dreama's Journal, 07 March 2008

Hi Dreama. I was reading your history and I am completely with you on the baby weight thing. I have a 3-year old and a 17 month old and simply told myself that there is no way I can still blame my weight on my kids. It's so easy to do and it seems like the most acceptable excuse out there. Congratulations on your weight loss! You look like you are steadily taking it off. I've got a couple questions for you. Are you finding time to exercise with the little ones or are you focusing on what you eat? And if you do exercise, where do you find the time? One more question. You said you quit smoking and didn't gain any weight. How? Seriously, all I want to do is eat when I try to quit which is half of what is holding me back. Good luck to you. 

Hi Dreama. Just wanted to say that'd I'd read all of your journal entries and they have been such an inspiration to me. I'm one of those still blaming my weight on pregnancy....4 years later. But better late than never! I've had a really high stress job that has caused a lot of issues as I'm a big comfort eater. I'm now dealing with those issues and taken a pay cut for a job with much less stress so I feel the time is now right for me to make my move on a new life. Kudos to you on your progress. I've gotten some great ideas from you. Thank You. Melanie 

bestboysmom - Because people will readily nod and agree that its baby weight while thinking to themselves what we already know, the truth, that whatever weight we've packed on we're not working hard enough to get off. My kids nap for about two hours in the morning. This is enough time for me to get in a workout for an hour, a shower, and then off to prepare for their afternoon feeding before waking them up. If I absolutely had to, I would force myself to go to bed an hour early, then wake up an hour early to workout. Never workout at night -- you will not be able to go to sleep easily, and sleep you need most of all. Eating 3 hours before bedtime is off limits. I watch what I eat. I restrict myself to 1500 calories. If I hit a plateau I bump my calorie count up to 2200 - 2500 for a day. With the quitting smoking and not gaining weight, I chewed a lot of sugarless chewing gum. I had to identify and retrain myself not to respond to certain triggers which made me naturally want to smoke out of habit. I also had a doctor's prescription for Bupropion and used over-the-counter nicotine patches in steps to ween myself off. Reading "The Easy Way To Stop Smoking" by Allen Carr was also fantastic, the book literally brainwashes you into really wanting to quit, which I can't say is a bad thing. It also took about 6 serious attempts. I stumbled but in the end I did not fail. Anyone that can find the strength within themselves can do it. melanie1126 - I've had quite a few battles with my fork and/or spoon too. I just like food. :D Now is the time, if you feel it, it means your motivated enough to start trying. Create your goals, and do what you feel is reasonable. If it doesn't work, change it up until it does, and stick with it. Best wishes and good luck on your journey!