My story/being realistic

PaulaDygert

Hello,
I will start out by telling you all my story. I am a 25 year old stay at home mother of 2 wonderful boys. Growing up I never had to watch what I ate. When I got married in 2004 I was a size 3, found out in May of 2005 I was pregnant with our oldest, Kyle, at 10 1/2 weeks of pregnancy I had some complications and was put on bed rest then told I had to be very careful my doctor didn't even want me to go for walks and I could only work part time. Still I only gained 17 lbs with Kyle and he was born Dec 14, 2005. A very healthy baby boy! I then went on the pill and gained weight I weighed in Sept 2006 at 165 (that was more than I weighed at 9 months pregnant with Kyle) and at the same time found out I was 4 to 5 weeks pregnant again. Sadly I miscarried our 2nd child November 12th, 2006 In those few months though I ended up gaining another 16 lbs. I got pregnant with Kaden our youngest right after the miscarriage, weighing 181 lbs. Because of the complications I had with Kyle and the miscarriage and my hormones were not at the right levels, my doctor told me I couldn't work or exercise and to limit my walking. At 7 months I went into early labor and was put on bed rest. Kaden was born via emergency c-section Sept 26, 2007, It was a little scarey at the time but he is now a very healthy 2 yr old. I ended up weighing around 240 lbs. For 2 yrs I had been trying to loose the weight by myself did good at first but got stuck between 200 and 208 I just kept bouncing between those numbers. A friend suggested this site to me in Jan and as of today I am sitting at 186.4 lbs!!! My question is... Is it realistic for my long term goal to be set around 115-120? That would be really close to what I weighed pre-Kyle. Right now I have it set at 150 lbs but being 5.4 lbs away from being pre-Kaden has got me wondering if it is even a realistic thought.
Thank you for reading my long boring story and thank you for any input you have.
I love this site!!!

faithstephenson

I'm so proud of you! You're doing awesome:) I never would gave guessed that you weighed what you did. I'm glad that MFP is helping you, it's been so good for me:) As far as realistic goals, all I can tell you is what I'm doing. It's been so long since I was near my "healthy weight" (we're talking junior high), that I'm setting my initial goal at 150 (I'm 5'3") and then I'll reassess keeping my measurements in mind. I may set a new goal when I get there, or I may decide I like what I look like at that point.

MTGirl

What a story! Your body has been through a lot! I'm sorry about your miscarriage - been there too.

It may be possible for you to get down to the 115 - 120 you are toying with. You probably won't wear the same size - kids do that to most of us! I guess if it were me, I would keep the 150 goal. Get there, maintain for a month or two, then *kitten* how you feel, what size clothing you wear, how your measurements changed and then make a decision, probably 5 or 10 lbs at a time. So, me personally, I would get to 150, go on maintenance for 2 months. Continue exercising to keep/build muscle and then if I decided I wanted to keep losing, I would set a goal for 10 lbs, then maintain there for a couple of months just like before and make a decision from there. That's just my idea - maybe screwy, but I'm kind of that way

I find that my brain is skewed from being so heavy for so long - I don't see the weight loss very well. I still see my 300+ lb self when I look in the mirror. But once in a while I catch a view in the mirror and go "Holy cow! I've lost a lot!" My brain is starting to adjust, but it takes time for our "vision in our head" of ourselves to change to match reality - both ways, gaining and losing :laugh:

Congratulations on your awesome success!! Whatever decision you make, you will do great. Good job :drinker:

PaulaDygert

Thank you!!! I will keep my goal at 150 lbs for now, I am starting to get way excited about losing weight and also getting a little impatient It took me 5 yrs to put it on so it will take a little while to take it off to. Again thank you for your input!!!

junipuni

Honestly, I have no idea! I'm wondering the same thing. I was 115 when I met my husband but that was the lowest weight of my adult life! Normally was more like 125. I've had two kids, they are 23 months apart. Youngest will be 3 this summer. I just don't know what my realistic goal weight can be. I was 140 when I got pregnant with my first and 130 when I got pregnant with my second. So, for now my goal is 130 and when I get there I am going to re-evaluate and see if the 120's are possible. I'm sitting at 146 right now. good luck to you! You've already done a GREAT job!

TheMaidOfAstolat

You can do it. I managed to get back to my pre-prenancy weight....it's just shifted around a bit more. Also, don't expect the 'mommy' pouch to totally go away-it's more of a genetics issue.
You've done great and you've accomplished alot. Just hang in there and keep chugging along.

LongMom

Thanks for sharing!!! I've been through similar changes - VERY similar actually. I was about 130lbs pre-kids and after DD was born July '06 I was 171. I got pregnant when she was 6 months old and I did lose that baby. Then I got pregnant that fall and had DD #2 June '08. That pregnancy I got sooooooooo sick, I couldn't eat right and was puking EVERY day for almost the entire pregnancy! So after DD #2 was born I went NUTS and ate like a madwoman! Got up to 202 lbs! Getting over 200 was a slap in the face for me and voila, here I am.

I'm setting my goal weight this time around to 150 lbs and NOT 130 lbs for a few reasons. 1. I'm not 22 anymore! That's how old I was when I lost weight the last time 2. 150 is at the top of my "range" and I will re-evaluate once I get there, but I wanted a definate atainable goal. 3) I don't have the same reasons for losing weight This time it's all about me - NOT what others think about me

PaulaDygert

Thank you ladies, I was just rereading what I wrote and got to thinking... Yes my body has been through a lot in 5 years but I don't want to use that as an excuse anymore (and I have used it) I am the youngest in my family and my mother always blamed my pregnancy on her weight problems which in turn I have always felt it is my fault my mother is 4 foot 11 inches and weighs close to 300 lbs and she has a lot of health problems because of her weight so on and so on. Any ways I was thinking I do NOT want to lay a lie (my mom never told me is was my fault but thats what I heard) like that on my children because I was too lazy to take care of my body. I could have prevented this big of a weight gain, my children, the blessings they are, had nothing to do with it and the weight I did gain with them is well worth it.