Many years ago, when I got married, I was skinny and fit! I didn’t feel skinny and fit–always the fat complex…even when I wore a size zero. Nonetheless, I had just returned from living in France as a missionary. We biked a lot and I felt awesome–although I wasn’t inclined to model a swimming suit or anything….
The rest of my story is typical. I got married. I had 4 babies. If one is the same weight after 4 babies…they are certainly not the same size! 🙂 This go around, I got really lucky. My final addition, really liked to eat and as I was nursing-a whole lot of calories went to him. Thank you Benjamin for allowing me to be the same weight again as I was when I married John 11 years ago.
He just turned 1. I am no longer nursing him as of about 3 weeks ago and I’ve gained 5 lbs since then. AHHHHH! So much for effortless weightloss. I’m pretty stinking determined to not get fat again. I guess this means, I have abandon my debaucherie of late eve eating and not exercising.
I was introduced to www.sparkpeople.com a while ago from my sister. It’s a website with a lot of fun features like
- Personalized diet & fitness plans
- Calorie counter, workout tracker, exercise demos & videos
- Answers from our dietitians & trainers on message boards
- Connect with others like you in our support teams
I never took this seriously…but I think I’m going to look into again. Wish me luck! I’m wanting to get fit NOW not wait until January 1! The weather’s beautiful…I need to seize the day and get out on my bike, or running, or something to expend some calories.
Strategic Living 
I think we, as women, and as Daughters of God are WAY TOO HARD ON OURSELVES! Yes, it’s great to be healthy, yes, it’s great to be active, but there is no reason why a fully mature woman who has given birth to 4 babies has to wear a size 0 again or look like you are 22. My suggestion is to keep this out the mental illness zone by just doing things you enjoy more. Go for a walk, bike ride with the family, play with the kids at the park, dance while you vacuum, do 2 more 10 minute activities that are physical each day. Yes, calories are important to remember, but you are still chasing after 4 children. Eat what you like, but aim for more healthy choices MOST OF THE TIME… and when the cheesecake gets passed around, have a bite or two.
We have got to stop this madness of thinking that we need to look like the emaciated models who are in the lower 10 percentile of weight. That has been sold to us that it is normal, and it is not.
Remember Boyd K Packer’s talk about how the adversary is really good at appealing to our humanistic extremes. Satan LOVES the fact that you are ever so focused on that last 5 pounds. Yes, it is a great goal to be healthy, but while you are focusing on 5 pounds, Satan wants you to be dissatisfied with yourself more than anything!!
Now, on the flip side, these words are coming from an obese woman who severely loathes herself and every cell in her fat body. For me, I celebrate and rejoice in NOT gaining any weight over a two week period of time. The only time I ever lost weight was when I restricted my calories to 500 only per day. I did that for 6 weeks, lost 35 pounds but found my nutritional needs were sorely unmet.
Moderation in all things!!! love ya camille! 🙂 Look for a quality of life that you want 🙂