A Meme by Bikini Bound! YAY!

So, I've been asked to do this by Brittany meme and am excited to fill it out. I found Bikini Bound's blog via Hot for the Holidays and her blog is fantastic. Feel free, any of you, to fill out this meme as well! It's fun to get some background on all our weight loss buddies! 

Here it goes!

1. What's your name? Or at least something we can call you that's less of a mouthful than the name of your blog. :)

My name is Jen. You can call me Jen, Jennifer, that girl with the weight loss blog, whatever. I'm good with pretty much anything :)

2. Give us a paragraph (as much or as little as you'd like) about your weight loss story, including at least your goal. (You don't have to give actual numbers if that's not your style. :) We'll try to read back through your blog as much as possible, but just get us started. 

Well, let me think. I have always felt like the "bigger" girl my entire life. Granted, I'm not overly obese or anything like that, I've just always seemed to make friends/associations with girls that are rail thin. I've always had a horrible self esteem and what people say "skewed" body image of myself. However, after getting married, I did start to actually pack on the pounds. 

One day, I saw a picture of myself at my heaviest weight and wanted to cry. I had no idea I looked like that. It was totally and utterly disgusting to me. A few weeks later I started Weight Watchers with my MIL. I found this program to work for me and not only be a "diet" but literally a way of life. It's easy to follow and allows me to eat what I want, within reason. Nothing is off limits, just got to prioritize and plan my day.

I lost over 40 pounds with Weight Watchers and felt incredible! Seriously, I was on top of the world. Soon after this loss, I got pregnant with my first child. Obviously, I gained weight with this and it took some time for it to come back off. I eventually got back down to my goal weight and once again, felt wonderful. (However, most moms will tell you, your body is just not the same after giving birth no matter how much you lose!)

Not to long after I got down to goal again, we decided to try for another baby. It took us years with my first, but my second pregnancy was basically on the first try. Once again, I gained the weight. The dreaded weight. 

Now, it's been a year since I gave birth to my second child and I'm technically down to my goal at Weight Watchers. However, I DO NOT feel fabulous. I don't feel like I did when I was originally at goal the first time. Mind you, my body went through some major change and destruction with the birth of my two babies. Anyways, although at goal, I long to lose more. When I originally set my goal at WW, I set the bar towards the top of my acceptable weight range. I wanted to be sure it was something I could obtain, but also give myself room for improvement. When I originally lost all the weight, I got down to 10 lbs below my WW goal. That is where I'm trying to get now. It's proving to be rather difficult though, but I'm gonna try. I would LOVE to get down 15 more pounds. (ps, don't worry, it's still within my acceptable weight range for my height :)

That's the story in a nut shell. . . or not. I tend to babble. Sorry!

3. What kind of exercise do you do? What works best for you? What doesn't work for you?

Well, I wish I could say running or something cool like that here, but alas I can not. My main form of exercise is biking and I love it. Although I need to get out more often and do it! The winter months are coming and that will make it really hard to get out and bike in the snow. I do have a treadmill in the home when the weather is bad, but it's not as fun. I like a change of scenery.

I do like doing the treadmill once the Biggest Loser starts up again (season premier tonight. . . YAY). Last year, I made a goal to run/walk on an incline the entire 2 hours of each episode of this show. For some reason, I'm able to do that as this show motivates me a ton. I plan on doing something similar, starting tonight.

Obviously,  I lack in the exercise department and need to find something that gets me moving more. Maybe then, I'll get down to the "dream" goal weight I have! ;0

4. What are your biggest struggles? 

My BIGGEST struggle is eating under stress and I've been under a lot of that lately. We're living with my Mother in Law and there is only 1 kitchen and 1 bathroom. Nuff said!

I need to do better at controlling my eating when I stress out. I need not stress out as much. It's a work in progress!

5. What are three of your hobbies that aren't weight loss-related? We probably have far more in common than just a desire to be "hot for the holidays." :)

Shoot, hobbies I have now or wish I still had time to do?

1. Well, I LOVE riding bikes. It's something that is relaxing to me, even if I am working up a sweat.

2. I LOVE LOVE LOVE to play the piano. I took piano lessons for about 11-12 years and this is my primary source of stress relief and relaxation. I play by ear and it's something I really truly enjoy to do. However, I don't own a piano, so I haven't been able to officially practice/play in years. Perhaps, this has something to do with all the inability to manage my stress mentioned in question #4 eh?

3. I love watching funny shows, whenever I get the chance. I'm super excited for The Office to come back on! I usually am watching it at 2 am once I have the kids to bed and have done my cleaning for the night. That show seriously CRACKS me up! I guess though, tv isn't really a hobby though as I can't remember the last time I turned it on. I guess I should say here, I like to laugh. I like doing things that make me laugh and make me happy, be it watching a funny show like The Office or hanging out with good friends/family!

7. Tell us one cool, unique thing about you. 

Well, I'm SO NOT cool so this is a tuffy! I guess I'll just say hmmmm. Does that answer your question? I'm so not unique or cool or original! You all still wanna be my friends? I'm such a lame case! Oh oh oh, I've traveled to New Zealand and it's my most favorite place in the entire world. My MIL is a New Zealand native. 

Hopefully, I can think of something better than that later . . .