A few years back, Kate Moss took some heat for claiming to live by the motto "nothing tastes as good as skinny feels". I really do love certain foods - especially dessert and wine - too much to forgo them so on some level I have to disagree with her. However, I do know that I have never felt as good as I did when I was thin. I was happy and I was confident.
In college, I was 5'7 and 130 pounds. I remember thinking how fat I had gotten when I went to the doctor and weighed in at 135. I started running and was back to being my happy, skinny self.
After I got married, I guess I became too comfortable and I packed on the pounds - a whopping 35 of them. I wasn't running because I no longer lived in a runner friendly neighborhood, and although I joined a gym, I'm just not a gym person. Stepping on a treadmill or an elliptical machine makes me feel like a hamster on a wheel. I started cycling which gave me killer legs but did absolutely nothing for my gut or my butt. Then I got really into yoga and was starting to get back to a happy place in terms of my weight. This stopped when all but one of my favorite yoga teachers left the studio. The owner started emphasizing teacher training and the whole dynamic of the place changed. I tried finding another studio but couldn't find one that I liked enough to join.
I was still overweight when I got pregnant. Great. I was going to be the S.S. (insert last name here).
Thankfully, I didn't get the insatiable appetite that accompanied my friends' pregnancies. My cravings were cereal with milk, cream of wheat, fruit (OMG did I LOVE fruit!), and red meat. Occasionally I wanted a little chocolate, but it wasn't the norm. Actually, anything too sweet made me a little queasy for the first trimester. I knew I was eating healthily, but I still didn't want to see the numbers on the scale.
At each doctor's appointment, I made it a point to tell the nurses NOT to say my weight out loud - that I had no interest in knowing it. I told the doctor to just tell me if I wasn't gaining enough or if I was gaining too much. My weight gain was always "perfect" according to the doctor. So to this day, I have no idea how much I actually gained with my pregnancy. What I do know, however, is that I was sick of yoga pants being my only option.
Moving could not have come at a better time. We now live in a super suburban neighborhood complete with sidewalks and a neighborhood watch. I have been able to start running again. My current route is about two miles. I haven't yet built up the endurance to run the whole time, so I walk a block, run a block. I try to get out every other morning around 7am before my husband goes off to work. Sometimes it's hard if Baby J is up multiple times during the night, and impossible if my husband is away on a business trip (which was the case all of last week and half of the week before that). I got back out yesterday. It's funny that I loathe the gym and love running. I think because the gym is stagnant. You get on the same machine and stare at the same wall or tv. But when I run, I can change my route, see different things, pass different people, and I don't feel like people are watching and judging me. Seriously, I sound like a herd of elephants on the treadmill and I feel like everyone can hear that I am running on it. Not so on pavement.
Despite having to get out so early, I actually love my morning run. It's the one time during the day where I get to be completely alone and just worry about me. I'm alone with my thoughts and my music, and it is just glorious. If I'm out extra early I'll even take a different route to tack on some time. When I get home I'm a sweaty mess and have to make a mad dash to shower and get dressed before Baby J gets too cranky, but after that I feel amazing. It also makes me chug a ton of water which is super important and brings me to my next point.
I know that working out is important, but diet is even more so. The problem with dieting is that I lack discipline. I just won't weigh or measure food. I joined weight watchers once upon a time, but figuring and counting points was too much of a PIA. I believe that cutting out carbs is a quick fix, but not a permanent, long term solution. Also, I like carbs. And I simply don't buy into the gimmicky fad programs or diets (although, if I were one of the cool kids, I'd develop a "gluten allergy"). Before my wedding I survived on Campbell's chicken noodle soup and oatmeal. I lost a ton of weight really fast, but again, it was just a short term, emergency solution. I need something easy and idiot proof when it comes to dieting.
One of my oldest and closest friends became a Beachbody coach a couple of years ago. For years, she has been trying to talk me into doing one of her programs. I always said no because a lot of it seemed to center around the Shakeology meal replacement, and I just won't do shakes. P90X is also in there, but my husband had done that program and all of the intense up and down made me nauseous. I have to give her credit for being persistent, because last month she pitched another program to me - the 21 day challenge. This one can be done with OR without Shakeology and is perfect for someone like me who refuses to measure, weigh or replace food. For $60, I would get a book, food containers and some workout DVDs (I could either choose to do their workout program or continue running on my own). This program seemed perfect for me - the lazy woman's route to a beach body. She had me. I ordered.
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| At first, I was mildly disappointed that this is what $60 bought me |
I knew that I wouldn't use their workout program because I'm not good at doing workouts on my own (other than running or cycling). So when I saw this book and these plastic containers, my first thought was "what a waste of money". But, since I had spent $60 on it, I figured I might as well give it a shot. Here's how it works:
The book tells you how to calculate what your daily caloric intake should be. Instead of a solid number, it gives you a range. Then it tells you what type of food goes in each container (pages of examples and recipes) and how many of that color you should be eating every day.
Purple = Fruit
Green = Veggies
Red = Protein
Yellow = Carbs
Blue = Cheeses and some other things
Orange = Things like salad dressing
Teaspoon (doesn't come with the kit) = Nut butters, seed oils
So every day I should have 4 green, 3 purple, 4 red, 3 yellow, 1 blue, 1 orange, and 4 teaspoons. And you can really pack out the containers. When I started to measure it out, I realized that it's a lot of food.
My husband was hesitant about it at first. According to him, you shouldn't have to restrict your vegetable intake. However, I think the key thing to this program is learning portion control and how to make healthy choices.
I have to admit that I'm not strict about following it. A friend of mine came to visit and healthy eating was out the window. My husband was away on a business trip and I had pizza for dinner and the leftovers for lunch. Twice. But this program makes it easy to get back on track - especially because my coach is amazing. She is SO enthusiastic about the Beachbody program and aiming to do it full-time starting in January. Despite being thousands of miles apart, she set up a private Facebook group where she posts inspirational and motivational quotes and pictures, recipes, and checks in daily. As it turns out, this is the easiest "diet" program EVER because:
1. There is no weighing or measuring (I don't consider shoving food in containers to be measuring)
2. No point system
3. I can eat all of the foods I enjoy - even desserts!
4. I have someone pushing/coaching me through it
5. I have a Facebook support system specifically for this
6. I've already lost 7 pounds despite the fact that I haven't been 100% consistent with eating or running
7. I am finally able to wear my pre-pregnancy pants! No more yoga pants unless I want to wear them.
I am definitely going to keep up with this. When the third week is over (after this week) I'm just going to start it up again.
I suck at taking pictures of food, but just to give an idea of what/how much I can eat on this plan, here is a breakfast and a lunch (Lunch is the hardest meal for me unless I'm eating out. I literally just throw together whatever I have in my fridge!).
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| Eggs with cheddar cheese and topped with some salsa and one pear |
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| One veggie burger, refried beans, some cucumber, and celery topped with almond butter |
Overall, I really recommend this program. It's the EASIEST thing I've ever done and I've already seen results.
You can sign up for it
here, and be sure to take before and after pictures. You will be amazed at the results!
