I lost weight!!

Wow it’s been a few days since I wrote anything on my blog. It’s not because I didn’t have anything to say; but because I have been enjoying our super nice March weather. I have to admit I am a little skeptical I mean after al it is March in Michigan.

Anyway, so the purpose of starting this blog was to help my friend shed the pounds off. I am not saying that I am a weight loss professional.  But I have been there; I had to work my butt off to lose the 67 pounds! Yes that’s right I said 67 pounds. I started my weight loss in March 2010 and by October I had lost 67 pounds. Had it not been for my grandmother passing way that October I would have kept going on with my weight loss, but I became depressed and stressed because I wasn’t prepared to lose my grandma or have to clean out her apartment.  

From October 2010 to March 2011 I gained back 12 pounds, I ate what I wanted and didn’t exercise. I didn’t get very much sleep but at the same time I felt good about my body, I wasn’t obese and was just slightly overweight. So when I found out I was pregnant in April I knew that my dieting days were over until I had Amelia.

I started to eat healthy and attempted to work out, but I was DEAD tired. So as my pregnancy progressed I did what I could without exerting myself. I walked daily, sometimes two or three times a day with Liljana. I finished up most of my schooling and most of all I took advantage of the one on one time I had with Liljana, but I put on weight. I put on 38 pounds with Amelia, so the doctor says but I felt like I put on a lot more. At every appointment I was terrified to see the sale numbers and though I was reassured by my doctor that he wasn’t worried about it the fact still remained that I was.

So the day came when she was born and while I loved her squishy  little cheeks, All I could think about was how long it would take me to get back into shape and wear my old clothes. I know they say give yourself as long as it took to put on so in reality I should think at least a year to lose the 65 pounds I want to lose.

Well in order for me to help others I have to be honest with myself. Same as they do! The key to my weight loss before I got pregnant with Amelia was to eat what I wanted, but within limits of healthiness.

In order to start eating properly I had to figure out what proper servings were. And let me be the first to say it was hard to stick to proper serving sizes. But as the weeks went on and I see the weight loss I began to become more and more determined.

Okay so what is a serving you may ask. Well the easiest way for me to figure it out was my the use of my hand.

Closed fist = 1 cup
Open palm = 3 oz. of meat or fish.
Handful= about one oz.

So what were some of my favorite foods and how did I determine a proper serving?

Item:                                                     Servings               Calories                               
Cereal – Mutli grain Cheerois               1 Cup                     110
Pasta                                                     1/3 Cup                       62
Rice (white)                                         1/3 Cup                       69
Tortilla (flour)                                        1 med                     112 (corn= 52)
Broccoli (cooked)                                  ½ Cup                        33
Carrots (raw)                                         2 med                         50
Potato’s (Baked)                                   3 oz.                            79 (Mashed with milk =85)
Tomato’s                                            1 tomato                        32
Zucchini (cooked)                             1/2 Cup                           14
Apples                                                1 small                  54 (applesauce unsweetened ½ cup =54)
Banana                                               1 xsmall                            72
Grapes                                                 17 grapes                        60

That’s only to name a few. Now think about it when you eat grapes or an apple are you wondering if the size/amount is a healthy amount for you? Are you wondering if you the calories are based on the normal daily values? Do you even know how many calories you should consume daily?

So how did I actually start my weight loss program? I woke up one more and said this is it, I need to lose weight and I need to do it now. My next step was cleaning out my refrigerator and replacing it with healthy foods. From there I began working out on a daily base with Sunday being my day of rest. I didn’t have time to work out of long periods of time. I started out with 15 minutes a day for 1 month. When month 2 came I bumped that up to 30 minutes for 2 months and by the fourth month I was working out 60 minutes a day!

But the most important key was buying a scale and a measuring tape. I wanted to see results and I wanted to see them other than by looking in a mirror. I goggled what someone my height should be by the BMI (Although I don’t agree that its correct) I found a website that allowed me to configure my measurement sizes and then I looked at what mine were and was determined to work on every area of my body not just the belly fat!

I hope that helps most of you getting started, for me I am proud of myself because I have lost 12 pounds since I had Amelia 2 months ago!!  I’ll keep you posted and PLEASE feel free to ask for any suggestions. Even if you want someone to encourage you to keep it up!