Food, Eating Habits, and Weight

Despite never really being taught how to eat well, make the healthiest possible choices, or stick to reasonable portions, I was small for most of my life. Throughout my childhood I was very skinny, then when I became a teenager and put on more weight than I would've liked (although I was still at a very healthy weight!) I all but stopped eating for a few months. I ate just enough to not arouse too much suspicion, and I lost about 20 pounds, at which point I started eating normally again.

All was well for a few years. And then I had a baby. :-P After Elijah was born, I weighed about 15 pounds more than I had before I'd gotten pregnant. And then I put on more weight because I didn't know how to make the healthiest choices or stick to reasonable portions. I would lose a little, then gain it all back plus some. It doesn't help that I tend to eat out of boredom or stress, or that I crave simple carbs and sugar. When I got pregnant with Isaac, I was at my highest weight ever to that point, which of course got higher as the pregnancy went on. At 9 months pregnant I weighed a full 100 pounds more than I had seven years prior, before I'd married and had children. Yikes!

But since Isaac's birth almost 18 months ago, things have really turned around. I've become more and more committed to eating better and taking care of myself, plus breastfeeding helps because it burns calories. Yay, breastfeeding! ;-) Between the day of Isaac's birth and today, I have lost 62 pounds. Ten of those have been in the last five weeks or so as I've really been working on my eating habits and cutting out the simple carbs I was addicted to.

Sixty-two pounds is a lot, and I'm really proud of it. It's so awesome to look in the mirror and realize that I'm finally looking like myself again. And I feel so much better. But I still have more to lose-- 38 pounds to get to my ultimate goal. I'm confident that I'm going to get there!

So that's the story of my struggle with food and weight, at least the short version. Do you struggle with food and weight too? What are you doing to help yourself in these areas?