"Run Forest, Run"

In my last post I mentioned the fact that I lost 70 pounds.  While I did gain a bit of it back, and then I had another baby and had to lose some of it again, that is still a lot of weight to lose. How then, did I do it? Here are the few things that I did, and what I am changing this time. Why am I changing anything if it worked last time? Because I did gain some of the weight back, so I am trying to make do it all in such a way that will make this a lifestyle change, not just a quick fix.  Let me just say that there isn't some magic trick. Losing weight is hard work and it takes self-control and patience, but you all know that. Therefore, this list is short.

I Ate Super Healthy: For breakfast, every day, I drank a smoothie ("recipe" at the end of the post). For lunch, every day, I ate a salad.  Any time I needed a snack, I ate an apple. I ate healthy dinners.  While the food itself was very healthy, I got rather tired of it.  One thing about eating healthy is learning what works best for your body. For example, due to my PCOS, certain things that are fine for other people, aren't very good for me. I really need to primarily eat fruits and veggies, with hardly any grains, pastas, or breads (but then, that may be true for most people).

What Am I Changing?: I still eat really well, but I have added more variety.  This means that the weight is coming off slower as I allow myself to eat more things that I love (like ice cream) once in a while, versus the previous, Never. Like I said, I am working on a lifestyle change in regard to food that I will be able to maintain, well, for life. 

I Exercised: One of the keys is finding the right kind of exercise and combining it with eating healthy. If you exercise a bunch and then eat whatever you want, you probably won't lose much weight.  We don't burn THAT many calories working out compared to the number of calories in food.  A good 30-min. run, might burn 400 calories, a bowl of two scoops of ice cream probably has, at least, 350 calories (depending on how big the scoops are).  But I digress.  My point is, don't waste the effort of the workout by eating poorly.  My exercise of choice is running, because my husband once said to me, "do you ever see fat runners?" and I thought he was right.

    What Am I Changing?: I still mostly run, but I add in some toning workouts periodically, like Gillian Michaels's 30 Day Shred, though, I can't stand Gillian Michaels, I find her EXTREMELY OBNOXIOUS. I also got a Fit Bit, so I am trying to move lots, even when I'm not "working out".  The downside of a Fit Bit is that we can convince ourselves that we are "exercising" when just taking some extra steps isn't as effective for weight loss as a traditional workout or a run.

Drink Lots of Water: I mention this a lot, because it is of vital importance when losing weight.

    What Am I Changing?: I drink Even More water.

I Did a Health Challenge: This was EXTREMELY helpful for losing weight.  First, I'm competitive, so any sort of competition just spurs me on. Second, having the strict rules regarding what I could eat, really helped to keep me on track. I always lose the most weight within a health challenge of some kind. 

     What Am I Changing?: I'm not currently doing a health challenge, and I wish I was. I don't know anyone who is doing a health challenge right now, this isn't something I am doing by choice.

(HEALTH CHALLENGE NOTE: That being said.  If anyone would like to do a Health Challenge with me, I am happy to set that up. I would type up the rules, keep the tally of people's scores, etc.  If you are interested in this, leave a comment or let me know and I will get on that.) 

Smoothie Recipe:

1/2 banana

1/4 cup greek yogurt

1 cup almond milk

1/4 cup frozen berries

Throw it all in a blender and blend. (you can also throw in half a cup of uncooked oatmeal)

Favorite Salad Combination:

lettuce

almonds

strawberries

blue cheese

balsamic vinaigrette