How a website changed my life…For the better!

It was 13 months ago today that little Logan made his grand entrance into the world, a whole two days early. The struggle of his birth, which happened about 36 hours AFTER my admittance to the hospital was just the beginning of the bigger struggle yet to come; the struggle to lose the nearly 60 pounds I gained during my pregnancy. Yeah, that’s right, 60 pounds, that’s about twice what one should gain and about three times what most people I know have gained. There was one point in my pregnancy with Logan that I was putting on 10 – 12 pound per month. You would have thought I did nothing but sit my ass on the couch and eat for 9 months. Having a 2 year old to chase around, I can guarantee you that did not happen as much as I would have liked to have done just that.

It was about this time last year that I really started saying to myself that this wasn’t going to be easy and the weight wasn’t going to come off by itself. This was also about the time that the realization that the weight wasn’t going to magically disappear made me pretty depressed. I casually started watching what I ate, and drinking a little more water thinking that just small changes could make a big difference. With each passing day I got just a little more grumpy and Bill, with all his good intentions, was NO HELP. He spent a lot of time questioning my food choices and letting me know that a cookie before bedtime wasn’t going to help me lose the weight. NO KIDDING! But it will make me feel a little happier. It just doesn’t seem fair that something (a cookie or a piece of chocolate) could makes me feel happy when it is so counterproductive to the end goal.

I don’t remember why, New Year’s Eve really sucked, but I do remember not being able to sleep and feeling so miserable in my life. I got out of bed and spent a good part of the early morning hours on the computer trying to come up with a plan to shrink my bloated body. I found SparkPeople.com and from that moment on, things changed. I know I’ve mentioned SparkPeople.com more than once here in Mommyland, but it has been such a life changing experience I keep coming back to it.

This time last year, I had NOTHING in my closet that fit except maternity clothes. Any mother I’m sure will agree that the last thing one wants to wear after the baby is born is maternity crap. So out I ventured for a pair of black pants, some jeans, and a couple sweaters that wouldn’t show my many rolls. If I could have, I would have hung myself with the pair of the size 10 pants I had to buy. OK, I know in the grand scheme of things, size 10 isn’t big at all, but when you have a closet of size zeros, there’s quite a difference. But, because of what I learned and the features that were available to me through SparkPeople.com, six weeks later I was headed back to the mall because my size 10’s were falling off.

A year long tale made a bit shorter, I’m now back into my zero’s and two’s. No, they don’t exactly fit the same way they did before, but any mother can tell you, kids change EVERYTHING. There was no magic pill, no silver bullet, there’s just a lot of hard work and determination. In the next few weeks leading up to may “Sparkiversary”, I can be proud of the distance I have come, and not beat myself up over the fact that I still would like to shed 7 more pounds. I learned that from SparkPeople.com.

In 2010, and the many years to come, I will take my new found knowledge with me and continue to push myself to be a healthier, more fit woman. I’m going into the coming year with pride for all the things I’ve accomplished this year, from dropping 10 sizes, to running my very first 5K. I’m happier, healthier and more physically fit than I have been in years, if not ever.

My advice to anyone looking to be healthier or lose some weight, go check out SparkPeople.com. It’s FREE, but most importantly, it’s inspirational.

Happy Hump Day!!