Going Vegan

Last year I made a decision. One day I was on my hands and knees scrubbing floors and doing Jillian workouts and the next I realized I was having contractions while doing those things. I slowly scaled back my activity so that my preclampsia wouldn't put me on bed rest, and my decision to be fairly stagnant allowed me to make it 36 weeks with the freedom to remain somewhat mobile before the doc took the girls. The other decision I made was to let myself go and bulk up so that the girls would be big enough when they came, knowing they would come early with my high-risk pregnancy. With twin preemie birth weights of 5-11 and 6+, I don't regret my decision. I assumed I could whip it right off once they arrived, but didn't account for a c-section, followed by two weeks of sickness that prevented me from exercising. Nor did I account for the fact that breastfeeding would require such vigilance to maintain a sufficient milk supply for twins. Weight-loss was not my goal after giving birth, being a happy good mom was. I'll have years to take weight off, but I only have one year of having babies, and they are my dream come true.

Where am I going with this? I am currently a size 16. I am kind of excited, because it's the only time I'll get to experience what others deal with every day. I'm not ashamed to be that size right now. It was a choice I made, and I now get to experience what it's like to really lose weight, only I need to let myself be overweight for a little longer, maybe like seven months longer. Anyway, it will be my next personal challenge, and I'm excited for the journey.

Breastfeeding poses some interesting limitations to weight loss. My girls have a milk protein allergy. I've never lost weight without dairy, and that was when I only had 10-15 lbs to lose. Now we are talking 40-50. I have little time for food prep, so I purchased some prepared foods, only to find that they have dairy in them (or beans, broccoli, cabbage, citrus, onions, garlic, cauliflower, peppers, or are spicy). Ah, me! Milk is in everything! While getting my hair done last week, I explained my conundrum to my aesthetician, and he recommended looking for vegan food. One of the stylists gave me some helpful tips, and now, while meat is still on the menu, so is vegan food so that my girls will be healthy and happy, and I can finally eat something dairy-like!