A little bit about my journey to be healthier...

Hey Nerds,
This post should of probably been up from before but I've had trouble revising and deciding how much info is too much, and not wanting to bore you too much.
I've never had a weight issue, so I don't have any mind blowing pictures to show you a "before and after" (but there is a face-to-face photo at the bottom of the post).  For the most part I've been on the slimmer side, but not fit or toned.  I guess there's a name for it... "skinny fat", which I think is a bit insulting... first society will tell us it's not healthy to be over-weight, but then you're slim and it's still not good enough.  Not everyone can be (or has aspirations) to be super toned.

Note: Without disclosing my actual weight, I'm going to just say "X" lbs...

I was about "X" lbs through university and at the time when I got married, in 2004.  After I got married, then the pounds started packing on, and looking back I can attribute this to going out a lot (drinks and appetizers), making rich (butter and cheese) dishes at home for dinner, and then putting as much food on my plate as my hubby.  We would cook up big weekend breakfasts of bagels, omlets, bacon, and hash browns on Saturday and Sunday.   Additionally, I had a one hour commute to work in the morning and evening, and sat at a desk job, so that's a lot of sitting.  I did do exercise but I wasn't doing the "right" exercise.  Luckily I did get a job closer to home after 3-4 years of commuting, but still, my idea of exercise was to go for a walk and maybe every so often pick up some 4-5 lbs dumbbells. My eating habits remained the same.

5 years after getting married, I was up 15 lbs, which with my body composition and height (5'4"), gaining 15 lbs can make a noticeable difference.  Then we had our first son in 2009.  1 year later, i was back at my pre-pregnancy weight (X+15), but not the same body.  Do you like the math references like "X+15"?

In 2011 I started at a new job and they offered a Weight Watcher At Work program, and I decided to see if it could work for me. Over the course of 3-4 months I had lost 9 or 10 lbs and I was feeling happy with that.  I had also bought a DVD set to workout at home with (KettleWorX) which only took 27 minutes X 3 times a week to complete and I also incorporated daily walks.  My weight was now at X+5.

So the take away here is that the two things that got the weight to start coming off was: watching what I eat, and doing an exercise routine that involved weights and HIIT training.

I did keep the weight off after finishing my 12 weeks of Weight Watchers and in 2012 we had our second son. And again, one year later, I was back at my pre-pregnancy weight, but still had an even softer bulging belly (many woman get diastasis-recti after pregnancy which makes us keep looking pregnant).

I went back to Weight Watchers in January 2016 after my weight had started to creep up and I lost about 8-9 lbs. I had set a goal to be back to my weight from University ("X" lbs) and was able to  become a lifetime member (I get to do Weight Watchers for free).  

I've been pretty good about keeping my weight at, or below that number... but as you know, weight isn't everything, measurements matter.   

When this past summer was coming to an end I realized I spent much of it eating bbq and enjoying too many snack.  I had to do something! My cloths were getting tight, and the scale shot up 6 lbs in a month.
So in mid-August I started an exercise program that involves exercising at home 5 days a week for 20-25 minutes doing strength training and cardio.  I started to be more mindful of my calorie intake (i.e. following Weight Watchers), and avoided eating snacks in the evening... I have a separate post for that in the future.  Those 6 lbs went away after 5 weeks, but... the Holidays happen.  So they're partially back.

I will post soon 'why i like weight watchers' and what program I'm following for fitness. As well as more info on my "no snacking at night".

Here's my face-to-face from 2008 to 2018.