Nothing Tastes as GOOD as Skinny FEELS!

This isn't your usual weight loss blog. I am not going to let you follow me through my weight loss journey. I already hit my goals, both of them. In January this year I promised myself that I was finally going to lose all the weight I was carrying around. Fourteen years ago I put on sixty pounds with my first pregnancy. I weighed 135 pounds when I got pregnant. With the second the same and the third less. I lost weight in between but never enough. At the end of nursing school I was 5'6" and 185 pounds. I lost some weight later on but not enough to even fit into skinny clothes for a month and then a new high stress job had the weight creeping back on. Over a three year period I went from 155lbs to 179 pounds. I had a vacation to Mexico planned and two family weddings coming up and I could not stand to look at myself in the mirror. It was time to change and change is what I did.

I have a history of insulin resistance and I know that the white stuff is terrible for me. My main body issues have been an unfortunate apple shape with a lot of post baby belly flab. I have had hormone issues and polycystic ovary syndrome, adult acne and other unpleasantness.

The first step I took was to research how many calories that I would require to lose weight. I downloaded an app on my iphone and began to track everything that I ate. I cut out white sugar and white flour. I added in vegetables, lean protein, and whole grains. I started a minimal exercise routine. Know what happened? Not much. By February I had lost 12 pounds. I was happy but not ready to wear a bathing suit. So I packed up my "Mom" suits and headed to Mexico. I was not happy with the way I looked.

Terrible Photo
When I got back I was discouraged but still dedicated. I still had the weddings coming up in the summer and I did not want to be "the fat one in the dress". I consulted my brother who graduated with a degree in the nutrition field and also has a personal training certificate. He told me a few things that I already knew.
1) "It's a marathon, not a sprint." It took so many years to put the weight on and I was expecting it to come off immediately. I realize that this is not a realistic notion. Yet, so many of us that are trying to get fit set these unrealistic expectation for ourselves. And that is why we ultimately fail time and time again. Because it is not attainable.
2} He wrote up a week of meals for me that fit within my calorie range. I had been eating too few calories and I was starving.I changed my diet plan. I added more snacks and even a couple of "cheat" meals a week.
3} I was not exercising enough. He said I need at the very least 20 min of activity a day. I knew this also but I hate to sweat and I have never liked the gm and I was hoping to get around the whole exercise part of it. I started cardio 3 days a week on the elliptical. I started reading every health and exercise magazine on the racks and I added in some weight training. I bought some yoga videos and started doing that 15 minutes a day.

I started seeing results. last month I hit my goal of 150 pounds. That is a weight I had not seen in a decade. I felt great and fit into size 8 jeans. But I still had belly flab and was not yet in the bikini that I had hung up in my room for motivation. Last week I hit 140 pounds. That was my weight all through high school. I never though I would see that number again. The best thing is that people are noticing. THey call me skinny and they ask me how I did it. This is why I am blogging it because people want to know that it can be done and how to do it.

40 Pounds Down!

I will use this blog to post my tips. I will keep you up to date on my progress in keeping the wieght off. I have gained and lost but never maintained. Wish me luck.