Show Us Your Life: Diets, Exercise Programs, Weight Loss Ideas

This weeks Show Us Your Life over at Kelly's Korner, is about the world's most popular New Year's Resolution:  Weight Loss!  Check it out and join the fun!  

I was always a chubby kid.  I was born at 8 lbs. 12 oz. and didn't start thinning out until about 3rd grade.  I was pretty average then, and around 6th grade, I started plumping up again.  I was never overweight per se, but I was always bigger than my friends.  When they were wearing 4's and 6's, I was in 8's and mostly 10's.  When I went to college, I was determined to change this, and so I gave up sodas, pretty much all fried food, and stopped eating after 7:30 at night.  I started drinking water and because I was a student, I walked all over A&M's enormous campus, or I rode my bike.

Slowly but surely the weight started melting off of me.  In fact, I think others noticed it before I did.  I would go home and see people from high school or church, and they would comment about how I looked, something I really wasn't used to.

When I was engaged, I was determined to be in the best shape of my life on my wedding day.  I kept reminding myself I was only going to do this once, and I was set on my grandchildren looking at my wedding pictures someday and thinking grandma was HOT!  :)  So, McH and I started a nutrition and exercise program called Body for Life.  I was drawn to it because it was all about eating healthy, not depriving yourself, or taking pills.  It is about a balanced diet, and good exercise.  We worked out for 3-4 months, 6 times a week.  We were pretty hard core, but I had a goal.

So, no surprise that after the wedding, we let that part of our lives start to slide.  We hadn't committed to making it a lifestyle, instead of just a goal to meet.  So, slowly the weight came back, but we were always trying to eat healthy and exercise a bit.

Then, about a year and a half ago, I started fertility treatments, and WHOA, MOMMA!  I wasn't prepared for the weight gain and I was so unhappy.

We have started Body for Life again, but this time, I'm taking it slowly and just incorporating it back into my daily life, not trying to make it my life if that makes sense.  I'm not incorporating protein shakes (only the few that McH makes for me in the morning for breakfast), and I'm not obsessing with how much I lose week to week.  If I lose a pound, GREAT!  If I lose .5 a pound, GREAT!  

I've already lost a few pounds and my clothes are fitting better again.  In fact, I have skirt on today that I haven't worn in a few months because it had been moved to the back of my closet with the clothes that didn't fit at the moment.

Some tips for weight loss and diet are:

-GIVE YOURSELF A CHEAT DAY!  If you have a craving for something, then eat it, just don't GORGE on it!  Eat a small amount to satisfy your craving and know that you can have it if you want/need it.  We set aside one day a week to eat whatever we want and the rest of the week we eat balanced meals that include a protein, veggie/fruit, and a carbohydrate, while also watching our portions.

-EXERCISE:  I go to an aerobics class Monday afternoons, which I LOVE, and we work out in the mornings at the gym.  My aerobics class alternates between yoga, pilates, dance, hi-lo, etc...It's awesome! 

Our workout program alternates between upper body, cardio, lower body, cardio, and so on.  We do abs every day, no matter what our workout is for that day.  We are in the gym no more than 50 minutes on any given day.  On cardio days we are in and out in 20 minutes.

I've just found the best way to lose weight and stay healthy is to eat everything in moderation, really watch your portions and to work out at least 3 times a week.

The best feeling in the world is knowing you can eat a small portion of whatever you want because you are working out.  And the more you work out, the less you really want to eat food that isn't good for you. 

-DON'T BEAT YOURSELF UP IF YOU STUMBLE A BIT:  The worst thing I've done in the past is made myself feel guilty for not being perfect about working out and eating.  When I stopped holding myself so accountable, things were so much easier and I actually lost more weight and was healthier because I was relaxed and just doing my best.  Some mornings, I just don't feel like going to the gym...PERIOD!  I know that sounds like an excuse, and well, it is.  But I don't get all wrapped up in that anymore.  The next day I will get up and go, and work hard. 

-FIND AN ACCOUNTABILITY PARTNER:  Again, this shouldn't be someone who makes you feel guilty about your shortcomings when it comes to working out and eating.  McH is a great inspiration to me because he is dedicated to working out and eating right and he gently encourages me without making me feel guilty about anything.  He praises me and tells me I look good, which is all the motivation I need to keep going back to the gym.