A Healthier Me
I had always been 125lbs. In High School, I would try to gain weight just to get people to stop calling me tiny. By College I was happy with myself, I never even gained the "freshman 15" or any other weight. I was always 125lbs. That is, until Chad and I started dating. The Barrett's love food, and let's face it, so do I. I quickly shot up to 150lbs. within the first 6 months of dating, and no matter what exercise, what diet, what ever I did... I consider myself a healthy eater, a healthy lifestyler, nothing too special, or unhealthy, yet I could NOT get under 150. Time went on and we got married and Lana came, and suddenly the 150 mark, was now a 160 mark and I was even more determined to break the limit. Earlier this year Chad decided he wanted to go "Low Carb/No Carb", and he had researched and found "Soy Lecithin" and "High Fructose Corn Syrup" were super bad for you. I myself, and with having a two year old in the house do not want to do that, so I compromised with him, and decided, that Lana and I would meet him in the middle with a 90% "Gluten/Soy Lecithin/High Fructose Corn Syrup" free Diet Change. I didn't think it would make much of a difference since I had tried low carb diets before, and this was not a low carb diet change, but a cleaner diet change. Within the first month, I was down 8lb. and feeling better than I have in years! Now just over 2 months in and I am down 19lb., and I haven't even had time to do my regular exercises! I feel so much better, it's hard to explain. Changing my diet not only has me eating healthier, but my cravings are a little healthier, and my portion sizes have gotten smaller, so I'm eating less than I did before, all without thinking about it! It's hard to explain how much more energy I have (not that a mother of a two year old has any energy!), and how I didn't know I was bloated before, until now that I'm not. There are so many things I am thankful for now that I'm changing what I'm eating. I never realized why people who didn't have an allergy, read ingredients or really looked at what they are eating... I do now... It's because you really do feel better, when you eat better. I hope as the weather gets better, and the year progresses, I can actually get fit, now that I am officially pre Chad weight ;). Don't get me wrong. I love my husband. And It's not really my weight that get's me. It's not FEELING my best, not FEELING healthy... The whole reason Chad and I want to be fit, is that if Lana can see us eating and being healthy, she will be more likely, to eat and be healthy when it comes time to make her own decisions... and I pray we can be the role models she deserves.
There are instances in your life that happen and change you for the better. This has been an exciting time in our lives to concentrate on becoming healthy parents for our daughter to follow. It is hard to express you feelings, emotions, and appreation through speech at times. Emily has created this blog and has really allowed me to appreciate what we do for each other and our family. It has also brought self confidence in us both. It is amazing to see Emily lifted by this new felt energy. She has for some time now felt uncomfortable in certain clothing or dress occasions. Now with this new self image she really looks amazing and should. I am very thankful that I was able to influence a decision to better ourselves. I can say I would probably have dropped the Low Carb Diet if it were not for her support and meal decision making approaches. I have stayed mostly committed to the lifestyle eating changes and it has been almost a year since I started. For the first 6 months or so I purely concentrated on my diet and exercise was an afterthought with the busy schedule and inconsistencies. When I started I was at the heaviest I ever had been weighing 232 lbs. I hit me hard as this was starting to effect some of the enjoyments in life and the way my pants fit (tight and uncomfortable). With just making meal decisions I was able to get down to 215 within a 6 month time period. It was at this point where I plateaued. I then decided to couple the meal decisions with intense exercise to push through new goals. It Worked!!! I am currently at 192 lbs a whole 40 lbs lighter than a year ago. This gives me intensives that I have never knew were possible. I had set a ultimate goal of 185 lbs and know now that it is within my grasp. I thank Emily for keeping me committed and bringing out the bigger picture of the future for our family and daughter rather than just a personal self image. As a team we help each other make great parents and great partners in life.
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