P90X: A new beginning

This is not my first attempt at a blog, nor is this my first attempt at P90X. I've been blogging for the past three years and I enjoy it immensely. I find it's like an adult version of a diary and I have always been fond of diaries. However this is my first health only related blog and it will be mainly geared toward me and my challenge to complete the full 90 day cycle of the P90X.

I attempted this back in December with my hubby. We got three full weeks into the program and then Christmas hit. And from there on I lost all willpower to continue the plan and I said that I would start it up again next month, and the next, and the next. And here I am. It's nearly May. I have a lot, and I mean A LOT!, of extra Christmas weight to shed, but more than that, for once in my life I want to be fit and toned.

Here's a little background of me.
When I was young I was always very petite and thin. I could eat anything I wanted and not gain weight. I would take my entire twenty dollar allowance to the 7 11 and buy candy, chocolates, and then devour everything on my way to school, or when I got home. I was, and still am, addicted to sweets.

Around fourth grade I took a tumble when riding my bike and it was discovered that I had a cyst on my left shoulder. I suddenly had a medical reason to not do P.E. and that kept me from P.E. from fourth grade all the way to when I graduated High School.

I was still skinny when I graduated High School and moved in with my boyfriend (current Hubby). We lived the college diet of anything cheap, a lot of fast food and prepackaged crap, which resulted in both me and hubby gaining weight.

After five years of living together hubby and I decided to get married. I tried to diet before the wedding, as did hubby. We took those Metabolife pills that were all the rage back then. They made me super jittery, but they did keep my appetite in check. They were also really expensive but at the time we felt like it was worth the cost. I managed to lose some weight for my wedding, I think I was a size 14 on my wedding day.

After the wedding we bought a house together and we plumped up again. Finally tired of being overweight hubby and I started a diet in February of 2002 which would get us down the skinniest we've been together since our teenage days. I went from 150 down to 122. I looked great, felt great, and it was powerful knowing that I did it. I met my goal and beat it.

Before too long I got the bug to have a baby and soon enough we were pregnant. Pregnant ladies are supposed to gain between 25 and 40 pounds depending on their body. I gained 66 pounds. I was massive, and when I delivered I weighed 196 pounds exactly. My baby was decently sized at 8 lbs 4 oz, so some of the weight came off easily, but not all 66 pounds of it.

Life is crazy hard with a newborn and eating right was not a priority, but eventually I managed to get back down to the 140 range. And then we decided to go for another baby. With the next pregnancy I started at a higher weight to begin with, I gained 55 pounds, but when all was said and done I walked into the hospital to deliver weighing 196 pounds again! That must be my magic number or something. My second baby was huge weighing 9 lbs, 12 oz. But once again I only lost so much weight in the beginning, I had a lot left to go.

The second baby was really difficult, having moderate reflux which kept us all in misery for several months. She also had bad skin issues, and so because of the reflux, and the skin problems the Pediatrician put me on an Elimination Diet which meant all seven of the top food allergens I couldn't eat because I was breast feeding. No wheat, eggs, dairy, soy, nuts, certain fruits, and I can't even remember what else. I lived on the blandest foods I could find, it was quite depressing but I was willing to do anything to have my baby be healthy and happy. I dropped weight like no ones business. I was down to my pre-pregnancy weight in just a month or two.

Life went on. The children are bigger, older. One is in school. My eating habits and exercise fluctuate. I usually manage to do well in the Spring and Summer, but I start packing on the pounds in Fall and Winter. I have never been into exercising, and my addiction to sweets is still going strong. Looking at myself in a mirror after two kids and very large babies, I am left looking flabby and definitely not toned or muscled in anyway.

So my challenge is to make it the full 90 days of P90X. To take pictures to document my progress, and to post daily to keep myself accountable. This is my challenge to myself. And if I can help anyone else along the way, that would be great too.