Hi.

My name is Lindsay. I have three children. I had never had any need to actively try to lose weight, as my gerbil-like metabolism combined with breastfeeding seemed to take care of that for me.

Exactly 1 year after giving birth to my first son, I weighed 20 pounds less than I did when I conceived him. I had lost the weight solely by breastfeeding. Then I got pregnant with my second son. I gained 73 pounds, had a nice, big, healthy baby, and had weight that was harder to get rid of the second time, but again, it came off only with breastfeeding. I had lost down to about 8 pounds above my goal weight (140) when my third son was conceived. I gained around 65 pounds, once again had a nice, big, healthy baby, and then struggled with postpartum thyroiditis, a self-limiting form of hyperthyroidism, which can cause weight loss, after his birth. Unfortunately, that happens to be the one side effect I can't seem to manage.

I am currently on Zoloft to manage the out of control anxiety that came with the thyroid disorder. As evidence suggests a lower chance of reoccurence of depression when the drug is taken for 1-2 years, I plan on remaining on it for about another year. Thankfully, my last two thyroid bloodwork levels have come back as normal, meaning I have 5 months of healthy thyroid so far, and will probably not have to deal with hypothyroid as a result.

Now here I am, 13 months after the birth of my third child, with 50 of the 65 pounds still hanging on, and 10 of those 65 pounds was the baby alone. I'm 5 feet, 8 inches, and weigh 190 pounds. I would like to weigh about 137. An odd number, I know, but I think somewhere between 137-140 will be where I look best. I have fine, small bones, and should not weigh more than 145-150 to look great.

My hope, is that combining exercise with a reasonable weight loss plan will encourage my body to get with it, and get me looking what I feel to be hot again.

This is my first before picture:



I think my face looks fat, and I will post a full-body before picture after I get a shower and smell decent again. ;)

I am doing a modified Weight Watchers program. Modified, because I'm poor and can't afford to join.

I don't eat artificial sweeteners, reduced fat foods, or low-cal anything. I believe foods are best eaten in as close to their natural state as possible, and when we can, we buy organic. I also have a fiendish sweet tooth, and I am trying to wean down the insane amount of sugar I usually consume, as well as curb my emotional eating.

I am allowed 37 points per day, with 35 flex points weekly. I'm starting this blog in hopes that having it all out there will give me some accountability.

There is a tiny, tiny, tiny chance that we may try to conceive around October. My short-term goal is to lose enough that I weigh less than I did when I got pregnant with my first (I weighed 155 then), if not reach my goal weight. The plan is to keep a better eye on my weight during pregnancy, and while I might still gain 40ish pounds, I want to stay under the 200 mark.

But, first things first. I have to lose to get there, so that's where I start.

Today, I have eaten:

Breakfast
A smoothie with:
-Raspberries (1/3 cup for 1 point)
-Mango (1/3 cup for 1 point)
-Dannon All Natural Vanilla (1 cup for 3 points)
-Organic Whole Milk (1 cup for 4 points)

Oatmeal (1 cup, 3 points) with 2 teaspoons of butter (2 points), 2 tablespoons of sugar (2 points), and 1/4 cup of organic whole milk (1 point)

and holy cow that's an 18 point breakfast. I can see I'll need to dial that back a bit. Ack. Okay then.

Lunch
A grilled cheese sandwich on whole wheat bread: 8 points.

This leaves me with 11 points for dinner. Hopefully I can do this tonight without cracking into my precious flex points. I'm a doula, and I have an appointment with a client this week for coffee. I'm going to need every one of those 35....