After getting on the scale after the holidays I realized I had gains 6 pounds and I was very upset with myself, but it motivated me to get my butt in shape. I really had no clue where to start so I started writing down everything I ate and started pay more attention to how many calories and fat were in the foods I was eating. I'm going to start with some helpful tips that have helped me loss weight:
1. Drink lots of water!!
I had pretty much cut sodas from my diet when i was pregnant so it was easy to not drink them. Sodas are "the devil" and if you are drinking more than 2 a day, I promise cutting them from your diet will make you lose weight. A friend of mine cut them from her diet last week and has lost 8 pounds already!!!
2. Eat three meals a day!!
For me this was easy because I already ate three meals a day (but I know many people who don't) I also have two snacks in between my meals (I will go into more detail later in them post)
3. Cut out evening snacks!!
This one is hard for me and some nights I still have a snack but it's not my usually fattening ice cream. If i decide to have a later snack I try to make sure it's low in fat and calories (Like sugar free, fat free pudding)
4. Exercise!!
Before starting this journy I have never workout, I have walked, but thats pretty much it. I decided to sign up for a Zumba class (on Saturdays) and it was the best thing I could have done. IT's so much fun and a great work out (I will go in detail about what exercises I do during the week late in this post) The hardest part is get motivate and getting off the couch. I am so tried most days but to my surprise exercising gives me extra energy and the endorphin's are amazing! I feel so much happier once I work out :)
5. Eat fruits and veggies
This is a given, fresh fruit and vegetables are great. They full you up with out tons of fat and calories and provide you with essential vitamins.
6. Portion control!!
I love to eat big meals and stuff my belly, so this was a hard one. Try to make sure you are eating smaller portions that way you are eating less calories.
7. Don't fall for the "healthy" meals!!
There are SO many foods that claim to be "Healthy" but they are NOT. Those frozen "healthy" meals really aren't good for you (and too me don't tasty that good) I fell for a few of these so called healthy foods. for an example veggies chips... yeah they look like they are healthy then other chips but they aren't, the serving size is just smaller.
For the first two weeks I wrote down everything I eat and drank and it really helped
So here what a usually day looks like for me
Breakfast: I usually have 2 cups of coffee (and I use a lot of creamer but it's how i like my coffee) a banana, and either a small (1 cup) of cereal or a breakfast bar.
Morning snack: I either have a yogurt or a cut up apple (sometimes with a tbsp of peanut butter)
Lunch: I usually choose between a sandwich (turkey or chicken) with a salad or a bowl of organic veggie soup (it's high in sodium but I don't drink all the broth) with a salad. Sometimes I will go out for lunch and I try to choose then healthiest thing on the menu which is usually a wrap.
Afternoon snack: hard boiled eggs or a low fat string cheese
Dinner: This is the only meal that sometimes is high in fat. I do my best to make dinner as healthy as possible but if it's not I eat a smaller portion the i use to. I try to make a lot of chicken (baked chicken with streamed broccoli and rice w/ a light cheese sauce or chicken fajitas)They have some awesome recipes on Pinterest.
Evening snack: If I'm bad and have one i usually have sugar free, fat free pudding or jello. Also my favorite is the troll house semi-sweet morsels (you can have 24 of them and it's 70 calories) this helps with my sweet tooth and gives me my chocolate fix (I am a huge sweets lover and if why i gained those 6 lbs over the holidays)
Working out: I try my hardest to work out everyday. Since I'm new to the whole workout thing I've started in small steps. At the moment all I do is 10 mins of cardio (my cardio is dancing, I shake my booty and do some zumba moves I've learned) If you are sweating and breathing hard you doing a good job. Like I stated earlier I do a one hour Zumba class every Saturday. I try to walk as much as possible (like parking at the end of the parking lot at the store) If you do a little more than you have been doing it will help. I would love to be able to workout for an hour everyday or even have a gym membership but for now this is working and it makes me feel good.
I hope this helps you with your week loss journey and just remember you didn't put this weight on over night so it's not going to come off over night! We all want to see results right away but here's a picture of just four weeks of changing my eating habits and exercising did for me. I still have a long way to go but I am so happy with my results.
Please note I am NOT a doctor, a nutritionist, or a personal trainer! This is what is working for me and I wanted to share.
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