Day One - The beginning, well sort of...

Well this is the beginning of my journey, on this blog that is. My actual journey actually started four weeks ago today. My amazing Husband Jarrod left for his deployment on a Monday, four weeks and one day ago. The very next day I started my journey.

Since that fateful Tuesday morning, four weeks ago. I have been to the gym a total of nineteen days. That translates to five days a week, taking Saturday and Sunday off to rest. I did miss the gym yesterday and today, but both my girls are sick so I substituted the gym with a sweaty session of The Biggest Loser on the XBox Kinect system. I feel pretty guilty that I have missed the gym these past two days, but my girls needed me so I have tried to suck it up as much as possible.

My husband and I have two gorgeous little girls. Valen will be three in July and baby Piper will be one at the end of August. Life is definitely hectic with Jarrod gone right now, but he will be home in June so it's only two month deployments about twice a year. Compared to military families, we have it pretty easy. My parents live close by and they are a ton of help to me and the girls, but I have taken both girls to the gym 'playcenter' every single trip. That in and of itself is a workout, just getting out of the house and car is brutal!

My goal is to get healthy above all. Do I want to lose a lot of weight? Yes. Do I expect to do it overnight? No. I started gaining weight when I got pregnant with Valen, maybe a little before that. During that pregnancy I would say I gained a total of about 60 pounds. I didn't lose any of that weight between having Valen and getting pregnant with Piper. So with Piper I only gained around 20 pounds but an almost 80 pound weight gain in the course of three and a half years is a big deal. Literally.

I'm not yet comfortable enough to display my current weight for the whole world to see, but just know that it's over 200, but under 300. Eventually I will get past that fear, but this is new so just stick with me.

While pregnant the first time, through the second pregnancy, I did not exercise. At all. Nor did I diet. Obviously. This journey is about to change all of that.

I have already started my exercise routine. I usually do one hour of aerobic exercise, usually a Zumba class or something like it, five days a week. If I miss a day I try to do my Jillian Michaels DVD or Biggest Loser on Kinect to make up for it. I also do yoga, water aerobics, core strengthening classes and treadmill/bike/weight machines. After four weeks, I don't even get sore anymore which is a blessing. I just hope I can keep it up and get stronger and healthier.

As far as diet goes, I'm trying to do weight watchers right now, key word is 'trying'. Some days I do great, other days I forget and slip up. I have to start watching my caloric intake though because I think that will be key to successful weight loss in the long run.

I went to the doctor today and my blood pressure is 117/77 and my cholesterol is all normal. Overall, I'm actually pretty healthy. But weight wise, I'm obese.

I hope I can learn some things about myself along this journey. I also hope to make friends and find more support from people going through the same thing. I will be doing a weekly weigh-in starting next Tuesday and hopefully I will be comfortable enough soon to share my actual current weight. My 'goal' (and I use that word tentatively) is to lose 100 pounds by my birthday next year. My birthday is July 3rd. I have over a year to do this, and I am confident that even if I cannot lose my target weight amount, I will still lose a lot and be happy with my results. Even so, I am in it to win it as they say and I will stop at nothing to achieve my goals.

I don't want to be the fat Mom at school functions and recitals. I want to be able to run and play all day, just like my daughter's do. I want to be sexy for my Husband. I want to be healthy for myself and my family. Join me on my journey won't you?