I couldn't gain weight so that was a concern too. I had to eat all the time and stuff that I felt I had no choice in. There wasn't a single craving that I was able to fulfill. It was awful.

So now Jane is here and the diabetes is gone. I'm not even in the pre-diabetic range. And I'm making up for all the things I couldn't have during my pregnancy! This is not a good thing, but I've allowed it because I am breastfeeding. I like to use that as an excuse. My gym scholarship is active so I have no reason why I haven't been as active there. It's just been hard to get myself together and actually go.

I did lose all my pregnancy weight in the 8 weeks after Jane was born. I hadn't been able to gain that much anyway so what I did gain came off easily. However, this morning I weighed at the gym and I've gained back a couple of the pounds I'd lost. That was a wake up call. Apparently I can't eat pizza every weekend and lose weight. =p 

So now what? One of the things that really helped me before is tracking my food and exercise. It forces me to come face to face with the calories in what I eat. I need that. It also provides some accountability. I've reactivated my Daily Plate account on Livestrong. I'm not waiting until Monday to start, so, starting tomorrow, I will be posting on there. If you'd like to join me, the part of the site I use is free. I'd like as many friends as possible to come alongside me in this journey. I'll be following pre-diabetic menu recommendations (as I'm predisposed to it genetically and having had it gestationally).

As much as I hate it, I guess we need a before picture. =e This one is pretty unflattering and really that's why I've chosen it.