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My Eats

How "The Accidental Fat Chick" Hatched...

Welcome to The Accidental Fat Chick's new online home!

During the summer 0f 2008, I woke up one morning with a drive to live a healthy lifestyle. Since then, I've made many changes and lost nearly 50 pounds. Many of my friends and family members have come to me, asking about what I'm doing & how I'm doing it. While I certainly would never claim to be an expert, I'm happy to share what I've learned along the way.

So after careful thought... "The Accidental Fat Chick" has hatched... with the hope of helping at least one person and to be the accountability I need to finish what I started. :)

Thank you for visiting!!









Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Let the Faux Single Parenting Begin... Again

The Husband is somewhere between here and the big sandbox now... he called from their first stop over a few hours ago to report that he'd chosen chicken over beef & had slept for several hours. Lucky him!

We figured out last night that this is the eighth deployment in the 15 years we've been married and the sixth since the boy one was born. We usually try to get everything ready early so we can relax and create fun memories in the last few days of the home cycle. Most of our plans for fun times together went out the window in the last couple of days. We got notice for a housing inspection to be completed today. The Husband very sweetly spent most of the last couple days helping me put the house in order. Normally its pretty tidy, but honestly with him getting ready to leave the last thing I was worried about was if the laundry was put away or the surfaces dusted. We tried to get them to reschedule due to the fact that he was deploying today & I have confidential files here for my temp job (so they couldn't have full access to the house unless I were home to monitor). The lady we dealt with was anything but helpful and insisted they could not change the inspection date/time for any reason. She pretty much told that I had to choose between saying goodbye to my husband as he was leaving for deployment or protecting the confidentiality of those work files. That the company the military has partnered with to manage their housing would force me to make such a choice is something I find nothing short of deplorable. But, the lady that actually showed up to do the inspection was really nice... and the inspection went well... but still to have to deal with that stress on top of everything else was exhausting and frustrating beyond belief.

After that fun, the rest of the day was spent with "normal" stuff... my work meeting, babysitting & the boy ones speech therapy appointment. I collapsed for an hour long nap (after only two hours sleep last night I needed it badly) and am feeling somewhat refreshed now. I don't think the reality of the day has hit me yet because I was so busy & at this point its still kind of like he's just having a long day at work... which is so typical that its the norm.

I'm still thinking about Melissa's idea of a "deployment challenge" and how I can incorporate that with my 1750 miles by Chicago thing. Hopefully, I'll have something to post about that in the next day or two.

In the meantime, here are a couple of "deployment day" photos... the first one is from last deployment, June 2008....


My weight was 241 lbs. in this photo...


And deployment day... May 2010

Weight in this photo 198.4 lbs... which is ugh... but probably not totally accurate in comparison to my last weigh in because I had to hit the scale way earlier in the morning than I'm normally out of bed even.

Today was pretty much like a transition day between home cycle & deployment... food and exercise were the least of my worries. However, I did make sure I have something healthy in the house for breakfast and lunch tomorrow.

So... my plan for the rest of the night and tomorrow is to really focus on planning my meals & time so that I get back to my gym regimen. One might think that after seven of these lovely experiences I'd have time management down to a science... One might think after five times with the boy one I'd have the single parenting system down... but yeah, not so much.

The Husband asked me what my goals are for while he's gone... I told him to maintain my sanity, lol. Naturally, I told him about stuff I want to get done in the house & my travel plans... but what I left out is my ultimate goal...

To reach a "goal weight."

I still don't feel totally comfortable trying to pinpoint an exact number for that because I haven't been anything smaller than 180 since my freshman year in high school. I also have a hard time with it because I focus so much on doing the basics of living a healthy lifestyle & and not so much on the number on the scale. But, maybe I need to be more number driven... or at least have a range to work with...

So here it is...

My ultimate goal is to be 150-160 pounds by the time he comes home from deployment!

There I said it, its done, no backing down now!!!

Btw, I have an award to pass along... will work on that tomorrow too. :)

8 comments:

Christine said...

Well, I think that is a great goal for your hubby's deployment.
I hope you reach it.
I know what you mean about being a faux single parent.
I felt the same way many times.
It's somewhere in the nether world between married and single. "Wait till your father gets home' loses some of it's punch over a six or seven month stretch lol.
Can't wait to read about your deployment challenge.

fitncrafty said...

Julie.. I have been there so many times myself! I wish you the best of luck in your goals. I am certain that you will achieve them!
I tried to post to your last one as well. I did better losing when my husband was deployed too.. I don't know why, it just was easier. I only had to worry about me and the kiddos...
I will be following you the whole way... just sorry that you are all the way across the country or I would be planning some workout time with you! Oh how I miss WA!

Scuttleboose said...

I cannot imagine how stressful that lifestyle is, but you make it look easy!

I just had to tell you that your 2 deployment photos show off all the hard work you have been doing. Not only do you look thinner, but also happier and younger! Congratulations - give yourself a pat on the back! :)

Laura said...

You're going to do awesome at your challenge and he's going to be absolutely amazed at how you look!

Unknown said...

Thank you to you and your husband for the sacrifices you're making for our country.
I can't imagine how hard it must be to be a single mom for that long. I've had to do it for a few days at a time, and I was exhausted!

Amanda Kiska said...

Thank you for sharing your husband so the rest of us can enjoy our safety and peace. You guys are rock stars!

anji said...

Deployments suck.

I don't miss that part (we're separated now)... and, I'm joining the forces myself. I'm sure it's going to be different when I'm the one leaving everyone behind.

Anyways - keep up the good work, stay strong and stay sane :) Have a good cry when you need to, and if you can't... find a good movie you know will bring you to tears (The Notebook, EVERY time... does it for me) and you feel tons better after a good therapeutic cry.

*hugs!*

anji

www.my-basic-training.com

Dani @ PFL said...

That's so rough! I admire your strength.

I wish you the very best as you work towards your "deployment challenge". I look forward to watching your continued progress! =)