Ch-ch-ch-changes!

Chad and I are starting a new time in our lives, starting today. I am getting ready to turn 25, and I am realizing that some big things need to change with myself, one of the first being my weight. I need to lose 40-50 lbs. Now before I get bashed on that, none of you in Indy have seen full shots of me in a very long time, and it will stay that way until I get to my goal. I packed on a good bit of weight during pregnancy (just over what was considered healthy, so it certainly wasn't extreme), and I've lost 20 lbs since she was born, but I was still overweight before I got pregnant. When I look at the pictures taken of me and the baby now, compared to pictures of me in high school or college, the change is UNREAL and I'm ashamed that I've let myself get to this point. Maybe when the weight is gone, I will post some recent pictures and let you see the difference for yourselves.

I am working with Jillian Michael's (The Biggest Loser) 30 Day Shred, and Chad will be working out with me. Either with the Shred, or otherwise. We are both going to completely overhaul the way we eat. He certainly is nothing close to overweight, being 150 lbs soaking wet, but is on the verge of dangerous cholesterol. We'll know for sure his new numbers next month.

I have never had my cholesterol checked, but the women in my family have a very high propensity towards obesity, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart attacks, cancer, diabetes, and strokes. Now with all that fighting against me, why wouldn't I do everything I can to get and keep myself healthy?

We are going to be cutting out soda completely (yes Rhiannon, I already know it's unhealthy, heh), which will be a huge change for us. When I was pregnant, it was water and milk all the time. But before and after, I'd say it's 80% soda, 20% milk or juice. Yuck. But the only times I have seen Chad drink anything but soda are when he's dehydrated from work or ill - a total of maybe three times in five+ years. We are going to likely start cutting down carbohydrates in our diet, but I want to do some research on this. I will never go on full-blown Atkins, considering some say it leads to high cholesterol and heart attacks, but I will do some research. Starting from here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17093250

I want to leave a healthier legacy for my daughter, and I want her diet to be even more varied than mine may be. I was raised (until Lindsay's type 1 diabetes diagnosis in 2001) with various sugary and fatty foods in our household diet, and I knew my own diet would skyrocket when I left home. I had visions of Oreos for dinner in college, for Pete's sake. Time to make some changes, and I want to fit back into my size 7 jeans and feel comfortable in my swimsuits again, not to mention make myself feel so much better.

So there's the latest stuff! Caia will be five months old on Saturday, and I will update with a letter then, too.

<3