Kind of a cliche title, but hey-it IS New Year's Day...

As I am sitting here in my apartment, reminiscing about this past year-I have realized that it was chock full of wonderful moments-a few of which being: my son was born on March 7, 2016, & my fiance and I finally got hitched on August 12, 2016 which was our 2 year anniversary. However, 2016 was also littered with some bad experiences-least pleasant of which was having broken my fibula/ankle on June 4, 2016 and subsequently having a titanium plate and 9 pins put in. My family and I had to move in with my parents for 7 weeks while I healed and I missed a whopping total of 3 months of work this past year between maternity leave and short term disability as a result of my leg injury. My husband had to miss about 1.5 months of work but the hardest part for him was having to care for a 3 month old son and an injured wife simultaneously. Add to that the pressure-cooker of having all those strong, contrasting personalities under one roof and you have yourself one Charlie-Foxtrot of a perfect storm. Although at the time I felt this was the WORST, I know that even this period of injury and rehabilitation played an integral part in my personal development this past year. 

So...yes there IS a point to all that backstory....here I sit, 9.5 months after giving birth to the most beautiful baby boy I have ever seen (ahem-I may be a bit biased but whatevs), and I still have not lost all of my "baby weight". This was actually my worst nightmare. Let's go back a little further in time to September 2013-July 2014-I had just lost 80 lbs. I didn't always go a healthy way about getting it off but I never had any traditional eating disorder such as anorexia or bulimia. My future husband and I started dating in August 2014, I gained 35 lbs in about 10 months and then on July 15, 2015, my husband and I found out we would be parents. And the rest is history....

....ok, so youre not getting out of hearing my story that easily! but bless you if you have stuck in there with me this long. Initially, I was happy with being pregnant. Then the morning/all day nausea set in and so did an awful hormonal depression. I gained 63 lbs during my pregnancy bringing me up to 257.6. Directly after giving birth to my little sweetheart, I dropped about 30 lbs fairly quickly. Then I was down a total of 40 lbs. But I have kept yoyo-ing since my injury and it is starting to really irritate and alarm me. To make this long story not be MUCH, MUCH longer-I just weighed in tonight and my starting weight was 230 lbs. 

Despite the setbacks I have experienced (and my age), I am so determined to lose this weight. One major reason for wanting to so badly is because my husband & I would like to have one more child, preferably before my 35th birthday which is a little less than 2 years away. And if I have any choice in the matter, I refuse to be this large while pregnant again. My overall weight loss goal is 130 lbs, however, if I could just get down to 150 lbs before we try again that would be ok with me. 

Ok, finally, a little about how I plan to accomplish my goal...I am going to try and follow the Trim Healthy Mama plan. I do not know an easy way to describe this plan other than to say-go read the book!! Its fairly simple but it might not make a lot of sense unless you read the book. As for exercise-I plan on walking and doing some strength training/calisthenics. I want to focus mostly on my stomach and midriff. (Or, as I like to refer to it-my muffin top & undercarriage :p). In the past, I had really gotten into running for exercise. Unfortunately, due to my current size and recent leg injury, that is out of the question for the time being. 

I hope to write at least weekly blog reports of how my journey is going. I am busy (isn't everyone, though?!) but I want to make this a priority and take it as seriously as I am able. So, I pray that everyone who is reading this will find success and I hope to be a source of encouragement along the way.

Happy New Year!!

-JSW