Bye, Bye Baby Weight!

When I was pregnant with Bug, I gained 40lbs. After he was born, I was able to lose 30lbs of that baby weight.

Then we moved to a new apartment, and I mysteriously gained 20lbs. (Yeah, I know. What the heck?!) But, I lost 10lbs of that...

And then I got pregnant with Gizmo. And I gained 40lbs. And then lost 30lbs.

Are you seeing a trend? Of all the weight I gain, I can never seem to shed the last 10lbs of it. And I am 30lbs heavier than I was when I got married.

But now I'm changing things!

My mom (a twin, and consequently, a highly competitive woman) has blessed me with her competitive nature. And together, we are motivating each other to lose weight. We both need someone we love and trust to motivate us to lose it. We need a punishment for failure. We need a great reward for success.We need healthy competition. So we have formulated a weight loss competition:

We have one year to lose FIFTY pounds -each-. We will have weigh-ins every two weeks (using the same scale and time of day, for accuracy). For every one pound that I lose, she will put $5 in the weight loss pot. But, for every one pound that I gain, I will have to put $5 in the pot. And vice versa. Whoever loses their 50lbs first (or whoever has lost the most when the deadline has passed) wins the money from the pot. But, the loser won't be completely forgotten...they will get the dollar amount x2 of their weight lost (from the pot). And, of course, they will have all that wonderful weight lost (assuming they lose any)!

We discussed the advantages and disadvantages that we each had, wondering and hoping that this would be a fair (enough) competition. We decided that it is. My mom is older, and has lower metabolism, but she also has a bit more weight to lose. And she has better control over her time (meaning, she doesn't have young kids that will prevent her from getting her exercising done). I am younger, so I should have better metabolism. And I'm a nursing mother (which, according to different sources, could be a help....or not?) But I don't have to ability to get out to a gym (or park, or anywhere, for that matter) because we only have one car. And my exercise time if often cut into because of diaper changes, nursing sessions, and other kid necessities.

The only exit clause we have is me getting pregnant before the competition is over...which I don't think is going to happen. (And, we are keeping very good track of our money. It has all been set up in an Excel file and everything! So should we need to end the competition, I'll know exactly how much I should get back!)

My weight loss plan involves: eating a healthy and well-balanced diet, cutting out most refined sugars, exercising at least 30 minutes a day (which usually means doing the "Just Sweat-Intense" mode of Just Dance 2). I have practically eliminated desserts from my life...with the exception of Nutella, honey and fresh fruit. I even passed up chocolate in RS the other week! I eat my meals on a small plate, to help with portion control. Unless I am eating salad....I always give myself a big plate of salad! I am also trying to drink more water, (and I've cut out all other liquids, except for a glass of milk a day).

I am proud to say, that after a full month, I am down 5lbs! That is right on target with healthy weight loss goals (about 1lb/week). And my pants are starting to feel a little loose! Of course, my mom is down 8lbs, so I'm currently in second (er...last) place! But I'll take it!

I keep teasing my hubby that once I lose the 50lbs, I'll end up getting pregnant and I won't be able to really enjoy my sexy, new body! But, for now, I'll just keep up my good work and say, "Bye, bye baby weight!"