In.Spired Series ~ Bouffe e Bambini

in.spired 

Of extraordinary quality, as if arising from some external creative impulse. (of a person) Exhibiting such a creative impulse in the activity specified: "an inspired gardener".

The blogging community is full of so many incredible women. Women who are far more creative than I. And have amazing stories to share. 

This is one of them.

I met the amazing Hanna through the blog world and am constantly inspired by both her incredible cooking and baking skills and this :: her inspirational story of weight-loss. 
Welcome Hanna!

Is there life after having 2 babies and gaining 100 pounds????

ABSOLUTELY!!!

I'm living proof! 

Hi there, My name is Hanna and I am so honored to be here guest blogging.

You can find me anytime over on my blog {bouffe e bambini} where I post lots of fun recipes,  some cute pictures of my babes, and some fun fashion stuff. 

I am a busy mom of two toddlers, a full time critical care nurse, runner, blogger and wife. I'm a busy lady!!! 

This is me! 

It's so nice to meet you. Today I am going to share my weight loss journey with you.

I hope I can help inspire some of you who have had a baby or two and found yourself stuck in a rut, struggling with weight and just not feeling like yourself anymore. I have been there my friends. I lost 110 pounds and am so excited to share my story and inspiration with you.

Here I am with my little loves. My son little Milton is just over 2 and Ginger is 12 months. 

Meet my husband, big Milton!!!

So this is how my story begins.......

1. First, we were a happy couple!!!!

2. Then we fell in love and got married.

3. Then I got pregnant........

4. Gained 100 + pounds........

5. And had a beautiful baby boy.

My life was forever changed in more ways than one.

First of all let me say that I honestly feel like my life had truly just begun with the birth of my children. I have love for them like I never knew existed. I often feel like my heart might burst with joy when I look at their shining little faces. You can read more about me and my transition into motherhood {here}

However, this is what I looked like with my first born. Then I got preganant again 4 months later. WOW! I was pregnant for 2 years straight.

The wonderful news was I was a mom and had given birth to a healthy baby boy and girl. The not so wonderful news was that I had become obese! Yes, obese. Not exactly how I wanted to describe myeself but the truth.

Honestly, when I was pregnant I thought I was so big because of the baby not realizing that when the baby came out I was going to be just as big. I was completely shocked at my size. When I looked in the mirror I had no idea what I was even looking at. I felt like I was trapped in someones else's body; a very uncomfortable body.

Brutal Honestly of what being Obese feels like:

My thighs rubbed together and I would develop a rash if I didn't have pants between my legs at all times.

I had little bumps in my armpits where I would shave because they would rub against my upper arm and chafe.

I couldn't cross my legs

My back ached; I could barley lift my new born baby without throwing my back out

I was always sweaty, especially under my breasts

I felt disgusting; I have never been so uncomfortable in my life.I was embarrassed.

 I would run into an old friend and they would kind of look at me like "oh that poor girl used to be so cute but now she had kids and look at her" I HATED THAT!!!

I had stretch marks ALL over my abdomen, thighs, upper arms and even down to the back of my shins because I had gotten so big.

Nothing fit. I wore pajamas and plus size maternity clothes for a VERY LONG TIME!

I stopped caring totally about my appearance; Never making an effort to look nice.

My wedding rings didn't fit and I had gained so much weight some of my shoes wouldn't even fit.

Basically, I just felt horrible inside and out. I felt very unattractive. I would hardly let my husband touch me because I felt so ashamed of my body. I stopped wearing make up all together. I wore my hair pulled back every single day and always was in old ratty PJ's. It was so depressing. I was really unhappy.

It wasn't long before I knew I had to loose the weight and not just a few pounds, I knew I needed to lose A LOT, and so my journey began.........

I was motivated and darn right DETERMINED to lose this weight. I wanted to be healthy and happy for me, my husband and my kids, it wasn't just about me. I have heard over and over again in my life that "you should just love who you are no matter what size". I love that and I think it's a great sentiment but the honest truth is for me I couldn't love myself in that condition. What's there to love about not feeling good? When I am thinner, I feel healthy, sexy, accomplished and it radiates to all areas of my life.  

Here are a couple before and after pictures that I hope you find inspiring:

Starting out is the hardest part of the whole journey. Lossing 100+ pounds is a very daunting task to say the least but I am just an average, everyday woman and I did it. That means you can too! 

 I did it completely on my own. I never joined Jenny Craig or weight watchers. I didn't take diet pills, have surgery or starve myself.  I just had a vision of who I wanted to be and I made that vision come to life, Again, you can find my detailed plan {HERE}. 

I think it is important to think about it long and hard before committing to something like this becasue it is a long journey but it is VERY attainable. If you have a little will power and a little dicipline you can make it happen.  It's important to set a reasonable, realistic goal and you can read more about that in my {GUIDE}

I wanted to talk a little bit about common pit falls. Many women who desperately want to lose weight will come up with a list of reasons why they don't think they can acheive their goals so I just wanted to let you know that there is always a way. Here is how I dealt with many typical obstacles while trying to loose weight.

Common Obstacles:

NO CHILDCARE.   I am a full time mom and a full time nurse. I have no childcare whatsoever. I made time to exercise anyway. I bought a double stroller and a baby carrier and I walked everyday. You don't need to go to a gym to lose weight. I did while taking care of 2 babies under the age of 2.

FULL TIME WORK.  I also work full time as a nurse, 12 hour night shifts to top it off. You must make time to prepare food for yourself to bring with you to work so you're not tempted to eat the junk in the cafeteria.

A SPOUSE WHO WON'T FOLLOW THE SAME MEAL PLAN AS YOU.   My husband eats pretty much everything I don't eat. He eats sweets, breads, potatoes, pastas. He eats whatever he wants. So no big deal. Prepare meals that can be shared by both like prepared chicken, mashed potatoes and broccoli. You eat the chicken and broccoli and let him eat everything else. You'll be surprised how easy it is to make it work. 

NO TIME. I worked full time and was a full time mom during my entire weight loss plan. My best advice is to be prepared. ALWAYS, keep snack friendly food around the house and carry it with you wherever you go - fruit, almonds, cottage cheese are great examples. This way you won't be tempted to binge on whatever food is lying around the house.

I have dieted many times in the past and this is the first time in my life I have lost this amount of weight in the healthiest way I know how. I never felt hungry or deprived.

My best advice is BE KIND. BE GENTLE. FORGIVE YOURSELF and then jump right back on that wagon and try agin. Consictency was my greatest tool.

A few more tips:

Be grateful everyday

Just let it go

Remind yourself how amazing you are, this is hard work

Talk about it, accept praise from others, if you work hard, you deserve praise. It feels so good.

I just have to say that I feel better now after having 2 babies than I have ever felt in my life. Not only am I in love with being a mother but now I can truly enjoy my kids and feel great about myself. What a great example for my kids as well. They see their mom as healthy, happy and radiant - that is a wonderful thing my friends.

I truly hope that I have helped to inspire at least one of you to give it a try. It is possible. It is doable even with kids and work and every other crazy thing life throws at you. I am passionate about this and I would truly be happy to answer any questions or just chat about how difficuilt weight loss can be.  Again, you can find EXACTLY how I did it {HERE}. Please feel free to email me anytime at "www.bouffeebambini@hotmail.com"

I must tell Hanna she is an inspiration a few times every week. A full-time nurse, mother of 2 under 2, chef extraordinaire and an accomplished weight-loss advocate. I am not worthy. {Bowing} Hanna, you are AMAZING!!