So, I have struggled with weight for YEARS. Literally YEARS. When I graduated high school I was 118 and had a belly pouch. But I was pretty fit. I gained the freshman 15 or 20 or so. I lost weight sophomore and junior year, gained it senior year, lost it when I moved out on my own and had to do everything for myself- like shop for food, budget, and cook for myself. Gained weight when I got comfortable with my boyfriend, lost weight when I had a ridiculously active and time consuming job (13 hours a day on my feet), gained it when I was jobless and depressed, lost it when I was happily working 3 jobs and always on the go, lost weight for my wedding, gained it after the honeymoon while struggling to conceive. And finally, gained even more while being pregnant and dealing with postpartum. So here we are.
I have tried a LOT of things over the years to lose weight. Let me list them:
Herbalife
Anorexia (NOT RECOMMENDED and not intentional, just happened due to lifestyle)
Eating clean and working out
Whole 30
Isagenix
Here's how I felt about them:
Herbalife: Not much results, products didn't taste that good, lost interest quickly. You get a coach who walks you through getting on board and will cheer you on when you check in once a week. But if you don't follow the program exactly as outlined, they drop you like it's hot. Learned some good tips and moved on.
Anorexia: Terrible for your body and never a viable option for weight loss. You should eat more than 200-500 calories in a 24 hour period. Personal record lowest adult weight seen, 112lbs. Arms, neck, chest looked like a skeleton and still had small stomach pouch.
Eating clean and working out: Going to the gym 3 days a week and eating cleaner (ie a lot of chicken, spinach, salads, tuna, limited bread and pasta) is great if you've been eating trash and have the time. The fresher the ingredients, the better. The more limited the ingredients, the better. Creating a schedule and sticking to it, and planing ahead for meals is key.
Whole 30: (for more info click here https://whole30.com/ ) Eating only whole ingredients that you can read and comprehend the name. If you can't read/pronounce it on the ingredients list, put it back! This led to my eye opening first visit to Trader Joe's. I was also working 3 jobs- one of which was very much physical labor- and going to the gym in my 'spare time'. Eating clean is a great LIFESTYLE CHOICE. Fresh foods, prepared fresh, no additives or preservatives, low sugars. I had headaches and mood swings for about 2 weeks as I went through sugar withdrawal, but after that I had more energy and lost a lot of unnecessary fat from trouble areas. This is my FAVORITE.
Isagenix: Big results within the first 30 days, but EXPENSIVE! If you don't plan to try to sell the product to every Tom Dick and Harry (or Tonya, Dana, and Heather) that you know, you're paying out the ass for shakes. You still have to go out and buy almost whole 30 style food to make for your one meal a day- the really expensive packages include snacks and coffee and even sweets. It also includes some weird elixir you're supposed to take every morning and a 'cleanse' liquid that you do for 3 days in the first 30 days. You can choose to do another 30 day routine, or you can go on maintenance- at which point the 'coach' who sold you the stuff and supported you through the first 30 will probably drop off the face of the earth if you don't sign on for another (super expensive) 30 day regimen. Combined with an active lifestyle and a deep pocket, this is a great weight loss system. The shakes taste good (except pumpkin spice, that one sucked) and the caffeine infused chocolates were a God send.
So- Obviously I have tried a lot. But what should I try this time??
Sitting down and looking at my lifestyle now, I realize that I binge eat after 7pm and that's probably a big problem. After the toddler goes down for the night, I plop myself down on the couch to watch TV and usually pop open a pint of ice cream. Maybe eat a chocolate bar. Whatever sweetness we have around the house, it finds it's way into my mouth. Knowing that is my huge weakness, I based my new 'weight loss plan of attack' around that- and found out about INTERMITTENT FASTING.
This is when you 'fast' or don't eat for a certain amount of time. There are different schedules to fit your needs:
The 16/8 method: Also called the Leangains protocol, it involves skipping breakfast and restricting your daily eating period to 8 hours, such as 1–9 p.m. Then you fast for 16 hours in between.
Eat-Stop-Eat: This involves fasting for 24 hours, once or twice a week, for example by not eating from dinner one day until dinner the next day.
The 5:2 diet: With this method, you consume only 500–600 calories on two non-consecutive days of the week, but eat normally the other 5 days.
I chose the 16/8 method, and I decided to eat from 10am until 6pm.
I will also be going to the gym for trainer led sessions 2x a week. And trying to get 12,000 steps a day every day.
I will try to up my water intake from approx 8-16 ozs a day to 32 to 64 ozs a day.
HERE WE GO!!
I have tried a LOT of things over the years to lose weight. Let me list them:
Herbalife
Anorexia (NOT RECOMMENDED and not intentional, just happened due to lifestyle)
Eating clean and working out
Whole 30
Isagenix
Here's how I felt about them:
Herbalife: Not much results, products didn't taste that good, lost interest quickly. You get a coach who walks you through getting on board and will cheer you on when you check in once a week. But if you don't follow the program exactly as outlined, they drop you like it's hot. Learned some good tips and moved on.
Anorexia: Terrible for your body and never a viable option for weight loss. You should eat more than 200-500 calories in a 24 hour period. Personal record lowest adult weight seen, 112lbs. Arms, neck, chest looked like a skeleton and still had small stomach pouch.
Eating clean and working out: Going to the gym 3 days a week and eating cleaner (ie a lot of chicken, spinach, salads, tuna, limited bread and pasta) is great if you've been eating trash and have the time. The fresher the ingredients, the better. The more limited the ingredients, the better. Creating a schedule and sticking to it, and planing ahead for meals is key.
Whole 30: (for more info click here https://whole30.com/ ) Eating only whole ingredients that you can read and comprehend the name. If you can't read/pronounce it on the ingredients list, put it back! This led to my eye opening first visit to Trader Joe's. I was also working 3 jobs- one of which was very much physical labor- and going to the gym in my 'spare time'. Eating clean is a great LIFESTYLE CHOICE. Fresh foods, prepared fresh, no additives or preservatives, low sugars. I had headaches and mood swings for about 2 weeks as I went through sugar withdrawal, but after that I had more energy and lost a lot of unnecessary fat from trouble areas. This is my FAVORITE.
Isagenix: Big results within the first 30 days, but EXPENSIVE! If you don't plan to try to sell the product to every Tom Dick and Harry (or Tonya, Dana, and Heather) that you know, you're paying out the ass for shakes. You still have to go out and buy almost whole 30 style food to make for your one meal a day- the really expensive packages include snacks and coffee and even sweets. It also includes some weird elixir you're supposed to take every morning and a 'cleanse' liquid that you do for 3 days in the first 30 days. You can choose to do another 30 day routine, or you can go on maintenance- at which point the 'coach' who sold you the stuff and supported you through the first 30 will probably drop off the face of the earth if you don't sign on for another (super expensive) 30 day regimen. Combined with an active lifestyle and a deep pocket, this is a great weight loss system. The shakes taste good (except pumpkin spice, that one sucked) and the caffeine infused chocolates were a God send.
So- Obviously I have tried a lot. But what should I try this time??
Sitting down and looking at my lifestyle now, I realize that I binge eat after 7pm and that's probably a big problem. After the toddler goes down for the night, I plop myself down on the couch to watch TV and usually pop open a pint of ice cream. Maybe eat a chocolate bar. Whatever sweetness we have around the house, it finds it's way into my mouth. Knowing that is my huge weakness, I based my new 'weight loss plan of attack' around that- and found out about INTERMITTENT FASTING.
This is when you 'fast' or don't eat for a certain amount of time. There are different schedules to fit your needs:
The 16/8 method: Also called the Leangains protocol, it involves skipping breakfast and restricting your daily eating period to 8 hours, such as 1–9 p.m. Then you fast for 16 hours in between.
Eat-Stop-Eat: This involves fasting for 24 hours, once or twice a week, for example by not eating from dinner one day until dinner the next day.
The 5:2 diet: With this method, you consume only 500–600 calories on two non-consecutive days of the week, but eat normally the other 5 days.
I chose the 16/8 method, and I decided to eat from 10am until 6pm.
I will also be going to the gym for trainer led sessions 2x a week. And trying to get 12,000 steps a day every day.
I will try to up my water intake from approx 8-16 ozs a day to 32 to 64 ozs a day.
HERE WE GO!!
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