Weight Loss Plans

Well I've gotten to the point that I am the biggest I've ever been (even bigger than I was with Luke which I swore I never would be). I started out this pregnancy 30 pounds heavier than I started out my pregnancy with Luke (I was overweight starting out with Luke as well). I am really proud of myself though because I haven't gone nuts, have drank a ton (literally) of water, and have managed to only gain 28 pounds at 34 1/2 weeks. My goal was no more than 35 and I am pretty sure I will do that (if I do gain more, I would imagine it will be water retention this late in the game).

That being said, I imagine the day I go to deliver the babies I will be roughly 90 pounds overweight. YUCK! I am more realistic this time and my goal is to get down to 155 not 140. So, I've already started thinking about what I plan to do to lose the baby weight plus the weight I needed to lose before I got pregnant.

Here's my plan (I know it might not all work out like this):

In the beginning, since our lives will be so crazy, my goal will be to drink a lot of water (will also help with breastfeeding), eat when I am hungry and stop when I am satisfied (not full), and aim to eat something every couple of hours (not wait until I am starving). I am not really going to worry about what I am eating as a lot of the food will be out of my hands (others bringing us meals). I will focus more on listening to my body and watching the portions. Of course I will aim to get in fruits, veggies, dairy, lean proteins, and whole grains as much as possible. And I will not be woofing down junky stuff. I am hoping that with breastfeeding and just losing the initial weight (babies, placentas, fluid), I will lose a decent amount. I am pretty much planning to do this until the babies sleep good at night and we get on a schedule.

Once the babies are sleeping good at night (Luke did 12 hours at 3 months old and did great pretty much after about 5 weeks) and we have some sort of schedule, I am planning to officially start Weight Watchers. When Luke was a baby, I joined the meetings and I found that to be a huge part of my success. I am not sure if I will do meetings yet, but would definitely like to if it would work out. Either way, I will be following the POINTS system since I know it works, it's easy to keep up with, I can eat anything I want (as long as it fits into my plan), if I am still breastfeeding I get extra POINTS, and when I start working out I get extra POINTS. I LOVE WW POINTS!!! I am really hoping to start after New Year's as I think that is an attainable goal. Hopefully when I start I will already have off the pregnancy weight and just be working on the weight I need to lose before I got pregnant.

I am really hoping to start working out once the babies are sleeping through the night consistently. I don't plan to do it before that because I will be worn out enough and don't want to exhaust my body even more (that can really slow weight loss and could hurt my milk supply). When Luke was a baby I joined a great gym with awesome childcare when he was 2 months old and went 4-5 times a week with no problems. This time, I have 2 babies and a 5 year old so it will be a lot more work to get to a gym (get everyone ready, load everyone up, drive, drop everyone off, workout, pick everyone up, drive home, unload everyone - not to mention behavior/diaper changes during the workout time).

I am going to see how working out at home goes first because I could workout without all the added time of getting there and getting home (over an hour) plus the worries. I am hoping that when the babies nap in the morning, I can get Luke to play in the playroom with a TV show and do the elliptical for a half hour. That's my starting plan, mostly cardio. I would love to do this 3-5 times a week.

Once I get in some sort of routine, I will add light weights and ab work. When Spring comes, I am hoping to get out the double jogger stroller and start intervals of jogging and walking. Lee also wants to get bikes for Christmas so that would be a great workout. My goal is to eventually be able to do my higher intensity workouts and get my body back where it was 3 years ago.

I realize that these are probably lofty goals and I will definitely adjust as needed, but I always think it's better to have a plan. Otherwise, come next Summer, I'll still be walking around saying, "I should lose this weight."

I don't have a deadline as I have a lot to lose and am pretty much starting from the worst I've been (minus the knowledge I have from last time) and will have a lot of work to do to get a fit body. It took almost 2 years with Luke so I would imagine at least 18 months. I am fine with however long it takes as long as I am working at it each day and making progress. It's worth it. I am planning to start another blog (yes I love blogging) devoted to my weight loss journey.