Battle of the Bulge

It’s a battle I’ve been waging all my life and while I’m not 100 lbs over weight, even twenty extra pounds on my 5ft. 3 1/2 inch frame manifests itself in more junk in the trunk and ship-like hips, then I care to carry. I’ve never been really good at dieting. Who wants to deprive themselves, really? And exercise has always been an on and off again way of life. I was down to my lowest when I followed the weigh Down Weight Loss plan and I wasn’t even exercising. But then I got pregnant and gained 60 lbs. Though I lost 40 before my next pregnancy, I still have that extra 20 I haven’t been able to lose. Then I started homeschooling and exercise really took a back seat, which didn’t help my um…back seat.

So I got an elliptical and exercised consistently 4- 6 days a week for 20 -45 minutes and I thought I’d see significant weightloss. I didn’t, and I realized I had hit the age where my metabolism was slowing down.  What to do? What to do? I had a choice to make, step up the workouts and curb the eating or not be fit and trim like I’ve dreamed all my life.

Then I saw my friends hitting forty, losing weight, and looking the best they’ve ever looked. If they could do it, surely I could as well. Some did it the natural way, diet and exercise. Some not so natural with HCG, and some who’ve gotten model thin, I’m still unsure about how they did it.

So I figure, lent would be a great time to really buckle down and feel the pain. So I stepped up the workouts, now busting my butt, literally, doing step aerobics and pump weight training twice a week at the gym and once at home with the other days filled in with elliptical or some other aerobic training.

I put myself on my own healthy eating plan, mostly smaller portions and chicken and veggies in the evenings and I’ve seen a drop in lbs. Four to be exact. Then my son’s birthday hit and I over did it a bit with the fat intake. No weight loss that week, so I got anxious and did some online research. Maybe there was a way to speed up the weightloss process. And what is that Alli pill all about? I did some research and found out. Not fo me. Diet pills never were. I just can’t see taking the risk just to be thinner.

My conclusion. There’s just no easy road to weight loss and like anything else in life worth the fight, it’s going to hurt. But I’m learning to embrace the hurt. Especially during workouts because I know every pain is doing me good. Every stomach growl is getting me closer to health and the body I’ve always dreamed up. And I think there’s something magical about hitting 40 and losing weight. It has nothing to do with the number but the season of life most women are in. Their children are older and can fend for themselves for the most part and it’s a time mom gets to spend more time working on self! That’s how I’m looking at it and I’m hoping and praying finally, finally, finally, I’ll be able to win this battle and not bulge!