The first 10 lbs

So I've held off writing about this for quite awhile.  Once you put it out there for people to see and know you can't take it back.  Because even though it is pretty obvious to anyone who looks at me that I need to lose some weight, admitting that I'm actually working on it is a little scary.  However, I have officially lost my first 10 lbs and I finally feel motivated to keep doing what I'm doing. So here I go, putting it out there for the whole world to know.  Or at least the 5 of you who read this blog!

I've struggled with my weight for a long time.  I don't ever remember not being self-conscious about it.  Even as a young girl I remember thinking that I weighed too much.  Looking back at pictures of myself I realize that I wasn't overweight, I just had a different body type than what I thought I was supposed to.  I was a little heavier than I should have been in highschool, but not by a lot. 

Fast forward through 20 lbs gained during the first year of marriage and 20 lbs gained for each child and that is where I am at right now.  Between babies #2 and #3 I joined Weight Watchers and lost 50 pounds.  And then I got pregnant again, gained it all back plus a little, and could never get motivated to lose the weight again. 

After we moved in September I tried jumping back in to Weight Watchers.  I knew it had worked for me before, but I could not get into it enough to stick with it.  I'm not a fan of drinking shakes instead of meals, that's not something I can or will keep up long term.  And I definitely am not going to start taking any miracle pills, as tempting as the thought of fast weight loss is.  I'm smart enough to know that doesn't work in the long term. 

What got me motivated this time was reading something my sister put on Facebook about how she decided one day she needed to lose some weight so she cut back on what she was eating and lost 50 pounds.  Now, I was not oblivious to her weight loss, but I had no idea she had lost that much.  When I saw that I was inspired to try it myself.  No, no--really.  I was inspired.  It had nothing to do with the fact that I am her older sister and thought to myself, "Well if she can do it I can certainly do it!" Nothing like that!

However the motivation hit me, it hit.  So I started really paying attention to when I was full.  I left food on my plate, even when it was really good and I wanted more.  I quit eating whatever I wanted because I could.  I quit snacking at night.  If I wanted something sweet, which is my worst weakness, I ate just a few bites of something.  All those little things started adding up and now I have lost my first 10 pounds.  And I am excited! 

I think anyone who has had to lose weight knows that when you finally make the decision to lose weight you do whatever you need to do to get it done.  I did when I lost those 50 pounds the first time.  And that motivation has come and gone off and on since then.  But now I feel it back in full force.  I remember how it feels to know that I can lose the weight.  I remember how good it feels to step on the scale and see the numbers going down.  When I am tempted to overeat or to eat more sweets I can tell myself no easier because I know that losing the weight will feel better than anything I put in my mouth. 

I've read a few things that say that losing the first 10 pounds is always the hardest.  I had to laugh when I read that because when I'm looking at losing 100, the first 10 seems like a drop in the bucket.  But then I realized that 10 out of 100 is 10 percent (yeah, I'm teaching fractions and percents right now).  For whatever reason, 10% sounds a lot better than just saying 10 pounds.  I'm a couponer--10% off is a fairly decent deal!  So--here's to my first 10%.  I'll keep you updated as my percent gets higher and higher!