Tuesday, February 23, 2010

A Kick Butt Weight Loss Solution

So it's only taken me 2 1/2 years to lose all of my baby fat I gained after being pregnant! I only gained a total of 12lbs while I was pregnant and I was doing good. Then the baby came and I dealt with postpartum and frustration of diet restrictions while nursing. Anything raw tore my daughter up and I was hungry from all of the calories being burned. I resorted to LOTS of carbs. And on top of that, I was dealing with one of the most difficult and abusive clients I've ever done work for. When it was all said and done, I gained over 30lbs alone after my daughter was born!

Several of you have asked what I've been doing to lose so much weight and get toned up. So I am going to share my solution with you. You have to keep in mind that what works for me, may not necessarily work the same for you. I've come to realize that - especially after childbirth - what worked before, may not work now!

The past month has been spent cutting calories, exercising, and getting into a routine. Not just an exercise and eating routine, but a routine for my entire life - physically, mentally, and emotionally. I have a flexible routine every morning that allows me to get organized and ready for each day, weather we are staying home or going out. And have been working on eating at the same time every day, when possible.

Both my husband and I started our "program" by doing the Special K challenge. This really helped us to not have to count all of our calories at the start, because each serving was already written out for us. We did this for about 3wks and definitely noticed results. Once we both had it figured out how much we each needed for caloric intake, we were able to adjust and make meals with this same idea in mind. I also used the WholeFood Farmacy's "Liquithon" to help jump start my efforts.

All the while keeping up with daily exercise and weights at the gym. I have also incorporated what I call a "Deck" workout: you take a deck of cards and separate the blacks and the reds. One color is situps; the other color pushups. I use our AbLounge for the situps and use the exercise ball to do the pushups. (starting out can be done on the floor on knees for less exertion). Then I do about a 35-45min workout at the gym in cardio, while adding in weights workouts to my legs.

This little "regiment" alone has put me down 2 sizes and a total of 15lbs! My goal is to lose about another 20lbs to get to my peak optimum weight for my age and height. No "dieting" or starving has had to take place and I have been feeling GREAT and able to stay committed because nothing has changed except my lifestyle of eating. Everything has been in moderation. Consistency has been the key for me. The best thing I've liked about all of this, is it has been easy to do when away from the house and during the holidays. In fact, the bulk of my weight was lost DURING Christmas!

Currently, I still do a bowl of low calorie and high grain cereal for breakfast, either a protein meal bar or protein shake with fruit added for lunch, and then a regular meal. I have snacks as well that I've either created and have the calories listed or found low calorie, filling snacks that help to hold over until meal time. I've also started to keep recipes of all our dinners because I have everything measured out to keep track of each calorie, so now all I have to do is follow my little recipe card and can mix and match foods!

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