Barriers

After I had Chase, I was able to lose about 20 lbs by simply nursing and doing a little exercise, but I needed to lose more than that because, well, I don't just gain 25 lbs when I am pregnant :( I was pretty stagnant after losing that initial weight and felt like I had reached a barrier.

For a little background...with Adie I gained a whole 50 lbs, and was ultimately able to lose about 40 before getting pregnant with Chase, but I still had that extra 10 lbs lingering. I only gained 35 lbs with Chase, but I still had 15 lbs to go to even get back to where I started, which was still 10 lbs more than before I started with Adie. That's a net gain of 25 lbs from pregnancy, On top of that, I had gained about 5 lbs from the time I was married until I got pregnant the first time, so ultimately, I'd like to lose all 30 lbs and be back to that place, which is entirely possible, since I've been there before, and I feel more healthy at that weight.

Now, back to the barriers. After losing that initial 20 lbs, I knew I needed to do more in order to not keep that weight on. I felt like I had reached a barrier and would remain stagnant unless I put in more effort. So, in November, I really started to run more and eat mostly a vegan diet, a goal I have had for a long time. During the first part of November I lost 10 lbs! It was so refreshing to see new numbers on the scale. Then, Thanksgiving, and the travel that accompanied that, happened and I mostly abandoned the vegan diet thing for the holiday season. The good news is I never gained anything back during the holiday season, but I wasn't going down either, and I still have plenty to go. It's actually fairly amazing that I didn't gain any weight considering my inconsistent exercise routine during that time too.

I really have wanted to see some more new numbers on the scale and that happened today again. Yay! I only lost 1 lb, but it's a number I haven't seen for a long, long time, so it was a welcome sight. I attribute it to again striving to avoid all animal protein in my diet and the fact that I have run 3 times this week already. It should be noted that I still saw the lb lost after having 4 pieces of toast with vegan butter and a tortilla right before going to bed last night (I was really hungry despite eating all my meals and snacking all day long). I am very encouraged. It seems any time I start eliminating the animal protein, I can break my barriers, and don't think I don't eat a lot. I totally do. I am not one to limit portion size. I've never been good at that.