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My morning run

I have really struggled to get back to my pre-pregnancy body. I gained 35 pounds while I was pregnant with Ava (38 with Lucas). The first 25 practically fell off during the couple months after Ava was born. Naturally I was thrilled at the success I found with little to no effort on my part. After our agonizing decision to stop breastfeeding when Ava was 12 weeks old, my weight loss came to a crashing halt. In fact, 3 pounds crept back on because I didn't change my diet to accommodate the hormonal change. (I miss those extra calories nursing Mom's burn.)

I quietly (and sometimes not so quietly) began to tear myself down for the way I fit and didn't fit into my clothes. We decided to join the YMCA in November, and I was confidant my weight loss would rev back up. Matt and I decided to track our weight loss; and Mondays because our official weigh-in day. As the scales began a steady decline for Matt, my weight began to yo-yo each week. Two pounds off one week, 1 pound gained the next. One pound off the following week, 2 pounds gained the next. This emotionally overwhelming cycle has been going on for over 3 months now.

I joined a running class 6 weeks ago. We meet every Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings at 8:15 to run outside for either 45 or 60 minutes. Our instructor gave us a great training program to help us slowly increase our running time and avoid injury. My goal is to run a 5K (3.1 miles) in April.

Sometime last week, the running bug bit me and now I'm hooked. I love the success I'm experiencing on the track, my body going farther each time. I can run a little over 2 miles with only a couple walking breaks!! But the scales are still my enemy. I finally (about 2 weeks ago) broke the vicious cycle and kept off a pound that I had lost and saw 2 more pounds come off last week. I managed to sqeeze into a pair of pre-pregnancy jeans a couple times last week and even had the audacity to wear them to church! While I'm not sure if they were quite appropriate, I was darn-well going to wear them!

I think the hardest part of me is being home with the kids with snacks in the pantry. I think I do a pretty good job at the grocery store buying healthy, fresh foods, but somehow I always seem to find an unhealthy snack to munch on.

I have a lot of goals in mind for my weight loss plan and even a few fitness goals. I'd love to run the Midnight Flight in August - a 10K! But the ultimate goal is for me to feel confidant again. I'm ready to conquer this "body-image demon" before my daughter is old enough to be effected by it.

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