9 Months On...9 Months Off

Well, I DID IT!  Actually I did more.  Nine months ago, shortly after Rex was born I posted my most embarrassing post ever revealing pictures of myself at 176 pounds and a month later at 170 pounds. I was having the hardest time losing the weight after my second pregnancy being thirty-three years-old.  I had some pitfalls, some months I did not lose anything...but I managed to meet my pre-pregnancy weight of 150 pounds when Rex turned 7 months. Now, at 9 1/2 months-old I am 145 pounds exceeding my goal by 5 pounds.  But, lets face it, 150 pounds is too high. I made a short term goal of losing the baby fat and getting back to my pre-pregnancy weight. With that said, I can now make my next goal: The Wedding Weight. (Isn't it funny how we women can associate our body size with life milestones? Wedding Weight, High School Weight, Pre-Children Weight, Marathon Weight.....)  Wedding Weight (140 pounds) is only five pounds away and realistic for a 5'3 woman. High School Weight (135 pounds) is also realistic...but lets take it one goal at a time.

What have I been doing differently.  Well, not that much.  I stuck to my gut (pun intended) and did not go on a diet.  I did however read Dr. Oz's book You On A DIET about the harmful consequences of dieting.  It also recommended three principals in healthy eating for life:
Don't eat anything with High Fructose Corn Syrup, Enriched Flour, or Sugar listed in the first five ingredients on the labels.  The book was a great read. I borrowed a copy from my mother and I am sure you can find one at the library.  It really helped me realize why a snack of cookies was bad - not only calories, but because of the chemical reaction that sugar was playing on my mind and hormones, I was going to want more in about 45 minutes.  I still eat the same amounts of food, but I made a couple of small changes to cut out those three ingredients and VOILA!

1. I cut the coffee creamer and just use milk.
2. I eat sugar free yogurt now instead of the vanilla low fat. (I actually make my own because it is cheaper.)
3. I eat sugar free granola. (I make my own so that I know what is in it, and its cheaper.  Add this to the yogurt and delicious.)
4. I snack on all natural peanut butter with no sugar added instead of Jiff or Peter Pan - my favorites.
5. I read the cereal box label and only buy the ones with no enriched flours (usually a Kashi cereal).
6. I snack on a homemade trail mix of nuts, rice puff cereals, and dark chocolate.
7. I buy instant brown rice instead of white rice.
8. I buy whole wheat pasta instead of white pasta.
9. And I still eat lots of healthy meals from my freezer and canning jars of foods I grew over the summer. I know that my tomato basil sauce doesn't have sugar in it and that my meatballs do not have enriched flour in them.  With the concept of cooking every meal, freezing or preserving it ahead of time for time management, and providing a home cooked meal every night I was able to make some easy changes for the whole chemical balance of weight loss to click!
10. I never was a soda fan, so I kept rocking the love of water.
11. I still bake and make homemade biscuits, but I have found some organic flours at Target and Big Lots that use better substitutes.

So here are the pictures.  Rex was unavailable when I was ready to take the picture so I grabbed Camilla.  I also tried to find similar clothes....

176 Pound       1 Month Old       May 2012

 



 145 Pound      9 Months Old   January 2013