Take Two

So I had managed to maintain my new weight for a while. And then what did I do? I got pregnant a second time at 18! I was determined not to gain another 70 lbs. I was working full-time as a hotel housekeeper, and it was a very physical job. I spent 7-8 hours each day on my feet making beds, washing windows, vacuuming and scrubbing bathrooms. I didn’t always eat a healthy lunch, but I was very surprised that I was gaining weight as I had in my first pregnancy. Ugh, another 70 lbs.! Puffy skin, swollen feet- very uncomfortable. I was able to move around a lot easier this time around though, and worked up until a week before my son was born. By that time, I was very much looking forward to the relief I had felt after my daughter’s birth. The birth of my son was fairly easy and I was hoping to lose the weight quickly. I didn’t. I had gone up 2-3 sizes from where I was AFTER my first pregnancy. So now I was 5 sizes bigger than before I had first gotten pregnant. I felt awful. And I looked awful. And the athlete I had once been felt completely dead.

Ok, so today the athlete inside showed up when I needed her, so I know shes not dead. I made it to the gym. Yes, I procrastinated this morning. I told myself I was going to get up and go right away, but I didn’t get there until after lunch. But I did get there. And I got a great workout in on the elliptical. I wanted to give up after 5 minutes. I was out of breath, since it was first trip to the gym in over 3 months. I was going 5 days a week up until then, but I got sick with a terrible bronchitis that left me with no energy for 11 weeks. When I got over that, I took the kids to the pool and ended up with double ear infections and could hardly hear for 3 weeks. So now I am finally feeling great again…but today was tough at the gym. As much as I wanted to quit, I dug deep to find strength to keep going and my inner athlete pushed me to keep moving. And what a great feeling to have my former trainer see me and say how nice it was to see me there! Just a bit more motivation to keep going. Slowly but surely I will achieve my goals. I have a lot of weight to lose…and my whole life to gain during this journey.