Getting back in the saddle

Ok, So after a lifelong struggle with weight, I researched and decided that gastric bypass was the right decision for me.  (Please spare me your judgement- I researched, and researched and made a long thought out decision that has forever changed my life for the better.) I had a dietitian do a work up on me taking into account my personal body chemistry.  We found that due to my body hyper producing insulin, I HAVE to stay away from carbs.  My blood sugar struggles to stay consistent without sugar. (and yes I know that there are carbs in vegetables and fruit)  My body turns grains, flours and sugars (duh) into sugar.  I have found that I feel the best when I eat 50% vegetables and fruit and 50% protein.  This is personal to ME.  Consequently,  I dropped an astounding 200 lbs in my first two years.

I have had my struggles with staying on the wagon here and there but I adhere to the core principals of it for the most part.  So I had a baby 7 1/2 months ago.  She is amazing and beautiful and perfect and I am SO glad to have her.  I am still nursing her so I kind of went into dietary free fall.  Nursing makes me hungry ALL THE TIME.  No seriously, every two hours I am hungry.  I only gained 12 lbs when I was pregnant with her and so I left the hospital ALMOST at my pre-preg weight.  Within 8 weeks, I was actually down 12 lbs from my pre-preg weight.  I didnt really watch what I ate while pregnant and got really relaxed about it.

Cut to 8 days ago....

I have put back on 15 lbs.  Yup- FIFTEEN pounds.  I about CHOKED when I got on the scale.  I knew something was up when my jeans were getting tight- and I believe in not looking at the numbers all the time- but 15 lbs?!  Yikes.  Not good my friend, not good at all.

So the Easter Bunny was an evil bastard this year and SPOILED me and the kids like crazy with Hershey Kisses, Crunch Bars and the ever evil- Peanut Butter Cups.  I am pretty sure that I single handedly ate about 2 POUNDS of chocolate.  I also lost it because the kids were refusing to eat, only to find their rooms covered in tin foil and Kisses flags.  They were climbing the refrigerator to find chocolate.  They were clawing each others eyes out over candy.  I got ANGRY.  I took a garbage bag and went through the pantry, everyone's bedroom, closet and any other hiding place I could find and threw out the junk.  ALL OF IT! All the Dorritos, the BBQ Lays, the Cream Soda, the chocolate, jelly beans- ALL OF IT- GONE.

My ass was huge and my kids were huge asses.  That was motivation enough for me.  I was back to eating right and going to get back on the horse!  I don't believe in counting calories.  I believe in food choices and eating whole, real foods.  Foods that contain only one ingredient like- chicken, eggs, fish, asparagus, carrots, nuts.  You know- FOOD.  I grill, roast, steam and poach to my hearts content.  I use LOTS of herbs- they are calorie free and make everything taste good.  I quit drinking soda YEARS ago- but I have replaced it with both black and herbal teas (hot and iced).  I carry a 32 ounce water bottle with me EVERYWHERE.  I drink over a gallon a day.  I DO drink coffee and that is where my indulgence and my bad thing takes place- I use artificial sweetener in my coffee.  Oh well....sue me.

I am back to eating slowly until I am full.  I eat when I am hungry and I NEVER deprive myself.  If I want something sweet- I find a way to make it happen without it being horrible.  I don't believe in cooking two meals- so whatever I eat, the kids eat or a modified version of it.  If its nutritious for me, its good for them too.   I also have chosen to make it an adventure in cooking again.  We are finding new ways to make everyone happy AND healthy.  The kids attitudes have improved and they just know- we are all grounded from sugar.

Its funny though because within two or three days, we all are fine with making different choices.  Even the kids are on board.  No one is crying for pasta or screaming for ice cream.  I know that looking at food as a source of nutrition has really helped in changing the way our family eats.  The kids get excited to choose the veggies and protein for dinner.  When I let them choose what to eat, we all have a better dinner experience.  Take tonight for instance.  Sophie chose ham and egg cups, broccoli and cauliflower and a mashed sweet potato.  That had all of our nutrition covered and it was YUMMY.  No screaming or crying at the dinner table and we all felt GOOD after dinner.

I have three young kids and two daycare children too- so leaving to go to a gym is impossible not to mention- I hate the gym.  I have a treadmill that I LOVE LOVE LOVE but after a while, I get bored.  I decided to go the video route this time.  I have a couple of Jillian Michaels DVDs, a Six Week Body Make Over, Windsor Pillates, Jazzercise, and then I found some stuff on Netflix as well.  I am not looking to drop TONS of weight- maybe 30 lbs.  I guess that is a ton of weight to some of you- but after 200, 30 seems pretty minuscule.    I am also not hyper focused on the scale.  I try to weigh in only once a week or I make myself crazy.

Do it with me!  Lets keep each other motivated and inspired.  Share recipes, share successes, share new workout ideas!  Who's with me??