Getting my head in the game

I joined a Facebook group for bloggers who want to get healthy and one of the lovely ladies has an excellent blog called Mummy Whisperer Blog.
On there, I found some posts to help with weight loss and I figured it would be a great idea to follow one of the exercises she has that helps you get in the right frame of mind for losing weight.

The post is called, Weight loss: Are you really up for it?

If you know me at all, you know I love list making so I couldn't resist this!

List 1
The People You Love (e.g. family, friends)

I've done this list but I'm only going to write my husband and kids on the blog because of privacy issue with other family members ;)

• Ant
• Aiden
• Kaycee
• Ella

List 2
What You Love Doing (e.g. playing with the kids)

• Taking the kids for a walk in the woods
• Gardening
• Shopping!
• Having a long soak in the bath
• Theme parks
• Swimming
• Theatre

Why will getting HEALTHY, FIT and SLIMMER help all the people I love, and help me with all the things I love to do or have?

• I'll be able to take the kids out more. At the moment I can't walk very far and I miss out on spending time with kids doing fun things because I have to keep resting.
• I can't bend at the moment so I'm hoping losing the weight will take the strain off my back. I'd love to plant bedding plants every season but I've had to stick with low maintenance plants because I can't care for them and it's not fair to expect Ant to do the gardening when it's me who wants it doing.
• I'd love to go shopping for an afternoon with my best friend, grabbing a coffee and some lunch before checking out loads of shops. I'd like to buy new clothes from a regular shop, not one for large women that cost twice as much.
• I want to learn to drive. I haven't got the confidence to try at the moment. Having to walk into a room to take the theory test fills me with dread and to be honest, I don't think I'd be very safe driving at this size because I wouldn't fit behind the wheel comfortably and I have trouble twisting to see if anything is coming up behind me. I do love driving though and I think passing my test will be at the top of the list of things to do when I reach my target.
  I'd love to be able to visit my family in Derbyshire more often but at the moment I have to rely on Ant. He doesn't much care for the drive and he's always busy with work so I don't get to see them very often.
• Being fitter and slimmer will mean I'm able to take the kids swimming. When we went to Butlins, the kids loved the swimming facilities but I didn't join in the fun because there was no way I was getting into a swimming costume at this size. I'd really love to have fun with them at the swimming baths.
• Having a long soak in a bath that is comfortable will be heaven. I haven't been able to fit in our bath for a few years now and have to shower instead.
  Being able to sink into a nice, hot bubble bath will be a great reward for losing all this weight! And just to let my hubby know, I will expect him to run me a bath, light lots of candles all round the room and float rose petals in the water when I get to my target!!
• Wearing shoes with a heel instead of flats all the time will exciting!
• I'm looking forward to being able to wear my wedding and engagement rings again. Ant also bought me a lovely ring for Christmas a few years ago and I've not been able to wear that for about 2 years now so it'll be a happy day when I can get them all on again :)
• This next part might be too yucky for some people so feel free to skip this bit!
  At the moment, with all the folds of skin rubbing against each other, I get a lot of skin irritation and infection. Under my stomach and boobs and behind my knees are the worst. The skin gets sore and infected regularly. I'll not be sad to see the back of that particular problem, let me tell you!
• More room in bed for both me and Ant will be a luxury I'm not used to!
• I'd love to go to the theatre more often. I really enjoy going but when we went to the Theatre Royal to see Mathew Bourne's Nutcracker, I couldn't fit in the seats.
  Even the ones they moved us too were too small although there was more leg room. It was a really uncomfortable couple of hours and I won't be going back until I know I can fit in the seats. Quite apart from being uncomfortable, I was really embarrassed.
• Equally, I'd love to be able to go to the cinema more often but I haven't been for years because I couldn't face being embarrassed if I didn't fit in the seat.
• Seats seem to be the topic in my mind at the moment because I'd also never go on an aeroplane for the same reason as the cinema and theatre. Although, Ant doesn't do flying so that will probably never be an issue but just in case it is, it would be nice to not have to worry about it!
• I'd like to go to a parents evening or a play at my kid's schools without worrying that I'll embarrass my children. Ant does all the school things at the moment (I do go to Ella's sometimes but only because the younger kids aren't as cruel as junior or secondary school kids yet) because I'd be mortified if Aiden or Kaycee got bullied because of my size.

I'm sure there are loads more and I'll add to the list as I think of them but for now, all these things are really great incentives to carry on get to my target :)

Thanks Mummy Whisperer, this has really helped and will continue to help throughout my weight loss journey xx