The Harwick Hubabaloo: A Work in Progress...

Hello Blog World! Long time no see, post or read! (as a matter of fact when I came to post to my blog today I was informed that the account was on hold becauce of a billing issue - an expired credit card - so it has been a LONG time!)

I had big plans for the New Year to be a faithful blogger, but I got sidetracked by work, kids, soccer games, laundry, cleaning and all the little details of life that tend to take up the hours of the day until before you know it you collapse into night.

If you read my first post for the New Year, the word "reduce" wormed its way into my head and became my "word of the year". I had some definite plans to reduce several things in my life, the first being the number on that dreaded scale of mine.

Several people have asked me (including my husband), why now? What was/is my motivation?

Honestly, there was no "wake up call", no one, including my husband, Aaron, chided me or told me I was fat, overweight or unhealthy - in fact the opposite, my husband, my kids and my friends all loved me unconditionally, no matter what my size, and revealed in my tireless baking, eating and festivities.... so, why now?

Going back in time, I was not always overweight. In fact, when I met my husband, almost 13 years ago, I was a petite (I am barely 5'4) size 4. I exercised and ate and drank without a care in the world. (I am sure there were times I thought I was "fat" - if I had only known). I wore a bikini on the beach and did not hide from the camera.

Then, I got pregnant with my first daughter, Hannah... gained 70lbs, gnoshing on ice cream and junk, using pregancy as an excuse.... and not a word of warning from a single person! I had Hannah in December, 2000 and before I knew it, I was pregnant again (thanks to the uselessness of the mini pill). I didn't gain much weight, but I was already dealing with the extra from the first pregancy. Life with two babies under the age of 2 was rough and I didn't try very hard to lose the weight, some came off - but I was stuck at size 14. Then came Holly... once again, I didn't gain much, but I was already dealing with the effects of baby #1 and #2. After Holly, we thought we were done, so I set out to loose some weight - joined Weight Watchers and came down to a size 10/12...

Here I am (notice I am hiding behind Holly - most picture from this time period are like this!)

Then came Brody - he was quite a surprise... I was pretty sick throughout my pregnancy with him, but still managed to gain some more weight - After having him and moving to the armpit of America, I settled into a good size 14/16... and stayed there for about 5 years; hiding from cameras, not wearing a bathing suit EVER, eating with wreckless abandon and not exercising. There are very few pictures of me during this time period... I had to dig deep, but here are a few photos of me from that time period...

A trip to the pumpkin patch in October, 2007...

A photo from Aaron's WOC school graduation....February, 2007...

Fast forward 3 years of living, eating and not exercising - to a family trip we took to the beach upon Aaron's return from Afghanistan in 2010 - these are hard for me to look at... but part of the journey.. so here goes -

and finally, a false start "before" photo in 2011 (I think). I say "false start" because I took this photo at the beginning of a failed weight loss attempt... I just wasn't ready..

Still wondering "why"? - well, I will say that at this point, weighing in at a whopping 191 pounds (yes, on a 5'4 frame); I was tired, grumpy and not feeling so hot. I was stressed at work, stressed at home and could feel my blood pressure and blood sugar rising and falling. Stress eating during the day and stress baking at night, I had no stamina, was impatient with the kids and hated looking in the mirror... then, an opportunity arose.

My school decided to hold a "Biggest Loser" contest among the staff. Always a competitor, and feeling quite ready to shed some extra poundage in hopes that I might reduce some of my extra baggage (both literally and figuratively) - I paid my $10.00 entrance fee and joined Weight Watchers online.....

Here I am now. Not at the end of my journey, but at what I consider the beginning of a new, improved, healthier life story. I still have about 3 more pounds to lose until I reach my goal weight and some dreaded target areas to tone up, but in total I have lost 60 pounds!

In June, 2012 - Hannah's 5th grade graduation celebration:

and after this morning's workout - (please ignore the messy bathroom... lol.. I have yet to unpack from our Outer Banks trip!)

The next question of course, is "how did you do it?" - I am no doctor, health expert or diet guru, but I will be back to share my journey....

Thanks for reading!

Comments

Just amazing, Trish. And so inspiring! I need your motivation and determination to rub off on me. I always say, it isn't about KNOWING WHAT to do, it's about having the strength and determination to DO IT. You should be so proud!

Posted by: Debbie Gaydos | July 08, 2012 at 12:58 PM