How I lost (and found) 120 lbs!

Confession time, in the last six years, I have gained and lost my entire current body weight of 120 lbs. Actually it is not lost. All 120 lbs of it is running around my house in the form of my three children. With each baby, I gain approximately 40 lbs times 3 equals alot of baby weight coming and coming throughout our home! Each time, I have been blessed to lose the weight, and I have been asked to write about our journey.

I am always cautious when writing about weight. You know, we women are so sensitive about it, me included. It has been a long, long journey and if my struggles and mistakes can help some other parent, I would feel some what better about the whole mess!

With my first child being a c-section, I was in recovery mode, read barely surviving for 18 months. I didn't run much until then. Having two more, a hospital VBAC with Nathan, and a HBAC at home with Ethan, certainly helped with the recovery and ease of weight redistribution. I figure with each one I'll get better at this. I'm still learning, but here's what I've learned thus far. I've learned to....

1.be educated. Avoid c-sections if at all possible for natural childbirth. We highly recommend the Bradley method and the midwifery model of care. Natural childbirth is the healthiest option for the whole family and makes losing the weight in a healthy way possible.

2.be committed to naturally feeding your baby. I value this accomplishment more than my college degree. It is difficult and I could not have accomplished it without the incredible strength of my husband. Naturally feeding baby from day one balances the whole biological equation.

3.be motivated. A key for me has been to keep moving. This great piece of advice came from my lovely step-mother, who is mom to four rowdy boys.

 4.be patient. Not measuring self-worth by numbers is challenging. Sucess as a parent is obedience to Christ, not the numbers on a voodoo scale that has been jumped on by my small people far too many times for it to be truly accurate (at least that's what I say!).

5. be realistic about caloric needs. Read this one as I ate enough to feed a small third-world nation when Andrea was little!  I have since learned the value of raw, whole foods. Also cutting sugar out completely has been paramont. Amazing how fast I lost weight this time with Ethan on healthly food. And I feel stronger and weigh less than when I first started this journey. For a cookbook and thorough resource, I recommend Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions.

Thus our journey has come to three kids and lots of different kinds of running. Please share any pearls of wisdom from your journey....