At the point where I decided to make some lifestyle changes I'd already lost the 32 pounds that I'd gained during my second pregnancy. Bringing me to my pre pregnancy weight of 158 pounds. I knew that I was over weight and that things needed to change.
I'll be honest and say that first month after deciding to make a change, I didn't start working out. I started changing my eating habits, I started by writing down every last single thing that I was eating in a journal. I wanted to start seeing what I was putting in my mouth. It helped me to see it all written down and evaluate what things I could go without, what things were high in sugar and in fat.
Also during this time I discovered that Zane had an aversion to dairy. He was spitting up horribly after every feeding and I couldn't figure out why. After talking to a couple mama friends they suggested cutting out dairy and seeing if that would clear it up.
Cut out dairy? How could I do that? All the things I love cheese, milk, yogurt...did I mention cheese? They were all dairy. I'll be honest and say that the first week was really hard and I fell off the wagon a few times. But by week two I was doing better with this and Zane was not spitting up anymore, he was a much happier baby. This gave me the motivation to keep going with that for him. He was miserable, having horrible crying fits at night. After cutting out dairy for two weeks he was not having any of these issues any more.
After 1 month I'd already lost 10 pounds. I couldn't believe it 10 pounds just with changing my eating habits; cutting out sugar and watching what I eat. Which meant a lot of portion control, not eating after 9 pm.
Month two; I started working out. I knew I was going to need to start moving my body if I was going to loose the rest of the weight I wanted. I also knew that working out needed to fun and attainable for me or I wouldn't stick with it.
I pulled out my DVD of Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred and blew the dust off of it. I popped it in and started level 1 that day. Horribly out of shaped, during that 20 minutes I thought I was going to die more than once. One day turned into six days and by the end of the first week I was feeling better and sleeping better.
Within those first couple weeks I was pushing through, I worked out in front of my husband for the first time in years it was crazy. I was feeling better about myself and gaining more confidence in myself.
The last three months I've been working out at least 20 minutes a day, some days I do 45 minutes depending on how much time I have. There are days when I'll do 20 minutes during the day and another at night when my Husband gets home.
Now I switch up between doing 30 Day Shred everyday and a cardio dance DVD. I also run every now and then as well. Even when it's 112 outside I hit the pavement right in my neighborhood. I've never been a runner, actually I've always hated it. Now, it's getting easier for me. It's still really hard and most times I want to quit but I don't! I keep going, because I'm seeing results and I'm feeling better than I have in years.
The picture on the left is me at 158 pounds right before I started a lifestyle change and started working out.
And this change has truly become a lifestyle change. I hope to share more on that in part three, more on how my changes have affected my family and how it's made all of us better for our health. Thank you for all your kind words on my previous fitness post.
