My Journey

This blog is about my attempt to reclaim some time for myself and how I do it.  I was in the Navy for 5 years before I had my 2 beautiful boys.  Before that I spent 5 years in college getting a degree in Engineering.  Like most girls, I put on some weight in college.  Because I was going to the Navy after graduation I had to exercise all the time, but an injury kept me from excercise my sophmore year and I gained about 10 pounds.  It wasn't a big deal because I still was tiny.  Then came the Navy and crappy shipboard food.  I was still able to workout frequently so I was still OK, and the food got better the longer I was around.  Then I got pregnant.  We walked alot while I was pregnant and after my son was born.  When I got pregnant with my second son, we walked alot as well and I didn't gain as much weight the second time.  After my second was born, we moved from Virginia back to my hometown of Pittsburgh, PA.  We lived with my parents until we found a house, which took 8 months.

I recently lost 15 pounds of college, Navy, and baby weight and I'm really proud of that achievement.  I've been trying to lose the weight for a long time.  I dropped 2 dress sizes and I feel really good.  My family has adopted a healthier eating style, but we still indulge on comfort foods occasionally and practice moderation.  I've decided that I'm going to take time for myself and lately that time is doing my nails and shopping for beauty products.  It is a relatively inexpensive and quick way to make yourself pretty and the options are endless.

First let me tell you about how I started my weightloss and fitness journey:

About a year ago my husband and I decided we needed to get healthy again after having kids and moving.  His New Year's Resulution for 2011 was to run the Pittsburgh Marathon.  So he started training in January while I stayed home with our 2 boys.  I tried to get up at 6am and use my elliptical machine while everyone was still sleeping, but that lasted about 2 weeks.  So there he was getting back in shape and I was still sitting on my butt at home moping about how I didn't feel or look good.  After the marathon in May of 2011 he wanted to run another marathon, this time near his hometown in up-state NY.  I joked and said I would train to run the half-marathon.  I shouldn't have joked.  He offered to train and run it with  me.  At the end of May we bought a double jogging stroller and started training as a family.  I hadn't run in a long time, and the beginning steps were painful.  We started out slowly and eventually after months of gradual training, I completed the First Annual Wineglass Marathon in Corning, NY.  My goal was to run in 3 hours.  I ran in 2 and a half.  Distance running isn't my thing, so I think I'll stick to 5Ks and 5 mile runs for cardio.  After that we decided to try P90X because we weren't losing any weight with the running and PA winters aren't really good for running.  We started P90X in October and by new years I needed a new wardrobe.  If you stick to the diet and do the workouts, the as seen on TV program really works. 

Now that I feel better about my body image and weight I want to feel more feminine.  I work full time at home, so I don't put alot of effort into make up unless I'm going out which isn't that often.  Nail polish is a good way to feel pretty and femine without a lot of effort.  My kids like to help me pick out colors too.  You can paint you nails and with a good top coat leave it for a few days and change it when the mood strikes you.  Over the last 3 months I've aquired over 100 bottles of polish.  Prior to that I had maybe 20.  I'm currently building a shelf to hold them all with the help of my husband.  I'll take some pictures and post them as we go.