Baby Weight

So I'm finally facing up to the fact that I've gone roughly a month without writing anything on here other than my three weekly "thoughts." And I'll have to admit that I'm a little bit all over the place when it comes to my hobbies. I go through major phases. Writing. Reading. Sewing. Cooking. And on and on. But over the past month, I've been sewing pretty much non-stop. Most of it was in preparation for my sister-in-law Abby's baby shower. I had so much fun making her a bunch of baby goodies! And have actually spent the past week attempting to recover my household from blatant neglect.

But my lack of writing has certainly not been due to a lack of thoughts floating through my head. I've actually been thinking about one thing quite a lot lately: My Weight. Actually my health in general. For lent this year, I decided that I really wanted to buckle down and attempt to lose those last ten pounds of baby weight that I've been lugging around for the past year. Actually, all my parents had to do was mention the word "beach" and I was cringing all over. When we went to the beach last year, I had a great excuse for those ten pounds: my baby was only three-months-old! But when we hit the beach this May, "My baby is fifteen-months-old" isn't exactly a great excuse. According to Mark and a few other kind but blind people, the extra ten pounds looks great. To me, however, I remember what I felt like without them and I know how I feel now. And I know which I prefer. Don't get me wrong. I know I don't look horrible or dreadfully over-weight or anything. It's just a matter of wanting to feel my best and look my best. Something about those two things does wonders for my self-confidence!

Really, the past year or so has been a blur. As Reagan approaches fifteen months, it absolutely blows my mind that when Kolbe was that age, I was having a brand new baby. I've seriously spent the past year just giving it my best to get by. With Mark in Midland, those first six months of Reagan's life and then just the responsibility of taking care of two babies 'round the clock, I gave little attention to my own self.

And on top of my extra ten pounds, I have discovered and even heavier health problem that I'm determined to rectify. At my last appointment with Dr. Calmes, my rheumatologist, I had a bone density scan run. My last scan was over three years ago but since I was pregnant (twice), I was unable to have another one sooner. The scan uncovered the fact that I have developed a bit of osteoporosis. Yes, you got that right. Osteoporosis. Like what seventy-five year old grannies have. Me. A twenty-seven year old. A lot of this is due to the fact that I've been on prednisone for over ten years for my lupus. For me, that drug has been a can't live with it, can't live without it kind of predicament since I was diagnosed. Helps me function as a normal person but does bad things to me in the long run. I'm no fool though. I'm sure that some of this onset of osteoporosis is due to my diet and lack of calcium intake. I've always taken extra calcium supplements, but I'm determined to really up it now and get myself to healthy levels that will develop healthy bones! If not, I'll have to go on an osteoporosis treatment plan a year from now. No thanks!

Since I began my concerted effort to lose weight at the beginning of lent, I've lost about five of the ten pounds. I'm super excited about this and can't wait for the other five to go. As all weight loss goes, the second five are proving to be much slower than the first! But I'm determined to make it happen. Especially before I'm forced to appear in a swim suit in front of anyone whatsoever! Eeek!