Weight Loss Diary – What To Eat
There’s a saying that goes “Abs are made in the kitchen”. If that’s the case, then I’ve got a fighting chance at this weight loss thing! Prior to getting pregnant, I was very happy to say Sam from All Out Effort took me on as a client. I learned a lot from him during the couple of months I went to train with him before I got pregnant.
One of them is that all calories are not equal. It made sense to me. I’m not interested in counting calories. I am, however, interested in eating the best I can.
This must be what I look like when I eat something yummy.
Rome wasn’t built in a day and I know reaching my goal isn’t something I can do by next week. Here’s what I do know :
1. There’s No Magical Solution
Back in the day, I’ve tried juice fasts and water fasting.
Water fasting for 7 days made me straight up crazy. I had no energy, I was hungry all the time and thought about food every single waking second. I couldn’t concentrate in class and I probably shouldn’t have been driving either. I was shaky and had terrible headaches. I lost weight but it was probably because I was literally starving myself for a week. Needless to say, I gained it all back.
I then tried juice fasting. This wasn’t quite as bad as water fasting but it still wasn’t ideal. I was still hungry, jittery and had insane headaches. The urge to chew something was really strong and I noticed I smoked more during this period. I lost weight but also gained it all back.
I’m not interested in trying diet pills and have never been interested in diet pills.
2. What You Eat Matters
In the nutrition class I took as a pre-req for nursing school, I learned that diet is 90% of weight loss and exercise makes up the remaining 10%. I guess that’s where that old adage came from.
When I turned 20, I was a size 12. I was not happy. About a month later, I received a notice in the mail. I was invited to participate in a bikini contest for a swimwear catalog. The competition was in 3 months.
I had 3 months to turn my doughy body into not just a bikini body but a bikini COMPETITION body. This was about the time Jared Fogle became featured in Subway commercials. I happened to see one, heard his story and thought to myself, “If that guy can do it, so can I!”
Seriously, I was inspired!
And that’s exactly what I did. For the next 3 months, my daily food diary would’ve looked like this :
Breakfast = 1 Yoplait Light
Lunch = 6″ Subway ham or turkey or turkey/ham on whole wheat, lettuce, tomato, onions, EXTRA EXTRA EXTRA bell peppers, olives, avocado. No mayo, no cheese. Mustard only.
Dinner = 6″ Subway ham or turkey or turkey/ham on whole wheat, lettuce, tomato, onions, EXTRA EXTRA EXTRA bell peppers, olives, avocado. No mayo, no cheese. Mustard only. 1 bag baked Doritos.
3. Let Me See You Work It
I had the diet part down. Time to tackle the exercise portion of the weight loss pie. My very first day of working out consisted of walking one mile on a treadmill at a speed of 2.2 miles per hour. I was winded. My dreams of being bikini contest ready in 3 months was not looking good.
But I didn’t give up.
By the end of the 1st month, I saw significant improvement. I was working out 3 times a week and easily doing 2 -3 miles. I even threw in some weight training during those days.
By the end of the second month until the day before the competition, I was in the gym 5-6 times a week for 2-3 hours. I was a bartender by then as well as a college student so I kept really crazy hours. I usually did 90 minutes of weights followed up 45 minutes cardio and 15 minutes stretching. My favorite form of cardio was (and still is) swimming.
As a result of these interventions, I went from a size 12 to a size 4 in 3 months. I looked and felt great that night I competed. I didn’t place but, in my head, I was a winner.
I know this approach won’t work for me this time. Things have changed. I’m still breastfeeding so I can’t cut my calories. I also can’t work out the way I used to because I’m a Work At Home Mom and the primary caregiver for BabyGirl.
However, I know the concepts are still good. I’m gonna do my best to stay away from processed foods and eat more “real” food. I’m going to cook more and look up recipes that use more whole foods. As for exercise, I’m going to take BabyGirl and Bailey out for more walks. I’m also going to incorporate 10 minutes here and there for exercise at home during my day.
I don’t expect crazy results in one month but the important thing is that I’ve taken the first step and I’m not giving up.
Screenshots Of Miss Bonnified's Mind 