A much needed life update (homeschooling (again)! learning Japanese! preparing to move overseas!), but first.
(Just scroll down a bit, if you just want to read the life update.)
1/11/2014, the day I gave birth to Tyndale
It’s been 15 months since I birthed our fifth child.
I haven’t talked a lot about my weight since my beyond size & scale post last fall. At that time, I came to a happy place with my weight–I had lost 45 or so pounds from my post-pregnancy starting point of 204 lbs. (recall that this was my weight a week after I had the baby), putting me squarely in the 160’s weight range.
[Click here to see my entire weight loss journey, after baby #5.]
For a person of 5’9″, this is healthy weight. My goal from the beginning was to focus on health, rather than numbers anyway, though I knew I did have a significant amount to lose & used the scale to help me get to that healthy weight range.
Needless to say at that point (last fall), I ditched the scale & made the the decision to not even “think” about trying to lose any more weight. Though I was 15-20ish pounds heavier than my lowest weight (which admittedly was very thin, for me), I felt awesome & completely comfortable & healthy in my skin.
How to find your natural weight
Going forward from there, my only rule, or rules for myself were:
1) practice intuitive eating, really listening to my body & feeding it for health, energy, & nourishment
2) continue eating mostly whole, simple plant foods (though I did have some slip-ups which I explain in this & this post)
3) exercise most days of the week (essentially following the my FSL guidelines)–more for mental/emotional benefits than anything else.
That’s it.
Again, weight loss at that point was never my intention, only happy, healthy weight maintenance & overall fitness.
Fast forward about six months later & I’m in my closet deciding what clothes to give away, toss, or keep, as we prepare for our move to Okinawa this summer.
There were a stack of shorts & pants that I hadn’t touched in almost two years. I thought, hmm, I wonder if those fit me now. I had noticed some of my clothes fitting more loosely.
I tried a few pairs of shorts on, & to my surprise–they fit! I hadn’t been on the scale in nearly six months, but I had to know if I really had lost weight. I stepped on the scale & was surprised to see that since I had last weighed myself in early October 2014, I had lost 15 pounds (putting me at 150 lbs.). This weight loss was honestly unintentional, & happened so gradually (something like less than .5 pounds a week) I didn’t even notice it was happening.
Am I happy to have lost more weight?
Sure.
But more than that, I am thrilled to know that by practicing intuitive eating & focusing on tried & true FSL principles (which happily does not include carb, fat, or protein counting!), my body is able to drift to it’s natural weight, almost effortlessly.
(A few of my thoughts on how to stop emotional eating, here.)
Everyone is searching for that magic formula for weight loss & weight maintenance.
I think over the years, with all of my huge pregnancy weight gains (this last one was the worst, no thanks to my gestational diabetes) I’ve discovered through lots of trial & error a rather straightforward, simple, & sustainable approach to weight loss & weight maintenance (which I explain in detail in my FSL: The Diet ebook).
Losing weight is more of an endurance sport rather than a sprint. Sustainable, long-term healthy losses happen when you focus on principles, rather than strict regimens. That is truth.
Your body is beautiful. Your body is amazing. And when you listen to it, feed & nourish it properly, it will naturally gravitate to a healthy, happy place.
→ Check out my ebook, Fit, Strong, Lean: The Diet, for all the details (including 25+ quick & easy recipes) on how to find your natural weight.
♥
Now for the life update.
Have you noticed I’ve been spending much less time blogging lately?
Um, yeah.
I’ve taken a dive into the deep end of the homeschooling pool & I’ve just come back up for air. And, boy, homeschooling the second time around has been a night & day experience.
No doubt I’ll devote an entire post on this at some point in the future, but can I just say–I’m loving being with my kids. I’m loving learning with my kids. Every day is not without it’s low points, but overall, it’s a challenging, rigorous, & extremely fulfilling experience.
Just to give you a little background, I used to home school, then stopped once we moved to Texas (& we’ve had an amazing experience with kid’s public school here, I might add. Texas education is pretty stellar, IMO). Several weeks ago we pulled our kids out of school (once their term ended) so we could home school & focus on learning Japanese together in preparation for our move to Okinawa, Japan. Believe me, after my last experience, I never really thought I would go back to homeschooling (though I never rule out any possibility in my life).
Interesting side note: My why I don’t homeschool anymore posts is one of the more popular bring joy posts. I get emails from fellow moms on a regular basis telling me how much they appreciate that post, & how much guilt they have about not homeschooling, or putting their kids in public school after a stint with homeschooling & appreciate hearing that they aren’t bad moms because they don’t homeschool. My thoughts about homeschooling vs. public school still remain the same. Moms shouldn’t feel obligated to home school their kids in order to be a “good” or “Christian” mother. Public school isn’t without it’s flaws or downsides, but neither is home school. Every family must make their choice based on their opportunities, resources, & of course, their individual child’s needs.
Will I continue to home school once we get to Japan? I have no idea.
I’m taking it one day a time. There are still so many unanswered questions about what our experience will be like there, where we will live, etc. that I am just living very much in the present, right now. And that’s okay. It’s working for us, & we’re having a lot of fun & engaging learning experiences every day (& I am having so much fun really digging deep into learning a foreign language).
Another fun thing, as of late–I got to take a five day trip (by myself!) to visit family & friends in Utah last week. It was so good for my brain & body to have a break from my household & family obligations. It was the first time I’ve done anything like this, & I came back refreshed & renewed.
That’s it for now. I just want you to know I’m thinking of you. I haven’t forgotten about this blog & I’m looking forward to sharing this next bit of life with you, which I’m sure will have it’s share of exciting bumps, twists, & detours.
I just ask for your patience & understanding in this crazy time of life. I always love reading what you have to say, so please feel free to comment below or email me & please understand that though I might not respond to every comment, I do read every note that you send me!
Lots of love,
♥
Other bring joy posts you might want to check out:
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