The stalemate

After about 18 pounds had been shed, I was hitting a wall.  I hit a stalemate for five weeks at 146 (my goal weight at the time was 125)!  I was working out pretty hard for 40 minutes 3 times per week with my trainer, and I had just stopped nursing the baby, so an extra 10 pounds should've just come off within days.

I had a dirty little secret, though.  I was still overeating.  Overeating had never been an issue for me.  I once told a friend of mine (kind of jokingly, but still truthfully) that when I was younger I could eat a big, cold dill pickle as a snack and be full.  But that wasn't the case anymore.  I was in denial about my problem, and I made the excuse that I couldn't be hungry all the time if I wanted to be a good mommy to my little girls.  I didn't want to be exhausted from workouts and hungry -- that just wouldn't be prudent.

I told my trainer that I was following her suggestions, but I was eating twice as much as she suggested at every meal, and I was snacking too much.  Though I had chosen mostly healthy foods, my carb intake was almost 4 times as much as it should have been for dramatic weight loss. 

Once I decided to get honest with myself, I started measuring my quantities and going "hungry".  I didn't starve myself, but I wasn't pleasantly satiated or full.  I did get a bit testy with the girls and my husband for a while there, and I did often tearfully question if it was worth it.

Then one day, I broke through.  I was 145 pounds, only 20 pounds away from my goal weight.  Summer was 6 months away, and by golly, I was motivated again.  That's when I bought my "Little Miss Bad" t-shirt (see post, "the shirt becomes her"), and my workout life took a 180.