Today was an awesome day because I hit my 30lbs weight loss mark! Since last June, I've lost 30lbs and 9 combined inches from waist and hips, 20lbs pounds of that lost since February. I started out last summer, and lost about 18lbs, 10 of which I ended up gaining back by January. I wasn't doing it right, just dieting without an exercise schedule (although I was swimming and biking and very active), no nutrition tracker, and no real focus. In February, I started dieting, but by the time I reached my birthday in March, I decided I really wanted to do it right this time, and have it stick. Our friend Kerstin shared her weight loss journey on Facebook, and reading about the exercise and lifestyle change she made, I knew that was the something I had been looking for. Rather than just skipping calories and simply losing weight, I wanted to be healthy again.
The things that have helped me the most this time around have been using MyFitnessPal to track my calories, nutrition, and exercise, having a workout buddy to ride bikes with (and give me lots of good advice on this healthy thing!), and also having Jered come on board and do this lifestyle change with me. Before it was usually one or the other of us doing a food diet, but not a lifestyle change. We've overall been healthy in how we eat at home for years (eating mostly poultry, brown rice, no regular sodas, steamed veggies), but we both love it when I bake and eating out. So we've been changing that as a family, and that helps a ton! Jered, my mom, and my friend Bylinda have been doing MyFitnessPal tracking with me, and that keeps me accountable. Jered has also lost around 15lbs!
At home, we've been eating mostly protein and veggies for meals, with occasional rice and red potatoes. Instead of making cookies, we make sugar free brownies, frozen yogurt out once a week instead of having ice cream in the freezer. The ice cream we do have in the freezer is sugar free, and we enjoy Fudgecicles - a great "ice cream" type treat that nets you only 40 calories, 9 carbs, but has 4g fiber, 3g protein, and even 4% iron. Satisfies the chocolate craving too. Egg Beaters and turkey sausage have replaced eggs and bacon (and taste just as good!). We have cups of fresh blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries with Rediwhip instead of having an apple pie. There are tons of yummy, healthier recipes out there now, and you don't have to eat unpronounceable ingredients or sacrifice taste in order to have better nutrition.
When we go out to eat, which will still do once a week or so, we make better choices. At Chick-Fil-A we can get nuggets and a fresh fruit cup, Subway has several sandwiches under 400 calories, Jason's Deli has a wonderful salad bar, Chili's has soup and salad, Cracker Barrel's fried catfish and ham dinners are both great if you make good choices for the sides, and even our favorite barbeque place has smoked turkey and green beans. When we have a fast food craving, you can get 4 nuggets and a small chili at Wendy's for 350 cal (and lots of protein!), Burger King's Whopper Jr. with cheese is only 350 cal, and Dominos' large thin crust pizza with chicken and tomato only has 450 cal for 1/4 of the pizza! Portion control and getting the biggest bang for your buck (or nutrition for your calorie) is the key. Jered and I both agree that we enjoy eating this way much more, and do not feel cheated out of anything. It's little choices that add up big, but don't make you feel like you're always hungry the way it does if you try dieting the wrong way. And there's no guilt after eating a 90 calorie fiber one brownie like there is when you nosh on 4 oreos, but you still get something sweet and chocolaty.
For exercise, I haven't stepped foot in the gym. I was afraid I would have to in order to lose a large amount of weight, but YouTube and fitness tracking apps really cater to non-gym goers! I do cardio exercise normally 5 days a week. This is usually a 4-8 mile bike ride or an exercise video. I use the Road Bike app to track my bike rides. The workout videos I enjoy most are: Fat Burning Cardio Workout - 37 Minute Fitness Blender Cardio Workout at Home; Fat Burning Cardio Step Workout for Butt and Thighs - Step Aerobics Workout Video; 20 Minute Butt and Thigh Workout - Cardio Step Workout Video with Warm Up & Cool Down; and Cindy Crawford's Shape Your Body Workout (been working great since 1992, why change things?). Besides the last video, which I've had for years, I watch all the others for free on YouTube. There is a 10 minute bonus workout on the Cindy Crawford DVD, and I do that 7 days a week, so I always have some type of small strength workout, even on off days from cardio. Occasionally swimming or bowling is my cardio workout, especially as the weather turns warmer. I've also been doing some yoga and Tai Chi videos from YouTube, and plan to incorporate more of that as my big weight loss push is done.
This comes at a good point for our family. The coming school year things will be bring changes as I'm going back to work as a preschool teacher, Emma will be going to elementary school - full day kindergarten with Will every day, and Jered is looking this fall at picking our (maybe!) last set of orders before his retirement, and working out his new position as senior chief. It was a good time to get healthy and incorporate new habits. It's been 90 days, and I hope we can stick with it as time passes.
 |
As you can tell, I'm not the only one losing weight and getting in shape!
However, Will there has gained 3lbs since February, weighing in at 55lbs, which is great for that skinny-mini. |
No comments:
Post a Comment