Two early "healthy" blunders

Many of the active moms that I know were fit before becoming moms.  Unfortunately I was not one of those women before I had my kids.   I was neither active nor very fit at all!   I did weigh much less back then, however, I was the definition of skinny fat.   I barely weighed 115 pounds but had cellulite!  Of course then I got pregnant and morphed into a 204 lb version of my previous self. 


That being said I made very many blunders at my first attempt at healthy weight loss though I did lose a majority of the excess weight.  Finally, I hit 140 lbs and stayed there for a couple of years.  In July, I became focused on seeing the results I wanted to see and re-evaluated my diet and exercise.

Don't always assume that "healthy" is the same as good for weight loss!

I have never been a fan of eating breakfast.  However,  not eating breakfast trains your body to "store food" because it knows there will be a long stretch between dinner and lunchtime.  It also causes your metabolism to slow down.   

So I began making nutritious breakfast smoothies every morning.  I would fill my little blender to go with vanilla almond milk, frozen strawberries, a banana, two scoops of strawberry banana whey protein,   two tablespoons of milled flax seed and a half a cup of raw oats.  It's healthy, delicious, easy and ALMOST FIVE HUNDRED CALORIES!!!! 

And I had one every morning......for over a year. I still have a shake every day but these days I make my morning smoothie with whey protein and water and that is it!  

It went a ways towards explaining why I just couldn't seem to lose some of my body fat when I jogged almost two miles every morning six days a week. 

My exercise "regiment" of running every day was the other early mistake I made.  Cardio wasn't going to help me reach my size goals!   It wasn't until I began to integrate strength training that I began to see results!  

Ten healthy and easy snacks for busy moms

You can't lose weight and keep it off by starving your body!  If your body thinks it will be awhile before another meal, it will protect itself by storing fat.  Eat regular meals and snacks to keep your metabolism going.

I know that it's easier said than done. Often, amid the hustle and bustle of taking care of the kids, bringing them to school, helping with homework and preparing dinner, Mom's needs get pushed to the side.  I can remember finally sitting down after getting the kids to bed and realizing I never ate!  Below are some snack ideas that are easy and can be prepared (or bought) in advance.  (I am also a true believer in going for convenience when it is affordable and time saving.) 

Apple slices and a small container of peanut butter

100 calorie or 1oz of almonds or other nuts

Quest bar or other low sugar protein bar

Protein shake

Hard boiled egg white and steamed broccoli

Pineapple and low fat cottage cheese

Raw Vegetables (I like green bell pepper) and hummus

Cheese stick and grapes

Greek Yogurt

Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich 

Chill!

Don't stress the stuff you can't control!

I am not at a point where I can go to an actual gym to workout.  My husband works away from home a lot so most times I am on my own with the kids.  

It took me awhile to get to the point where I stopped stressing about not being able to get to the gym or having to cut my workout short because one of the kids woke up. 

Even working out for only 15 minutes in the morning is 15 minutes of being active rather than sitting on the couch. 

Time Saving Tip #1 Basic Food Preparation

Not having enough time was the excuse I clung onto for years before deciding that it was time to take control of my body and my health. I remember saying all the time that I was too busy with work and the kids to work out and eat right. Believe it or not though, once I started doing things a little differently, I had more time and was much less tired.

Tip #1 Get a tabletop grill if you don't have one or

a crockpot if you don't already have one and some zip and steam bags...


see where I am going with this?


You won't be able to get around eating right and eating often.  The Mommy Machine needs fuel!

I like to spend one day on the weekend cooking and preparing the "foundations" of the meals for the week.  I generally freeze half and refrigerate half.  I don't like eating something that has been sitting in the fridge for over three days.  


Examples of things I make ahead are:

shredded chicken breasts divided into 3oz servings.

browned lean beef

grilled chicken tenderloins

grilled tilapia

turkey meatloaf

roasted vegetables


I also like to make egg white, spinach, turkey, and cheese omelets so I don't have to cook them in the morning and can just warm them up!

I love the zip and steam bags because I can just toss broccoli, kale, asparagus etc in it and then microwave it when needed (even at work) so I have freshly steamed veggies!

It is easier to eat healthy meals every three to four hours if it is prepared and in a cooler you can easily take with you.

Yes this may take a few hours on the weekend  but actually frees up valuable time during the week.  

 

Active...yes! Fit....not quite there but Mommy is working on it!

Like many other women throughout time, I gained a boatload of weight while pregnant with my first child and then just when I was dropping some of it, BAM! I was pregnant again. Well, that was over four years ago and I am still carrying some extra fat. Join me while I work my tail off to become a lean, mean, mommy machine! You won't see amazing before and after transformation pictures on this blog....well at least not until I get to the "after" picture stage. At the end of July I joined a facebook group of people working to get in better shape. Through exercise, monitoring my diet, and the accountability and support from the group I have actually seen the most dramatic results I have experienced thus far and I am far stronger and healthier than I have ever been in my life! For 3/4 of my 35 years I was too skinny to donate blood, then when I was 29 I got pregnant with my first child and gained a whopping 75lbs! I actually weighed more coming out of the hospital after Wyatt was born than I did before I went in. For the entire pregnancy I blamed my weight on the baby, who was only 5lbs at birth. Then I blamed it on my second child, Piper, who came soon after the first. Having two so close in age was chaotic to say the least. But it is for these two little bundles of chaos that I have decided to not only lose the weight, which I have succeeded at for the most part, but to also become strong and live an active and healthy lifestyle for them to learn from.