Thinspiration

I was at my thinnest in November 2005 when we bought our house.

See how the seat of my pants are sagging here?
Yeah . . . They don't sag on me right now.

Not that you can really tell with the baggy painting clothes, but I looked great. And I felt great.

At this point these baggy sweat pants are more like leggings around my thighs.

Over the next couple years I put on 20 or 25 pounds. Then I got pregnant. And gained about 45 more. Yeah.

I managed last year to drop quite a bit of weight that had kept hanging around after the boy was born. I even got back to my pre-pregnancy weight. But not most of my pre-pregnancy clothes. Because, of course, after you carry and deliver a baby, you are just not the same shape. Now you are shaped like a mom. Ugh.



The dress I'm wearing here in November 2005 is my prom dress from my senior year of high school
seven years earlier. I just shortened it and added a cute shawl.


Then since I wasn't watching what I ate, I gained a bit of that weight back. About 10 pounds. It's pretty apparent that if I'm not constantly diligent I will end up quite overweight and unhealthy as I enter middle age in a few years.

But some mothers obviously manage to get trim and fit. Which means I can. Right?

Right.

It just takes making the right decision about food each time I'm presented with the opportunity to choose to either eat a reasonable amount of healthy food or to gorge myself on comfort food. It means I need to find time to get back to exercising. It means I need to be smart about the grocery shopping and not buy things for the boy that I also like but shouldn't eat (because while "everything in moderation" is a nice philosophy, sometimes you have to admit your weaknesses and not sabotage yourself).

Because if I ever want to look like this again (and I do) . . .

I can't begin to imagine the depression that would ensue if I tried on that blue dress right now.

. . . it's not going to just happen by itself. It's going to take discipline and hard work.

The previous two photos are from the weddings of two of my cousins. My third cousin (yes, I only have three) is getting married at the end of August. I want the photos from Andy's wedding to look just as good as the ones from Mac's and Nick's weddings. And for that to happen, I have to make it happen.