Let me tell you. I love jeans. I love dressy jeans. I love yard jeans. I love jeans with holes in the knees. I love fat jeans. I love designer jeans. I love trouser jeans. I just love jeans. I do. Now, I am waaaaaaaaaay too hot-natured to wear jeans in the summer where I live. I mean when it is 98 degrees Fahrenheit with 92% humidity outside- which is how it goes here from May through most of September- wearing jeans never even crosses my mind!
But this year… I’m a little anxious about wearing jeans. I didn’t really get to wear jeans last winter. I had one pair 4 sizes bigger than most of the other jeans I have in my closet because I was either SUPER PREGO or dealing with the “left-overs” as a friend so aptly calls post-pregnancy bodies. So, I’m pretty excited to get to wear some of my old trustys. Here are most of my jeans just waiting for me to sport them around. (Yes, I have a disco ball in my closet. Yes, I think it’s the perfect place for a disco ball.)
But, I have to be very open and very honest. I have lost all the baby weight and even a little extra. But, most of those old jeans either don’t fit or look like sausage casings and are so uncomfortable that I would never wear them any where! For you see, I am so pumped to get to actually wear jeans again that I started trying them on- only to be hit by the hard reality that they don’t fit! As I was trying them on, I was reliving the memories I have in each pair! (Yes, that’s part of my hoarding problem– attaching sentimental value to insignificant things.) When I got pregnant I was the heaviest I had been in several, several years. Confession time: I gained 30 pounds when my grandmother died which was also when I quit smoking. And I wasn’t able to get those pounds under control before I got pregnant.
Soooooooo, rather than back to school, I am getting back to reality. Bub and I are AdvoCare distributors and in a manner of continuing to live a healthy lifestyle and in an effort to continue my weight loss journey, I am starting a 24 Day Challenge. In addition to this, I am actually going to exercise. I don’t care how much I weigh and I don’t really care how much weight I lose, as long as I get back into my old trustys. That is how I am going to judge my success.
Leigh and I had a talk about whether I should write about me trying to get back into my jeans slash losing weight. I think that by sharing this with you, Faithful Reader, you will help me stay accountable and to stay focused. Leigh agreed and even said she had seen another blogger do the same and have great success doing so… until they started gaining the weight back. And then she pulled out the big gun, Oprah. Most everybody is familiar with Oprah’s very public relationship with her weight. At one point she wheeled out a wagon of lard on her show representing the amount of weight she had loss and then promptly gained it all and then some back!
My weight and its fluctuation is just something I am always going to have to be aware of and deal with. I have come to terms with that. I have also come to terms with the fact that for me to maintain a lighter weight, I have to make healthier food choices AND a sedentary lifestyle is not an option. I completely agree with Leigh’s post from last week wherein she addressed her current spot on her weight journey in that somedays, you have to take care of your soul with a special treat. But, treats are just that- treats- not meant to be enjoyed everyday.
Staying on task and not getting completely derailed when I hit a bump in the road is one of the hardest parts, to me, of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. One bushwhacker leads to twenty or using the fact that it’s hotter than hell outside as an excuse not to exercise. Or when most of your summer wardrobe is made of stretchy material- you don’t really notice gaining OR loosing a pound or two- but, on the whole, jeans will only give so much. And I have made a conscious effort to buy some non-stretchy summer clothes so I can’t hide behind the stretch.
I am inviting you to join me on my campaign whether you be an active participant (maybe you have a pair of jeans you’d like to sport again too?), a silent observer (I know you want to see if I have the motivation to meet my goal or if I fail miserably) or maybe you will be a cheerleader for me (I can use all the encouragement I can get!). Please join me and bare with me as I document my road to getting back in my old jeans.
Girl, you can do it! After having back to back babies, I didn’t know if I would ever get rid of my “leftovers”!! Lol it has taken me about 18 months with about 6 months of hard dieting and working out and I am almost there. Also keep in mind your body will never be the same as it was. I found that even though I could fit back into stuff, I didn’t like it on me anymore.
I’m rooting for you!
Thanks Abi! Yes, I have already started to figure out that this body of mine won’t ever be exactly as it was before I hatched Henry! But, I would like to continue to try to get it back under control. I was super pumped to get back into the jeans I was wearing pre-prego but at one point those jeans were my fat jeans! So, I have readjusted my sights and have set a course! All or nothing! Thank you for the words of encouragement!
First of all, I had a crazy dream about you last night and staying at your house and how it was on west beach and you had both bath and beach access ( which I am not even sure is possible) ha but we slept outside so we could enjoy your beach view! HA Anyway great article and oh so true. NONE of my fall clothes much less jeans fit right now, and I need to start exercising stat! I already started changing my diet! No more drinks with sugar. Only water and coffee ( and beer sometimes) ha I totally meant to chat with you about advocare when we were down there and forgot! ha Blogs totally hold you accountable and its nice to look back on. I blog about anything that I want to stick to ( cooking regularly, losing baby weight, working out etc.) also the my fitness pal app on the iphone is fun for tracking progress.
Laura, I wish I had a house on the West Beach with both bay and beach access- that would be killer! Y’all are always welcome to stay at the house I do have though! And I was thinking that blogging about getting back into my old jeans would def help keep me accountable AND also keep me accountable about not letting the weight creep back on! We try to eat as clean as possible around here. I will send you a message on FB about AdvoCare and I will look into the fitness pal app too.