One Year & 25 pounds Later: My "Game Changers"

One year ago, I set out on a journey to a healthier lifestyle.  The baby was out and the "baby weight" was still there...I wasn't healthy or happy about where I was so I decided to make a change.  A year later, I am 25 pounds lighter and healthier than I have ever been.  I started with baby steps...small changes that gained momentum and eventually propelled me to reaching and exceeding my goals.  Lots of friends have been talking to me lately about what has been working for me so I feel compelled to document it.  Maybe you'll be inspired to make a change or two also.  Or maybe you'll just be a hater... Give it time and reflect on why you feel negativity instead of support and positivity and you may just unlock the mysteries that answer why you haven't been able to achieve your goals.  For the rest of you, here is what worked for me. :)

In order of the changes that I made:

1. I found out about and joined the "Body By Vi 90 Day Challenge" one year ago September. Two shakes a day for 90 days.  My two goals were to get back into my "before babies" wardrobe and to do that, I knew I needed to lose 15  pounds. Amazingly, I stuck to the challenge and reached both goals at the conclusion of 90 days.  One thing that set this "attempt" apart from others was that I documented my progess with pictures.  I can honestly say that my first days pictures were the first time that I had really assessed myself and how far I had let things slide.  VERY eye-opening and VERY motivating.  Taking another picture at the 45-day-mark helped renew my resolve to keep going.  There are a couple of other fabulous companies out there that are making great products.  I chose this one and it worked and that's all I care about.

This was the catalyst to my healthier lifestyle.

Join the Challenge

2.  I reluctantly joined our local Jazzercise club. :)  I was a total snob about it at first.  The ONLY reason I gave it a shot was because a friend wanted me to join with her.  I pondered it for weeks after trying it out.  "I'll get bored", "It won't be a good enough work-out", "I'm not very coordinated", etc etc etc.  Finally, I just decided to go for it.  I didn't sign a contract and that way, I could back out if I decided that it wasn't for me after a couple months.  4 weeks in, I was HOOKED.  And now, 7 months later...I can't imagine my life anymore without Jazzercise in it.  I seriously love it that much.  It's kind of ridiculous. I try to go 4 days out of each week, which I would have balked at when I first began.  The average amount of calories you burn each class is 600.  That's major.  I've never been able to motivate myself to burn that much on an elliptical.  Do yourself a favor and enroll in classes (at a gym or Jazzercize, whatever).  After 90 days of Jazzercise, I dropped 10 more pounds.

Jazzercise

Although I have been a gym regular for many years, I've never been able to achieve this level of "change" before and the difference for me is getting step one in place first.  Don't bite off more than you can chew.  Start small.  Commit to 90 days for each "change" you make.  After 90 days, it becomes "natural" and "routine".

3.  I started using the "Lose It" calorie counter app that I downloaded on my iphone. It's also avaliable on Android or on your computer.  I didn't have to do this for long!  Knowledge is power.  Pull your head out of the sand and start using it.  If anything, this app confirmed (in my mind) why I will never stop working out...because working out allows me to maintain my current weight while continuing to indulge in the things that I want to indulge in.  I love this app because it's free and it takes your unique information and quickly spits out the caloric guidelines that you need to stay within to reach the goal that you want to reach.

Lose It!

4.  E-Meals.  I have used the E-Meals meal planner for quite awhile and I can say that it's not perfect but I've been able to find a plan that works well for me and my family.  The clean eating menu is diversified, fun (we love trying new things) and helps us eat sensible meals for dinner. I hate meal planning, grocery shopping and don't really enjoy cooking in general...so, the less brain power that I have to use, the better.  Even though I just listed a bunch of stuff that I hate, I DO LOVE feeding my family healthy, nutritious, yummy food.  That makes me feel good. :)



So, there you go.  These are the things that I have done over the last 12 months that have made a HUGE difference in my life. I'm a mother of two, I had a newborn baby, a husband with cancer, 6 months of caring for him as he endured chemo, and whole host of stress-related emotional issues to deal with through it all.  If I was able to do it during one of my most challenging years of life to-date, you can do it too.  Get all the negative self-talk out of your system and then just start.  Don't think so much about it.  Just do it.  Don't wait until after this holiday or that holiday.  Just start.  You won't feel so guilty when you gorge out at that big family dinner.  Because, HEY, at least you have started and you're DOING something about it.  I don't care what weight or size I have or haven't been....when I'm doing something about it...I FEEL lighter, I feel stronger and more confident...because at least I'm taking control of the situation instead of letting it control me.   And doesn't that apply to so many other areas of life anyway?  Now that I've conquered this part of my psyche, I feel like I can move on to a different part of my life and work on that now. 

I never thought that I would conquer this.  I fed myself so many excuses for so many years and I'm learning that I have to re-write certain tapes in my head.  And having babies just gives us women a "good excuse" to be fat and unhealthy, right?  (PS - I had Diastasis Recti or Adominal Separation from my pregnancies and I thought my stomach would forever-more be a train wreck.)  I had to go out and buy an entirely new wardrobe because I ended up losing more weight than I originally anticipated.  During my first shopping trip, I had to convince myself several times to go ahead and buy "that size".  I was SURE that I would only be in "that size" for a short period of time and then I would need to go back to my bigger clothes.  Later that day, I decided that this was wrong-thinking and I've had to keep that in-check.  Many months later, I finally was able to clean out my closet and get rid of all my bigger clothes.  Why would I keep them around as my "back up" plan?  I want to set my expectations higher than that.  And I want to maintain this level of health for the rest of my life.  Now that I've unlocked my personal "mysteries", I know that I can easily do it.

So, why am I documenting this with pictures for all the world to see?  Because you probably thought that I was "skinny" before.  Ever heard the term "skinny fat"?  You wouldn't truly understand the transformation that I've made without the pictures and I hope it motivates you to make your own transformation.  You can do it!

One Year Later