A year in pictures…
First of all, let me start out by saying that I am not a nutritionist. I’m not a health coach or a trainer or a health guru. I am a stay at home mom (so boring, I know). I will also say that these are things that worked for ME. What worked for me might not necessarily work for someone else. In addition, this post isn’t to shame anyone into losing weight. This is something that I wanted and it doesn’t mean that’s what others should do. Everyone should be happy in the skin they’re in no matter the size. I still have thighs and I’m not a size 2 and I’m okay with that. This is just me sharing my health journey after my second baby. Maybe someone reading this will get some ideas and/or inspiration. With all that said, I know I’ll piss someone off and be accused of body shaming. It is what it is.
What Worked for Me
I love food. I love carbs and sweets. Completely cutting out certain types of food is not something I can do. I would deprive myself and eventually give myself a little taste of something I liked. Then it would be a snowball effect of unhealthy eating.
I tried the “eating clean Monday through Friday and then ‘treating myself’ on the weekends.” Boy did that backfire. I would end up saying, it’s Friday! I’ll just eat healthy on Sunday! Although I never would. It would turn into an all weekend bender of fries and cake.
Diets don’t work for me. Keto, plant based, low carb, oh my! I also never had the time to count all those calories and put all that information in my phone. It was very frustrating.
cheat meals and treats
What started working for ME was knowing that I could have one cheat meal and one treat a week. My cheat meals are always something that I’m craving or something special from a restaurant. I love the Boom Boom shrimp tacos from the Jetty. Cheat meal. I love spaghetti casserole and steak and potatoes. Cheat meal. But I have that ONE cheat meal that week and I move on. I keep a mental note of the cheat meal I’ve had. If we happen to go to a restaurant after the cheat meal, I get a lean cut of meat with greens. OR, I eat half of what was served to me and take the rest home. If we get takeout (like Italian or Chinese) I get the low sodium option or I just have a really small portion and a big salad. I don’t do multiple cheat meals. And treats? They better be worth the calories. I’m not going to waste a cheat treat on a stale donut from Dunkin. They better be from Sandy Pony. I once worked with a girl that had the BEST saying; Some foods are like one night stands: they aren’t that great when you have them and you regret it the next day. I choose treats wisely. When you do that, you always have something to look forward to!
portions
Now let’s talk about those portions. I DO NOT and I repeat DO NOT have the time to make myself a healthy meal every night for dinner. I was raised in the south and I married a southern man. He wants a meat, a carb and some sides. He doesn’t want to eat healthy. My husband wants real food. So what do I do? I cut back my portions! I add more greens, a salad, vegetables. I eat dinner slowly. I simply can’t do separate meals and I want to join the family in whatever I’ve cooked. I just make the plate smaller and that makes the serving smaller. I also don’t have time to count calories. Putting so much information into an app just isn’t something I want to sit down and do. Cutting back (not cutting out) on food is what works for me. I’ve made a conscious effort to pay attention to my portions and to pay attention to when I’m full.
meal planning
I’ve talked about meal planning and how I handle the dinner situation with the family but how about lunch? When I plan the dinner meals for the family, I get an idea of what I’m going to feed myself for lunch during the week. Sometimes it’s something that I’ve precooked and it’s in the freezer. Sometimes it’s something I throw together that day if I’m short on time. Other times, I make a big portion of something and separate it into smaller portions and eat it over a few days. Whatever the case may be, I make sure I have a game plan on how I’m going to break my fast (see next section) and I TRY really hard to break it with a protein and a vegetable.
fasting
Not everyone believes in fasting. Not everyone can actually fast because they seriously just need to eat. I’ve had three trainers over the course of a year and all three had different opinions. One trainer couldn’t fast and needed to eat breakfast. One trainer didn’t believe in fasting and said you fast overnight while you’re sleeping. The third trainer fasts and he fasts every other day. This is just proof that you DON’T HAVE to fast in order to lose weight. Three perfectly healthy people; three different opinions. Before jumping into any kind of fasting, I did my research.
I didn’t start fasting until Drake was about six months old. I was totally done breastfeeding and was able to put more effort into the process. Currently, I do the 16/8 method. Basically, I eat from noon until 8 at night. I wasn’t able to completely fast right away. I had to work up to it. If I couldn’t make it until noon, I would eat a small handful of almonds or some egg whites. Now, I’m able to go get a workout in at 6am and fast until noon with no problem at all. I just drink my coffee/water after the workout and I’m fine. Someone once told me that I break my fast as soon as I put creamer in my coffee so technically I’m not fasting. You know what? I still lost weight. So I’ll continue to put creamer in my coffee and smile and wave at the haters.
Since I’ve started fasting, I went and had a checkup at the doctor and needed to get bloodwork done. They were going to check my cholesterol and lipids, etc. Before I had the bloodwork done I told the doctor that I had high cholesterol, it had been high for years, and it ran in the family. Afterwards, the doctor called and told me my bad cholesterol was DOWN and my good cholesterol was UP. According to research, fasting has many metabolic health benefits. I’m beginning to be a believer…
My Workouts
I’m the type of person that needs to schedule my week out in advance. I have to know what I’m doing the next day and I like to have a plan. I’m a member of a local gym and classes start as early as 6am. My kids are up that early. Sometimes earlier. Might as well get dressed and get my break when I can. Since I’m a stay at home mom, I don’t have the time to go to the gym at any other time. My husband gets his day started at 7:30 and I’m all hands on deck when he’s working. I lay my clothes out KNOWING that I’m going to the gym at a certain time. My weekly gym schedule looks something like this:
- Monday – weight training (legs)
- Tuesday – weight training (arms)
- Wednesday – run
- Thursday – TRX strength training
- Friday – run
- Saturday – light weights or running (something that I enjoy)
- Sunday – rest
If I miss a day, I’m okay with it. I just move onto the next day or I try to find time to go running because that’s something I enjoy. I also feel so much better after a workout. When I get it done at 6am, I have way more energy to keep up with my kids the rest of the day.
What I Eat
As I said before, I haven’t cut any foods out. I have just cut back. I love to cook and bake. Since I’ve started fasting, my portions have just naturally gotten smaller. My current trainer says it’s because your stomach can actually shrink and fasting helps with that process. I trust what he has to say. He was a collegiate gymnast. With that being said, I don’t just gorge on unhealthy food all day every day. (See cheat meal above.) I try to stick with as much protein as possible, vegetables and healthy carbs like sweet potatoes. I love cheese and I’ll never give that up. Some places where I’ve gotten my healthy recipes:
- Six Sisters Stuff Healthy Eats (my favorites include the egg roll in a bowl, buffalo chicken on the sweet potato and the no bake chocolate cookies) I usually pick what I want for the week and eat off of what I cook for a few days. That way I’m not cooking everyday.
- That Bowl Life I bought the digital version of this one. The only problem is that they are smaller portions and I find myself cooking everyday.
- If I’m pressed for time, I make an egg white omelet with spinach, cherry tomatoes, mushrooms and shaved Parmesan. I usually eat it with a small salad.
- I go to Sam’s Club and get a huge salmon filet. I cut it into individual servings and freeze in little baggies. I’ll pull one out and bake it and serve it over brown rice.
- My Pinterest page is saved with a lot of healthy bowls.
I wouldn’t say I have a long way to go because I’m pretty happy with where I’m at health-wise. I’m going to continue doing what I’m doing and if I lose more weight, then it was meant to be. I think the most important thing is that I’m healthy and I feel good. I also have the energy to keep up with my two boys and I want to show them what it’s like to live a healthy lifestyle. I also like the fact that I can have my cake and eat it too. 🙂
~Ashley