Hello all. I'm new here and hoping that I'll find whatever it is I'm looking for to help me lose some weight. I have at least 50 pounds to lose; after that I will have to see how things are going since I'm not sure what a healthy weight is for me. I was very muscular in high school so going by what I weighed back then isn't much help.
Well I guess a bit of a background will help people get to know me and hopefully get things organized in my head. I'm 30 years old and have two boys, aged 1 and 3. After the birth of my second baby I decided not to go back to work full-time. I worked in a small, private office so it was easy to make other arrangements; namely that I would be working on a casual basis and they would call when they needed me. My maternity leave was over on October 7 and as yet I haven't been called in to work. So my days are spent at home, cooking and cleaning and chasing after two busy children in between naps (theirs, not mine LOL) and messy mealtimes. This is all related to weight loss in that I eat a lot better when I'm working because I always take a lunch, and it always includes fruit and veggies, a bottle of water, etc. But at home it's a different story since I'm in the house most of the day. My biggest problem is in the afternoons, especially when the boys are both sleeping at the same time... my brain says "Thank God, the kids are both sleeping, let's celebrate... What have we got to eat?" And I sit with a needlework project watching TV, or at the computer, with a bucket of jujubes or - my absolute favorite - an After Eight chocolate bar. Dark chocolate and mint. Yum.
So the weight keeps creeping up on me... the freshman 15 became the freshman 25 for me. Marriage added another 15, which I think is a result of trying to appease my stick-thin hubby's meat-and-potatoes lifestyle. When I was in university and only cooking for myself it was easy to make a simple stir-fry (my favorite was to simmer veggies and chicken in minced fresh garlic and lemon juice... Mmmm...). But after I got married we started eating out a lot more too. I remember one week in particular we ate at restaurants every single night.
Anyway pregnancy did its part too and now I'm not only overweight but my belly has that post-pregnancy jiggle that I think will never go away no matter what I do. But I do need to try something and I HATE exercising. Give me a good book or a puzzle or - I admit it - a great video game any day LOL. However A few years ago I took up belly-dancing and found it extremely enjoyable. I finally feel like I'm built properly for something! I recommend it to anyone, by the way, it's very empowering because I actually feel sexy while I'm doing it
However I'm getting to the point now where I'm enjoying performing, and I don't know if anyone here has seen the kind of costumes that are typically worn by belly dancers... but my main motivation in losing weight is to look fabulous in a spangly bra and sheer skirt. Maybe it's not the best reason... guess we'll find out over the next little while if the picture in my head gives me some results.
I also don't know if this is the best time for me to be starting all of this, as I'm currently trying to conceive baby #3. But I've been putting off losing weight "until I'm done having kids"... but who knows when that will happen. And maybe if I start doing some things right before I conceive I'll keep the new habits up after the prenancy too. Weight gain during pregnancy has actually not been a problem for me, since I'm very strict about what I put in my body for the baby. If I was that careful all the time I'm sure I'd be a lot skinnier. I wonder why it's so easy to do it for the baby and so hard to do it for myself.
Anyway this is quite long enough. If anyone manages to make it through to the end, thanks for sticking with me so long LOL. I'd be glad to make a few aquaintances... trying this on my own hasn't worked so far.
Cheers
Natasha
Well I guess a bit of a background will help people get to know me and hopefully get things organized in my head. I'm 30 years old and have two boys, aged 1 and 3. After the birth of my second baby I decided not to go back to work full-time. I worked in a small, private office so it was easy to make other arrangements; namely that I would be working on a casual basis and they would call when they needed me. My maternity leave was over on October 7 and as yet I haven't been called in to work. So my days are spent at home, cooking and cleaning and chasing after two busy children in between naps (theirs, not mine LOL) and messy mealtimes. This is all related to weight loss in that I eat a lot better when I'm working because I always take a lunch, and it always includes fruit and veggies, a bottle of water, etc. But at home it's a different story since I'm in the house most of the day. My biggest problem is in the afternoons, especially when the boys are both sleeping at the same time... my brain says "Thank God, the kids are both sleeping, let's celebrate... What have we got to eat?" And I sit with a needlework project watching TV, or at the computer, with a bucket of jujubes or - my absolute favorite - an After Eight chocolate bar. Dark chocolate and mint. Yum.
So the weight keeps creeping up on me... the freshman 15 became the freshman 25 for me. Marriage added another 15, which I think is a result of trying to appease my stick-thin hubby's meat-and-potatoes lifestyle. When I was in university and only cooking for myself it was easy to make a simple stir-fry (my favorite was to simmer veggies and chicken in minced fresh garlic and lemon juice... Mmmm...). But after I got married we started eating out a lot more too. I remember one week in particular we ate at restaurants every single night.
Anyway pregnancy did its part too and now I'm not only overweight but my belly has that post-pregnancy jiggle that I think will never go away no matter what I do. But I do need to try something and I HATE exercising. Give me a good book or a puzzle or - I admit it - a great video game any day LOL. However A few years ago I took up belly-dancing and found it extremely enjoyable. I finally feel like I'm built properly for something! I recommend it to anyone, by the way, it's very empowering because I actually feel sexy while I'm doing it
However I'm getting to the point now where I'm enjoying performing, and I don't know if anyone here has seen the kind of costumes that are typically worn by belly dancers... but my main motivation in losing weight is to look fabulous in a spangly bra and sheer skirt. Maybe it's not the best reason... guess we'll find out over the next little while if the picture in my head gives me some results.I also don't know if this is the best time for me to be starting all of this, as I'm currently trying to conceive baby #3. But I've been putting off losing weight "until I'm done having kids"... but who knows when that will happen. And maybe if I start doing some things right before I conceive I'll keep the new habits up after the prenancy too. Weight gain during pregnancy has actually not been a problem for me, since I'm very strict about what I put in my body for the baby. If I was that careful all the time I'm sure I'd be a lot skinnier. I wonder why it's so easy to do it for the baby and so hard to do it for myself.
Anyway this is quite long enough. If anyone manages to make it through to the end, thanks for sticking with me so long LOL. I'd be glad to make a few aquaintances... trying this on my own hasn't worked so far.
Cheers
Natasha
