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Introduction Text I keep coming back to Sparks for the last 5 years, trying to keep the pounds from getting too out of control. After having a baby 3 years ago, I find myself just yo-yoing all over the place. What's up with that?? My background story with food starts a long time before most of you!! I was a normal, active kid, but never into anything "organized". I was much more into reading and such than sports. I started getting a little chunky in about 3rd grade, I'd say. I stayed that way through 6th grade. I put myself on a diet and ate a lot less food the summer of 6th grade, because I did not want to go to the big Jr Hi and be labeled a "fat girl" with all the new kids I'd be meeting. I did good, and I was reasonably thin all through high school...I'd guess I was in the 120's. After that, it has been an up and down battle with weight, as I am always thinking I would look better with a few pounds off my frame. I think I spent a lot of time in the 140's while in my 20's. So I guess I really feel like I have been watching my weight since I was about 9 years old. No wonder I am tired of this process!!! I have never let myself get too out of control, because weight is never out of my consciousness. Before my pregnancy, I really only got to 20 pounds off my ideal weight, which kind of shifted as I got older. A few years after college, I moved to CA to see what it was like to live for a while without having to put on 9 layers of clothes before leaving the house each morning. I loved it, and spent 8 years there, just being me, working, and soaking up my fair share of sunshine. I miss CA terribly!! But after 8 years, I missed my family even more, and since none of them would move out to CA, I decided I needed to move back home to MN. I did that about 5 years ago now. Within 6 months of moving home, I met my husband, and 6 months later we got married on a cruise at Magens Bay Beach in St. Thomas. I think I was about 150 when I got married, and I was happy with myself then. I have been up and down the 160's like a yo-yo since getting married. I got pregnant, and used it as an excuse for once in my life NOT to take into account what I was putting in my body. Well, that did not work very well for me, as I gained 48 pounds during my pregnancy. Having a baby and breastfeeding her completely drained me of all my energy (remember I am 39 at this point) and I literally ate and slept whenever the baby did for her first 6 months of her life. I lost a little from breastfeeding, and got down to around 180. Then, I knew I should do something about the extra baby weight, but I just did not make the time for myself to do this. Over the next several months, I GAINED another 10 pounds, putting me at a high of 190 at my 40th birthday. That is when it really hit me...I was using the baby and BF'ing as a crutch NOT to lose weight, and here I was, fat and 40, and terribly disappointed with myself. By then, my baby was 15 months old, and I was down to just BF'ing her once a day, before she went to bed at night, as a comfort, really. So I decided that I was going to take a hold of myself again and reclaim my former body! Not to mention my former wardrobe. The pounds have slowing been coming off, and that is good. My husband has been so supportive through all of this, and for that I am thankful. He has never once even hinted that I was fat or should lose a few pounds. He just tells me that he wants me to be healthy, so I can be around for the baby. He jokes that because he is several years older than me, I will have to be the one taking care of the both of them!! I guess that's my story. I love food. I hate food. It is always on my mind in one way or another. Oh, to not have it be on my mind!!

I need to shed my baby weight to feel better about my appearance, as well as to be healthier overall. Need to get back to focusing on more of my health needs so I can be a better mother to my preschooler.

I can usually be pretty good about the exercise, it's the eating that gets away from me...I love food! I have started doing Circuit Training as my main form of exercise, and I LOVE it! It keeps my body guessing, and keeps me interested!

My husband and I have a nice home in suburban Minnesota with our daughter and kitty.

Some people are carbon copies. Others make their own impression. Self-love is the only weight-loss aid that really works in the long run. ~Jenny Craig

Add a Link ~Dawn Some people are carbon copies. Others make their own impression. Self-love is the only weight-loss aid that really works in the long run. ~Jenny Craig
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