149.7

With Portia, after laboring all through the night to ten cms and giving birth to a beautiful, screaming babe, I felt great. I felt healthy. I felt ready to go home.

I remember how I felt with Charlotte. When people visited me in the hospital and asked how I felt, the answer was easy, "I feel like I just gave birth." Bleh. Pain. Discomfort. Disgust.

That's not to say there hasn't been any pain or self-body shaming this time, but one glance at where I was this time with our last baby, overwhelms me with thankfulness for this knowledge and way of eating. I'm so thankful we're starting in a better place this time around!

Looking through my hashtag #helpmeetthm on Instagram, I see that the last time I weighed this much it took me eight months, no cheats, from this point, to get to goal weight. Just like everyone, I'd much rather have instant gratification. How great would it be to be at goal weight just after giving birth!? But that's not real life. We've got to make the journey.

Let's be real. Someone gave Charlotte a six-pack of Oreos this week, and I wanted some. Some things don't tempt me, but I wanted to scrape that cream right off that chocolate cookie with my teeth. But you know what I want more than sugar on my tongue? Health. Beauty. Radiant skin. A long life. A day, free of headaches. So, I made the best choice for my long-term goal. I made my future a priority.

Let's be real. I set out my outfit on Saturday night, and Sunday morning when I zipped up my skirt, I had to admit, "I'm not ready for this one yet." It would have been uncomfortably tight around my waist all day long. I had to hard pass on that one and choose an elastic waistband skirt.

It's a journey. I'm thrilled to be back under 150 pounds this week! But, here I am, with a journey still ahead of me, thankful to God for these beautiful lady babies, regardless of how they changed my body, and happily trekking along toward 128. For myself, for my health, for my husband, and for my babies. There's no down-side. Let's keep moving!