It Officially Summer! Progress Report.

Ok, peeps... I have virtually no photo editing skills whatsoever, so please forgive the primitive before and after pics.

The left section was taken January 1, 2012.  162.4 lbs, 36 Bust,  35 Waist,  42 Hips

The right section was taken today, May 31, 2012   143.8 lbs, 33 Bust, 31 Waist, 38 Hips

My weight loss this year has been slow but steady.  What a difference almost 20 pounds has made!  I've dropped about 2 dress sizes, and just in these photos the differences in my arms, legs, and face is 100 % better!  Of course my stomach is the trouble area (three c-sections don't help!) but there is even a noticeable difference there.

The loss of just 20 lbs has also put me in a place I haven't seen since I became a mother: in the "normal" weight range, rather than "overweight" or "obese".

The trouble is that I've been resting on my laurels a little bit since I've made that milestone and therefore have been kind of stuck between 143-146 for about a month and a half. Before that I was steadily losing a pound every week.  I am still counting calories and exercising at least 200 minutes a week, but I definitely have slacked a lot and found myself trying to justify "just one cookie" or struggling to find the energy to do a 20 minute aerobics set.  I know I have made great progress, but I still have some work to do so its upward and onward I go!

I had successfully given up sodas (hadn't had one since December 31st) and then decided to have one little Dr. Pepper over the Memorial Day weekend.  The first few sips tasted like heaven... but not long after downing the can I felt my blood sugar spike and I felt like shit.  So I've gotten that soda fix out of my system now... I definitely haven't been "missing" much!  I never drank any more after that and haven't wanted to.  This was a huge victory for me because I was always a soda addict.  I was afraid if I ever drank one again I'd be back to drinking 2-4 a day again.  Not this time. :-)

So it's officially summer!  My two school aged kids' buses just rattled home and now I've got the challenge of fitting in my normal exercise schedule with three kids underfoot all day, every day, for three months.  I've come this far, so bring it on!