How I Lost 6 lbs In Just 3 Weeks - No Exercise!
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| Not bad for less than 6 months postpartum! No photoshopping, editing or filters! |
First, let me start out by saying that I am NOT telling you not to work out. In fact, PLEASE work out!! Your body needs it. I am actually starting to work out...not cardio just yet but doing strength training with resistance bands and some light weights. I want to carve out some muscle tone while I'm shedding some pounds.
But I want to share with you some tips on how I lost the weight and to let you know that you can do it, too!! Are you ready to drop those unwanted pounds without paying for fancy drinks or pills or even a gym membership? Even though I was cooking low fat vegetarian food at home...I seemed to be stuck on a plateau of sorts...my weight was actually starting to go up a teeny bit and I needed to make some changes...and fast!
Here's how I did it:
It all started (the proverbial kick in my pants)...I was watching TannyRaw on YouTube. She gave a simple little statement that is so basic....so seemingly tiny...but it still blew my mind:
"What is your ideal weight? Find out the calories you need to be eating to maintain your ideal weight...and start eating within that range."
Okay..STEP ONE sounds too easy, right?? I thought so anyways. But it made so much sense! Like, if you drastically cut your calories just to lose weight, obviously you'll gain it back if you go back to your regular eating habits. BUT if you change your way of thinking....making it a lifestyle change...you will just get used to eating that amount of calories and you'll be able to maintain your ideal weight and keep the unwanted pounds off! It won't be like you're out there, floundering around, with no real maintenance plan in place.
That is your plan: Eat For Your Goal Weight
Okay...well, how do you know how much you should be eating for your goal weight?
I used this calculator...it also takes into account your age (which really does play a role due to your metabolism getting slower as you age)...CLICK HERE FOR THE CALCULATOR.
So that was STEP ONE: finding out how much you should be eating.
STEP TWO is finding out how you've been cheating yourself with hidden calories and whatnot. This part is a little harder because this is where you have to hold yourself accountable. Don't worry...no one has to know this part...but it's still pretty embarrassing when you see for yourself how you've been cheating yourself out of your goal weight this whole time. (At least it was embarrassing for me....)
I knew that I was eating GREAT at home...but what about when I went out? I was eating out on Date Night, Saturday night and Sundays all day.
I downloaded the app My Fitness Pal onto my phone. It lets you look up the calories (and other nutritional information) of the foods you eat. It has almost every restaurant's menu that you can think of, too. So I put it to work. As it turned out, my problems definitely came from my food choices when I ate out.
I'm going to give some examples of what I mean...how I sabotaged my goals....maybe you'll be able to relate...
For reference, I am 36 years old, am 5'0" tall and want to weigh 120 lbs.
My daily calorie goal should be around 1300-1700 calories (since I am also breastfeeding).
Let's say I went out to eat on Date Night at Applebees....
I order the 4-Cheese Mac & Cheese with Honey Pepper Chicken Tenders, okay?
That alone has 1,580 calories!!
Now, I typically only eat half of that...but still!! Plus I shared a plate of appetizers with Antonio!
That can easily add on another 1000 calories!
And that was just in ONE meal!!
But I want to share with you some tips on how I lost the weight and to let you know that you can do it, too!! Are you ready to drop those unwanted pounds without paying for fancy drinks or pills or even a gym membership? Even though I was cooking low fat vegetarian food at home...I seemed to be stuck on a plateau of sorts...my weight was actually starting to go up a teeny bit and I needed to make some changes...and fast!
Here's how I did it:
It all started (the proverbial kick in my pants)...I was watching TannyRaw on YouTube. She gave a simple little statement that is so basic....so seemingly tiny...but it still blew my mind:
"What is your ideal weight? Find out the calories you need to be eating to maintain your ideal weight...and start eating within that range."
Okay..STEP ONE sounds too easy, right?? I thought so anyways. But it made so much sense! Like, if you drastically cut your calories just to lose weight, obviously you'll gain it back if you go back to your regular eating habits. BUT if you change your way of thinking....making it a lifestyle change...you will just get used to eating that amount of calories and you'll be able to maintain your ideal weight and keep the unwanted pounds off! It won't be like you're out there, floundering around, with no real maintenance plan in place.
That is your plan: Eat For Your Goal Weight
Okay...well, how do you know how much you should be eating for your goal weight?
I used this calculator...it also takes into account your age (which really does play a role due to your metabolism getting slower as you age)...CLICK HERE FOR THE CALCULATOR.
So that was STEP ONE: finding out how much you should be eating.
STEP TWO is finding out how you've been cheating yourself with hidden calories and whatnot. This part is a little harder because this is where you have to hold yourself accountable. Don't worry...no one has to know this part...but it's still pretty embarrassing when you see for yourself how you've been cheating yourself out of your goal weight this whole time. (At least it was embarrassing for me....)
I knew that I was eating GREAT at home...but what about when I went out? I was eating out on Date Night, Saturday night and Sundays all day.
I downloaded the app My Fitness Pal onto my phone. It lets you look up the calories (and other nutritional information) of the foods you eat. It has almost every restaurant's menu that you can think of, too. So I put it to work. As it turned out, my problems definitely came from my food choices when I ate out.
I'm going to give some examples of what I mean...how I sabotaged my goals....maybe you'll be able to relate...
For reference, I am 36 years old, am 5'0" tall and want to weigh 120 lbs.
My daily calorie goal should be around 1300-1700 calories (since I am also breastfeeding).
Let's say I went out to eat on Date Night at Applebees....
I order the 4-Cheese Mac & Cheese with Honey Pepper Chicken Tenders, okay?
That alone has 1,580 calories!!
Now, I typically only eat half of that...but still!! Plus I shared a plate of appetizers with Antonio!
That can easily add on another 1000 calories!
And that was just in ONE meal!!
Let's just assume that I ate about the same on Saturday nights when I went out with the whole family.
Holy guacamole, I can't believe I had never even bothered checking (or worrying about) how many calories!
Now...this was another huge slap in the face....
Our Sunday morning tradition has been to go to Dunkin Donuts and get a large frozen coffee. The large vanilla iced coffee with cream and sugar is just 220 calories...so, to my way of thinking, they're just adding more ice to make it frozen, right? Same calorie content (or close), right?
WRONG!!!
A large vanilla frozen coffee with cream and sugar is...almost 1000 calories!!
Plus I'd also sometimes have a sour cream donut (my personal favorite)...that is another 350 calories!
I ATE ALL OF MY DAILY CALORIES BEFORE NOON!!
Then add on lunch and dinner.
Yeah. And that's how I sabotaged myself. Some weeks, we'd even "treat" ourselves to an extra large frozen coffee randomly during the week.
Those calories added up.
And I realize that all of those "stubborn" pounds that didn't want to come off...well, I deserved every one of them. If it weren't for breastfeeding, I probably would have gained a lot more weight. (Breastfeeding can burn 300-500 calories per day)
I took action IMMEDIATELY. I'm a pretty balls-to-the-wall, go-big-or-go-home kinda gal. I had no one to blame but my own ignorance...but I was no longer ignorant and it was time to eat for my goal weight.
Another thing that you and I both need to remember: all calories are NOT created equal. Eating healthy, whole foods (not processed...or at least minimally processed)...those calories are better for you than fried, processed and fat-laden calories. So making sure the calories that you do consume are healthy...you will, more than likely, lose more weight faster.
I cut out most of our Saturday nights out and cook something delicious at home. If we do get something to eat, I make sure that it fits inside my daily calorie budget.
(Fun factoid: Did you know that a large Coke can run you an additional 250-300 calories?!)
In fact, I keep a daily food log with My Fitness Pal and count my calories every dang day.
I make sure that I do not go over my goal.
And the weight is just melting off, ya'll.
I've lost 6 lbs in the last 3 weeks just by eating the right amount of calories for my goal weight.
Oh!! By the way...I'm still allowing myself an occasional Dunkin Donuts treat...but I'll just order myself a SMALL iced french vanilla coffee...no cream, no sugar. The vanilla "swirl" they put in it is sweet enough, trust me. And that is only around 115 calories.
And as long as I continue on this path (know better, do better), I should not only reach my goal weight rather quickly but also KEEP OFF THOSE UNWANTED POUNDS.
Looking back, that's probably how I gained so little with my pregnancy with Isabel (15-20 lbs, I think it was)....because I didn't eat for two. I ate mostly at home because restaurant food sounded awful to me. And I lost it really fast after I had her. But then I went back to eating out...and look what I did by doing that. ::sigh:: Well, time to be good to myself and eat responsibly!
If you are wanting to lose weight...do you think that hidden "out to eat" calories are the culprit??
Do your research and be accountable, loves! You owe it to yourself!!
And, if you're feeling brave, let me know in the comments if you discovered that you, like me, have been sabotaging your own success!!
Sending you all love and light!!
xoxo
PS...For you breastfeeding mamas who are afraid to lose weight for fear of your milk drying up. I have not noticed any drop in my supply. In fact, my milk production seems to have picked up!
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