My Not So Fabulous Weight Loss Non-Secrets

So, a lot of you wanted to know my secret for losing the baby weight, huh?

Well... forget to eat.

Simple enough, right?

Just kidding. Except I have a real problem with that. Must be the intense thing I've got going on. When I do something I do something. I'm the kind of girl that doesn't eat the strawberries when she's picking them in the field. One in the basket, two in the mouth... Nope, not me. My mom could count on me to bring in the berries... all the berries.

Probably a big part of the weight loss is that I'm not a snacker, though I love snack food. I eat my breakfast, my lunch, and my dinner. Once in awhile Daniel and I will make popcorn to eat while we watch a movie but not very often.

So, I don't nibble while baking or cooking, I don't snack, and I generally don't eat after dinner. Though, none of those are hard and fast rules.

A definite extra factor is the fact that we don't eat any, and I mean any, refined sugar. No sodas, no chips, no "junky" food. And you know, I'm so not tooting my own horn, because... pah-lease, that would be super lame. I'm just letting you know that cutting out that one little (but pervasive) ingredient is a big deal.

And really, I've seen some mothers look absolutely amazing a couple months after they have their baby. I don't know how they do that! As far as my body is concerned that whole you lose tons of weight by nursing thing is a load of crap. My metabolism shuts down once the nursing shifts into high gear. It's enough to make a woman go batty. Or cry. Which I totally did.

When I was determined to lose the weight after I had Judah, I had to do a major shift in my eating habits. But, I had to do something simple enough that I could stick with it. So... I cut out all snacks. All of them. I ate breakfast - pancakes, waffles, eggs, whatever I was feeding the kids, but in a small portion. For lunch and dinner I made a salad. A real salad: barbecued chicken - shredded - sunflower seeds, croutons, lettuce, spinach, carrots, cranberries, and cucumbers with a homemade Italian dressing. After I put the kids to bed I would take two almond cookies and crumble them into a bowl of vanilla yogurt.

I ate that same food every day for months! I ended up losing 50 pounds in 4 months. And kept it off even over the winter months. I was walking fast (pushing the double jogging stroller) for about 3-5 miles a day, on a hilly route. I did that every day. I had some serious willpower because I was sick of carrying around extra weight.


I went from about 170 pounds (Ouch!)


To maintaining my normal weight of 120-125 pounds. (I'm 5' 8")

This weight loss time (after having Liza-Lu)... not so much determination. Or time. What I could do, I did. I was purposeful with what I ate. But, if I wanted a brownie I ate it. If I wanted seconds of a meal, I ate them. I ate chocolate, chex mix, caramel popcorn... I just didn't go out of control with any of it. Being able to eat what I wanted kept me happy. And we all know how important that is.

I exercised (again, walking with the stroller) over the summer like a crazy woman. But I haven't been so crazy lately. I do go up and down my stairs twelve hundred times a day with a twenty plus pound baby on my hip. Does that count? Or running after a two year old? Kneading bread?

I need to get my butt in gear and exercise. My husband has a rockin' body and he deserves a wife who cares as much about hers.

Sorry for not having a great weight loss secret. I think my way is good though, because the weight stays off.

Eat purposefully and exercise regularly.

*Post from 1 year ago today: Panic Attacks and The Gap

*Post from 2 years ago today: First Round Draft

(These two year ago posts have all been Daniel's writing. You knew that, right?)