Well hello! The only time you will probably say to yourself, "Man, I wish I had more pictures of me when I was fat" is when you reach your weight loss goal and your totally awesome! May people have asked over the last few years how I loose weight and diet...I should have started this right after Owen was born so we could have gone through it all together! But I guess now is as good a time as any. I am not a health nut - and I am certainly not a gym bunny - but I am a momma who found a way to shed those pounds that works for me. First time around I shred a whopping 60 pounds and now I am sitting at 40.
As I said...there aren't a whole lot of pictures of me before I started this diet - since I had no desire to be in front of the camera at all! - but if its any help whatsoever, here is me the night before I had my son, Owen. I think its safe to say a had a few pounds to loose...
Starting weight in August : 185 pounds.
February 1st : 145 pounds
So what do I do?
First, like I said, this is what works for me. It may not work for everyone.
I have created my own plan centered around carb counting and the
Ideal Protein Method. When I first started, we only had the two girls, but I still needed to do something that would help me loose weight without having to shell out the big bucks. I took principles from other diets and did a little research and came up with nutritional goals that fit me.
Main points of my diet:
1. acknowledgement about what you put in your body
2. accepting that most food you eat is all about instant gratification
3. cut your carbs and sugars and add protein and fiber
Track. I started by setting up an account with
Live Strong. It is a free site with lots of helpful information about food, health, exercising, etc. The main thing I use this site for is to look up nutritional information for food and track what I eat on the My Plate page. I track everything. Gum - yep. That cheeseburger you cheated last night with - yep. You ate it, you know it, track it. Everything that I put in my body got put on tracker because it is all significant. This plays into point #1 - acknowledge what I eat. Did you know a stick of sugar free gum has 1 carb? Not alot - but I have at least 5 a day. Did you know a glazed donut has an average of 25-32 carbs? Yikes.
Set Goals. My personal goals are centered around carbs - no more than 60 carbs a day at first, when I am trying to loose the bulk of my weight, and then slowing increasing them - and protein - at least 80 grams a day. To stick to these goals I have to track everything I eat.
So what do I eat?
My day consists of protein shake, snack, meal bar, snack and dinner with my family. No, my family does not eat the way I do, so I eat with them. We do try to find things that are better for me and make multiple sides since things like macaroni are out of the question. Sometimes, we have something un-carb friendly like spaghetti. I eat in moderation. We use healthy pasta and ingredients and I fix myself a small portion. At the end of the day a girls gotta eat!
I am a picky eater, so what I eat daily is limited. But not everyone who does this eats the same thing day in and day out. My sister is fabulous at finding new things to add to her menu. She rocks at kicking carbs! There are a few things that I include in my day no matter what:
Protein shake. This is how I start my day - full of good stuff! I use
EAS powder (or the off brand of it) every morning, Yes, most of the links are gonna take you to Target - but that's because that is where I buy it! Protein shakes take a little getting usto and so to start with I mix them half and half with milk. I wean myself off to just water and powder mix. I use a blender and ice - its not good cold! When I am in a rush and need something fast - I keep the
proportioned ready to go shakes in my drawer at work. Not as much protein, but easy.
Nutrition bars. I eat one for lunch daily. I use the plain jane Market Pantry Nutrition Bars from Target - 14 grams of protien, 3 grams of fiber, and 23 carbs. Now if I can bring something from home that has less carbs I do...but if not this is really easy.
Lets talk about fiber....fiber is great - and helps in your carb counting fun. For every gram of fiber you consume you can subtract that amount from your carbs. So for my meal bar, when I subtract the fiber I am left with 20 carbs. Fiber is a natural digestiant and aids the body in breaking down the carbs you consume. You are left with "net carbs". If you track on Live Strong, they will not do that for you, you will need to subtract those on your own.
Let's eat!
I love to snack. All the time. If you google "low carb snacks" you will find a lot! Here are some great snacks I enjoy:
pork rinds
cheese
sugar free jello
nuts
celery
hard boiled eggs
jerky
lunch meats
dill pickles
There are tons of sites out there with recipes and I'm sure they are all wonderful! This one is my favorite because it gives you nutritional information :
http://www.food.com/.
How do I keep going?
Here is the acceptance about instant gratification. A few days in - you will want to cheat (which I do!) You will be mad at everyone around you who is eating bread and cake and you are not. Just wait till a box of donuts is brought to work. Good grief. But I ask myself, daily, do I need this? In an hour, will I remember this? At the end of the day, will this food be important to me? If the answer to those are no - then skip it. Eat a healthy snack instead.
My new goal - 10 more pounds with exercising. I am a horrible at exercising. I don't like it - but I don't want to look like I have had 3 c-sections....so off we go! I will keep yall posted and weekly tell you about great low carb things I find.
Good luck!
