The Incredible Expanding Woman

15 pounds.

15 pounds!

Let me give you a little history.

As a kid... I was skinny. Tall and ridiculously skinny.

(That's me with my Dad and my brother in Cape Cod. I'm guessing I was about 7.)

I ate whatever my heart desired and remained... ridiculously skinny.

This is me (and my hubby!) long before I was 25. These were the days of eating everything I could possibly imagine and always remaining at a possibly unhealthy perfect 118 pounds.

When I hit 25 years old, that suddenly changed. Add to that, the fact that I had my son that same year and overnight I went from light speed metabolism to metabolism I would compare to a tortoise... walking uphill... with the wind blowing against him.

Here's me with my family about 6 months after I had Michael. You can see the weight in my face here but the baggy clothes hide a mulitude of sins!)

I have battled since then with my weight. It borders on obsessive.

I do have some things in my favor here.

I am 5'11" tall. What that means is that I can gain or lose 5 to 10 pounds without anyone being able to see a difference in any way. I guess you could say that I carry it well.

But 15 pounds... that can be seen and noticed. My pants are suddenly too tight. I always seem to gain in my thighs. (Honestly, when I was pregnant with Michael, I asked the Dr. to please ultrasound my thighs because I was certain there must be babies in there as well... they were that HUGE!)

Prior to my wedding, I was carefully watching everything I put in my mouth. I was working out daily (thanks to the 30 Day Shred and Wii Fit.)

But as soon as the wedding was over... I fell apart.

I had been so disciplined that I was desperate for a break.

That break... turned into 3 & 1/2 months and 15 pounds.

I've attempted to pinpoint my shortcomings in the hopes that it will motivate me to get back on track (or at least on the road back to the track...)

So here it is...

My Top 8 Reasons for Gaining 15 Pounds

1. Fast food - Taco Bell (burrito supremes and cruchwrap supremes), McDonalds breakfast (sausage biscuit with cheese), Fox's Pizza (Turkey Wedgie and of course pizza), Capriotti's (The Bobby). I attempt not to go to these evil, evil places. But somehow, (without my permission) my car veers right in. It's awful. And for the record... I blame my car.
2. I work in Food & Beverage. I'm surrounded by food. I do not have the will power nor the self control to make the right choices in a casino buffet. Plus... I just can't survive another minute if I don't eat that piece of coconut cream pie.
3. My son has a terrible diet. He's one of those kids who only eats 8 things total. Unfortunately, those things include Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, chicken fingers, pizza, grilled cheese, and peanut butter & jelly. (It's not that I want to eat his leftovers... I just hate to waste food. People are starving out there! I couldn't possibly let it go to waste.)
4. I've stopped exercising. I make plans daily to workout in some capacity. I then make excuses daily as to why I can't.
5. Snacking. I find myself snacking constantly. Mainly it's because my perpetually thin husband has the ability to eat 3 bags of Dorito's, 2 Snicker's bars and an entire container of ice cream at 11pm, before going to bed, only to lose a pound or two before morning. That late night snack, by the way, is after he's eaten a full dinner and accompanied by NON-diet soda. It's just wrong. And rationally I know I can't keep up with him. But I continue to try. I must master the art of Just Say No!
6. Beer and Wine. I don't drink a ton. But I do indulge enough that I simply look at the bottles in my fridge and gain a pound or two. Ohhh... if I could only be a fan of Michelob Ultra Light or something similar. Nope, I just have to have Fat Tire, don't I? Like the name alone wouldn't be enough of a sign or at least a deterrent. Seriously, if a product has the word "fat" in it's name... you shouldn't expect anything less.
7. Las Vegas. Yes. I blame the desert. It is 108 degrees today. Do you think there is any possibility that I am stepping outdoors for any sort of physical activity? Vegas is like the opposite of the East Coast. In the East Coast, you stay indoors all winter because it's too damn cold to do anything outside. In Vegas, you stay indoors all summer because you'll melt.
8. And... my most recent discovery... thanks to my friend over at Stepford Life, I am perpetually happy right now. Happy for me = eating. I eat when I'm happy, starve when I'm stressed. Not that I'm saying I'd like to be unhappy and skinny. Just that I'd like to find a happy medium. Literally. I'd like to be happy... and size Medium. Is that so much to ask???