Let's start at the beginning, my early twenties. I had gotten myself into a situation with a boyfriend that was volatile and destructive. My eating habits were controlled so that I could fit into size zero jeans. After getting out of that terrible situation, food was again available to me whenever I wanted. I was 23 going on 24 and I was a size zero going on a size 14. I gained so much weight so quickly that everyone thought I was pregnant. My new boyfriend was wonderful (and a chef) and didn't mind the weight gain, so I kept eating whatever I damn well pleased. By the time we were getting married I had brought myself up to a startling weight of 220 at the age of 27.
The days leading to the wedding were tense. I was trying to lose weight but nothing worked. I had a meltdown on the day of my dress fitting; my corset was barely closing and the frustration to put it on tore me apart. No matter how beautiful people told me I looked on my wedding day, I still saw my double chin, my oversized triceps, my cankles, and just about everything else that was oversized on me. I just couldn't be happy.
After the wedding and after seeing my photos (and my back fat), I wanted to lose the weight desperately. I tried exercising but kept eating what I wanted to. I did not want to give up my food. By the time I started working at my new job I had lost about ten pounds.
Over the next year I had gotten myself down to about 200 pounds, but I was still in size 18 jeans and very unhappy. My husband and I wanted a child but I didn't want to be an overweight pregnant lady. I kept trying and by the time I got pregnant I made it to 195. I watched my weight while I was pregnant but I stilled ended up gaining more then I wanted. I was nearly at 220 again.
After the baby was born, I couldn't bring myself to exercise the way I knew I should have been; I was just so tired and my hormones were all over the place. It wasn't until I started getting out of breath while playing with my seven month old daughter that it hit me: I NEEDED to lose this weight desperately.
So I did what I do best, I researched. I read up on different ways to lose weight in a healthy manner. I talked to people who were currently trying to lose. And I started to put what I learned to practice. Today, I am under 150 pounds and still losing.
Here is what I have been doing since May 2014:
Don't rush it! This is not a quick fix to a weight problem. This is a long term life style change. Fad diets and gimmicks never worked for me, so I had to make the choice to live healthy. My entire eating habits had to change (slowly) to the right food at the right times. I am eating a fiber/protein rich diet. I make sure I am full enough from one meal to the next so I don't snack on junk or have cravings. Allowing your body to go hungry causes your brain to trigger cravings! That's why super restrictive diets usually don't work.
The first thing did before I even started to lose weight was buy myself a new eyeliner, a new bodysuit (I call it my fat sucker), a few nice pair of heels, and some skinny jeans/leggings/skirts. The fat sucker will make your belly atleast appear flatter, so you pants and skirts will fit better and you will feel better in them. Once you can start feeling a little better about yourself, focusing on living better becomes easier. And why not spruce up your makeup a little? I never wore makeup before, but now I throw on eyeliner, chapstick and a little powder. It makes me feel like a million bucks. And that feeling helps me push harder for my weight lose.
This is most likely the hardest. Stop eating fast food. It seems impossible, but it's not. I used to eat fast food twice a day some days. If I can do it, you can too. Now ill be a liar if I said I didn't grab a burger once in a while. But I can count on my fingers how many times I've gone since May.
Ditch the soda and reach for the water. I don't care if you drink diet soda or regular, it is all terrible for you. Water is going to actually help you break down food and nourish your body.
No more midnight snacking. This is probably one of the worst things for you. It took me a while to kick this habit. So at first, I stopped eating cookies and milk at night and switched to a peanut butter concoction (peanut butter, honey, and oats) at night with milk, then to a cup of green tea with honey, then water. I trained myself to not need anything after dinner.
Speaking of dinner, I try to eat by 5:30. I won't eat after 6pm. It makes a huge difference; if you eat too close to bed time, your body will store your food instead of use it for energy.
Here's another big one (and probably the most important thing I did). Eat. More. Breakfast. I don't mean eat breakfast more often, I mean eat more food for breakfast every single morning. I make a fiber rich, whole grain english muffin and put peanut butter, honey, and cinnamon on top. I then make two eggs (half an egg goes to the baby) and a piece of fruit or some home made applesauce. I drink a bottle of water and a cup of coffee with milk (not cream) and no sugar added. This gives me enough energy to make it lunch without feeling hungry.
I have a medium sized lunch; pasta, grilled cheese, soup, chili, peanut butter and honey sandwich, salad, anything thats reasonably healthy as long as it is enough to get you to dinner. Sometimes I will include a cup of green tea with honey.
Dinner meals are usually the smallest of the day and tend to be lighter. Soups or chicken and veggies. But I will eat anything that is home cooked as long as I watch the portions.
I will drink water between meals, especially if I'm starting to get hungry.
Cut out the corn! Corn is really terrible for you if you are trying to lose weight! Trust me, just don't eat it.
Read the packages of what you buy. Bread especially. If it says enriched wheat flour, don't use it (there are some things you can't avoid with this like english muffins and pasta). If there is a choice to get the non-enriched products, get those. When it comes to pasta, I switched to a veggie pasta. The pasta is made with 25% vegetable puree. I use only brown eggs. I buy fresh veggies or frozen veggies. Read the frozen veggies before you buy them though and make sure there is nothing added, like a sauce or butter or salt.
Learn to cook! Most of the food I make is not difficult at all and can easily be made in batches and then frozen. I will list a few of my meals at the end of this post.
Get a good night sleep! Your body goes through certain processes when you sleep so make sure to get those eight hours in.
Now the thing everyone hates. Exercise. You should do it. You don't need to go to the gym though. I started out walking the baby in her carriage during her nap. I started at a half hour and went to an hour. I would mall walk, too. I would just window shop while pushing the stroller. This is really up to you, what you can do, and what you want to do. Now that it is cold out, I walk less but I try not to sit often at work. I pace often at work, not out of nerves, just so I don't stop moving. Ill even rock like I'm holding the baby. I also have weights in the shower and I do some workouts in there. I do squats, I throw “air punches”, I dance while I wash my hair. Tightening your muscles and breathing deeply also helps while working out. I made a youtube playlist of nursery rhymes that I can dance to with the baby. Like I said, you don't need to go to the gym, just don't be a lazy blob on the couch the entire day!
Now, with all these things, remember not to deny your body something it wants. When you really want something salty, have a salty treat. Just don't overdo it. I still eat McDonalds once in a while. I have a grilled cheese with my daughter when I want something fast. I just don't eat three burgers, fries, a soda, and that four piece nugget. I've stopped eating two grilled cheese and will just have one. And a midnight snack with the hubby here and there wont kill you, I just don't have five cookies and a glass of milk just before bed anymore.
So in short, remember to eat a big breakfast (with honey and cinnamon), eat less throughout the day, don't eat after 6pm, read those packages, and don't stop moving!
