I began my health journey on January 15, 2014. On that day I weighed 143 pounds. It was my third attempt to lose weight and get healthy and all of my previous attempts failed miserably. This time, however, I began my journey with a positive mind set. I believed in myself. I counted every step and made every step count.
I have given birth to two beautiful children, and I was not one of the lucky ones that regained her figure immediately after giving birth. Instead each child brought more pounds to my waist line and the pounds were hard to lose. I gave birth to my first child when I was 16. Before becoming pregnant I weighed 95 pounds, during the pregnancy I gained 75 pounds, and managed to lose 65 of those before becoming pregnant with my second child. My second child brought my weight from 105 pounds to 155 pounds which were even harder to lose. My second child is 7 years old now and I have finally managed to lose 37 of those pounds. The first 12 were lost after giving birth, the other 25 pounds were lost just this year.
That is a picture of me before any real weight came off. It was my second attempt at losing weight, which I stated; failed miserably. I spent a lot of un-motivated time attempting to lose weight. The photo above is me right after I finished running. The running did not cause me to lose any weight. I became frustrated after awhile and gave up.
This year one of my friends started a Facebook group to motivate those of her friends who were trying to lose weight. She believed that money would be a great motivator so the purpose of the group was that members would try to lose weight within 3 months, all members would put $5 in the pot and the member that lost the most inches off their waist would then win the pot. I thought it sounded like a fantastic idea, however I had little hope that I would win. It was the motivation that I needed however to take the first step in my third attempt to lose weight. I decided to do some research and get serious this time. I knew that if I tried hard enough I could do anything. So I discovered a weight loss app called Noom. It tracked your weight loss, your calories, and your exercise. It also helps you with your calorie intake based on the weight goal you put into the app. I started off slow, setting small goals. I was still somewhat skeptical. My first goal was to lose 5 pounds so I set the app at 138. I used Noom religiously. Every time I ate I plugged in the calories, every time I exercised I recorded it in the app. It didn't take long for me to lose those 5 pounds and once that victory was reached I plugged in another goal.
All in all it took me 9 weeks to lose 25 pounds, and then....motivation went out the window. I kept exercising but nothing happened. I stopped exercising, again nothing happened. I didn't lose weight but I didn't gain weight. So I got lazy.
This year one of my friends started a Facebook group to motivate those of her friends who were trying to lose weight. She believed that money would be a great motivator so the purpose of the group was that members would try to lose weight within 3 months, all members would put $5 in the pot and the member that lost the most inches off their waist would then win the pot. I thought it sounded like a fantastic idea, however I had little hope that I would win. It was the motivation that I needed however to take the first step in my third attempt to lose weight. I decided to do some research and get serious this time. I knew that if I tried hard enough I could do anything. So I discovered a weight loss app called Noom. It tracked your weight loss, your calories, and your exercise. It also helps you with your calorie intake based on the weight goal you put into the app. I started off slow, setting small goals. I was still somewhat skeptical. My first goal was to lose 5 pounds so I set the app at 138. I used Noom religiously. Every time I ate I plugged in the calories, every time I exercised I recorded it in the app. It didn't take long for me to lose those 5 pounds and once that victory was reached I plugged in another goal.
All in all it took me 9 weeks to lose 25 pounds, and then....motivation went out the window. I kept exercising but nothing happened. I stopped exercising, again nothing happened. I didn't lose weight but I didn't gain weight. So I got lazy.
Above is my progress photo, as you can see I made a lot of progress in those 9 weeks. My weight now fluctuates between 114-118 pounds. I have decided to give it another go this time focusing on strength and getting in shape. Losing weight would be nice, my goal is 106 right now, but I am happy with my weight as I am. Now I am more worried about strengthening and toning.
I grew a little tired of the Noom app, though I am grateful for the progress it helped me make! I decided to download the "My Diet Diary" app instead. Today is day one and I ran 1.5 miles and walked .5 mile. My goal is to exercise daily even if it's only for 10 minutes and to get back on track with watching what I eat.
So how did I do it?
Secret #1:
Positive thinking. I believed in myself. I knew that if I put my mind to it and gave it my all I could achieve my goal. I proved to myself that there really is power behind your beliefs.
Secret #2:
Soda, pop, soft drinks, whatever you may call them, are not your friend. They are empty calories and they are loaded with them. It will do you well to give up drinking soda, including diet and "zero" soda's. It's okay to allow yourself a little treat every now and again, but that is after you have quit your soda drinking habit.
Secret #3:
Exercise will pay off but it takes time. Do not lose hope if you do not see results immediately. It took you time to put on the weight and it will take time to lose it.
Secret #4:
Get a support system. Find an exercise partner. It helps greatly with accountability.
Secret #5:
Every small achievement is a victory. If you walked for 3 minutes today that is a victory and should be viewed as such because it is 3 minutes more than you walked yesterday. If you did 5 crunches be proud of yourself. Everyone has to start somewhere so don't compare yourself with others, instead be proud of whatever action you do take.
Secret #6:
Your only competition is yourself. Again, I cannot stress this enough; do not compare yourself to others. Everyone is different. Something that works for someone else may not work for you or you may not see results as quickly as the next person. It's okay! If you stick with it and believe in yourself, if you give it all you have than eventually you will see a change.
Secret #7:
Don't reward yourself with food, you will only undo all the hard work you have done. That is not to say that you can not cheat on your diet every once in awhile but when you do don't go crazy.
Secret #8:
Portion size is important. Most people eat a bigger portion than they actually need. If you follow the guidelines laid out on the packages when it comes to portion size it makes it easier to keep track of your calories. Your portions will be smaller which means less calories. You may think that slimming down your portion size will leave you hungry, if that is the case choose to eat something healthy with low calories to top off your meal and stop the hunger. Fruits and veggies are great and very filling. After you have eaten smaller portions your stomach will get used to eating less food and become smaller which means that the smaller portions will gradually become more filling. It just takes a little bit of time so hang in there.
Secret #9:
Do not eat out of boredom. Do not eat to make yourself feel better. Don't let your emotions control your eating habits. Instead turn to exercise. Go for a jog, a walk, do some crunches, find something active to do.
Secret #10:
Lastly never let anyone's else's judgments get to you. You are the only person looking out for you, you are the only person who truly cares about you, and you are the only person that can make you happy. Believe in yourself!
I wish you luck on your journey to health and I hope you will take the time to share your advice or your successes with me!
From my home to yours, Enjoy!
I grew a little tired of the Noom app, though I am grateful for the progress it helped me make! I decided to download the "My Diet Diary" app instead. Today is day one and I ran 1.5 miles and walked .5 mile. My goal is to exercise daily even if it's only for 10 minutes and to get back on track with watching what I eat.
So how did I do it?
Secret #1:
Positive thinking. I believed in myself. I knew that if I put my mind to it and gave it my all I could achieve my goal. I proved to myself that there really is power behind your beliefs.
Secret #2:
Soda, pop, soft drinks, whatever you may call them, are not your friend. They are empty calories and they are loaded with them. It will do you well to give up drinking soda, including diet and "zero" soda's. It's okay to allow yourself a little treat every now and again, but that is after you have quit your soda drinking habit.
Secret #3:
Exercise will pay off but it takes time. Do not lose hope if you do not see results immediately. It took you time to put on the weight and it will take time to lose it.
Secret #4:
Get a support system. Find an exercise partner. It helps greatly with accountability.
Secret #5:
Every small achievement is a victory. If you walked for 3 minutes today that is a victory and should be viewed as such because it is 3 minutes more than you walked yesterday. If you did 5 crunches be proud of yourself. Everyone has to start somewhere so don't compare yourself with others, instead be proud of whatever action you do take.
Secret #6:
Your only competition is yourself. Again, I cannot stress this enough; do not compare yourself to others. Everyone is different. Something that works for someone else may not work for you or you may not see results as quickly as the next person. It's okay! If you stick with it and believe in yourself, if you give it all you have than eventually you will see a change.
Secret #7:
Don't reward yourself with food, you will only undo all the hard work you have done. That is not to say that you can not cheat on your diet every once in awhile but when you do don't go crazy.
Secret #8:
Portion size is important. Most people eat a bigger portion than they actually need. If you follow the guidelines laid out on the packages when it comes to portion size it makes it easier to keep track of your calories. Your portions will be smaller which means less calories. You may think that slimming down your portion size will leave you hungry, if that is the case choose to eat something healthy with low calories to top off your meal and stop the hunger. Fruits and veggies are great and very filling. After you have eaten smaller portions your stomach will get used to eating less food and become smaller which means that the smaller portions will gradually become more filling. It just takes a little bit of time so hang in there.
Secret #9:
Do not eat out of boredom. Do not eat to make yourself feel better. Don't let your emotions control your eating habits. Instead turn to exercise. Go for a jog, a walk, do some crunches, find something active to do.
Secret #10:
Lastly never let anyone's else's judgments get to you. You are the only person looking out for you, you are the only person who truly cares about you, and you are the only person that can make you happy. Believe in yourself!
I wish you luck on your journey to health and I hope you will take the time to share your advice or your successes with me!
From my home to yours, Enjoy!