Meeting My Goals...How I Did It.

I have lost 40 lbs...I am a size 10, with room!!!!!! WOOT!!! I want to shout it from the rooftops, jump up and down, do the victory dance....THIS IS SO HUGE! I haven't been here since marriage with my weight and I haven't been this size since Junior High!!!!!

September was rough with more cheats than I wanted to have, but I survived and just this first part of October the weight and inches are just falling off again. This has been my goal since...well, since after I had Hailey. It's taken me so long to figure out how to lose it. Really. I have no problem with the exercise thing, although when I began that years ago, it was really tough. The habit with exercise was established but eating right has been the hard thing. I love to eat healthy, but I'm realizing I've been eating too much food. It really comes down to calories in and calories out, but more importantly what kind of calories you are putting in and putting in the right combinations. I've struggled with the "carb" and "fat" issue for years. Do I eat carbs? Do I eat fat? For years the NO FAT thing was huge, but that is so WRONG! So, I added in fat, but then I was eating too much (nuts, cheese, good oils). As for carbs, I lost weight many times before cutting out my carbs. That works temporarily but there is no way you can maintain that, so I would add back in my carbs, but too many carbs, and would then gain back the blasted 10-15 pounds I was always trying to get off.

I'm very grateful for my friend Melanie, who gave me her "formula". She competed in a Naturals Bodybuilding show and trimmed 30+ lbs. She looked amazing! If I could lift weights with her for a year and she could trim down, then so could I, right?! I am grateful for her motivating me.

So, I will give you the formula...it's simple really, but may seem sort of technical. Do with it what you will. I will also post on here a couple of books I've been reading that encourage the same way of eating, plus also have some great ideas for exercise. Check them out at the library! (Look at bottom of post for book titles)

Calories each day: 1500 (to trim last 10-15 lbs, reduce to 1200 calories, this is where I am now)
Fat grams per day: 1.5 grams of fat per body fat percentage you are...so if you are 30% body fat, then you should eat no more than 45 grams of fat each day.

AVOID eating Fat around your workout!!!

Carbohydrate Intake Daily: NO MORE than what you weight...in grams. So if you weight 200 lbs., then eat NO MORE than 200 grams!! I would try to keep my carbs around 100 grams per day. It's important to eat less carbs, but DO NOT cut them out of your diet. You need them for energy. DO NOT eat less than 50 carbs per day. Your brain needs carbs to function ;) It is important to cut back on carbs in order to lose. If you find that you are not losing weight, then really watch where your carbs are coming from and when you are eating them.

EAT CARBS EARLY IN THE DAY!!!! DO NOT eat carbs before bed...why do you need energy to sleep?! You need carbs around your workout, so, if you workout in the evening, eat your carbs (1/2 cup rice, 1 slice whole grain bread, 1/2 cup oatmeal, sweet potatoes, fruit) ONE hour before your workout in the evening. This will ensure you have the energy you need to not die out there!

My husband put together a great template in Excel where I could track all of these things, if you would like a copy, then email me at jen78johns@yahoo.com. I would be happy to answer any specific questions that way as well!

I am on a quest to get to my "ideal" weight, so that is another 15 pounds. I would like to see if I could be a size 4-6. I had a friend on Facebook say to me " be happy where you are, don't keep dangling the carrot in front of yourself, when you've accomplished so much". I agree with her, but then again, this is a lifestyle change for me. I AM happy where I'm at...soooo happy! If I continue eating right and exercising, then it will come off, if need be...and if not, so what?!

Stay tuned....I have a AWESOME Protein Pancake recipe you'll love!

Books:
Body at Home by Jorge Cruise
Body for Life by Bill Phillips

Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal

I'm not kidding. This is truly the BEST frickin oatmeal I've ever eaten and my new favorite treat every morning for breakfast!!! I got this amazing recipe from THIS site.

Pumpkin Pie for Breakfast

1/2 cup dry oatmeal (instant or rolled oats)
1 cup water
1/4 cup pumpkin puree
2 packets or one dropper Stevia
1/2 to 1 teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice

Put Oats and Water in a large bowl. Microwave on high for 2 minutes. Stir in pumpkin, Stevia, and spices.

The original recipe calls for vanilla extract, I omitted that and I used Almond milk to make it more creamy. Feel free to experiment :)

Enjoy!!!

Fresh Salsa

SI love this time of year when all the tomatoes come on at once! The best way to plow through them is to make Salsa! I love fresh salsa and throw in some homemade tortilla chips...NUM!

Super Easy No Fail Salsa

10 fresh tomatoes, diced in thick chunks
1 whole sweet onion, diced
1 bunch of cilantro, chopped
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon cumin
2 teaspoons or more of Salt
Dash of pepper
Dash of Cayenne

Mix together and enjoy! I love this on my salads...

Stuck

I have lost about another 4 pounds or so since my last post. I'm so happy with my weight loss and the success I've seen. I'm so happy that my 12's are baggy and fit so well. However, I'm so frustrated, because this is where I always get stuck. I want to have size 10's fit me this well :( I did have a couple of cheats this month and that probably slowed things down a bit, but I also think that I'm down to my last 8 pounds to my goal, so I know it will not come easily or quickly. I think this is somehow harder than in the beginning. I want to sneak little bites of things here and there and that wouldn't be such a bad thing (even with my cheats I've lost weight or maintained), it's not helping me reach my goal. I have to tell myself to hang in there and be very strict until I reach my goal and then maintain that.

This last month my little brother has been out running and going to the gym with me. It is so nice to have a buddy to work out with again. I've missed it. I ran 3 miles the other morning and it was so much easier and I ran it in about 27 minutes. That is...what...9 minute miles?! I feel strong and healthy and I'm so happy with how far I've come. I have to keep that in mind when I get discouraged :)

Size 12

I'm just too excited to wait until the end of the month. I have to post! I have lost another 6 pounds since my last post. My 12's fit very nicely, and are starting to get baggy! I can't believe it! I tried on my wedding dress yesterday...it fit. My shoulders are wide because of my lifting the last few years, so it was pretty tight there, but it went easily over my waist and hips. I was so excited, words just can't express, lol. My goal is a 10 and I'm about 10-12 pounds from my goal weight. The most interesting thing is I am 10 pounds heavier now than when I got married, but I was a size 10/12 then. It's interesting what muscle does to change your body shape. It convinces me all the more that weight and size mean nothing if you aren't toned and fit. I'm excited to see what happens over the next few weeks. I hope to hit my goals within the month! I'll keep you posted!

A few more...

I had to take this picture, because these pants are finally lose in the waist and I couldn't even put them on 2 months ago (they look big, but the waist is small). This shirt, I could never button, I would just wear it over white shirts. I can button it and there is tonz of room. The sleeves used to be tight, now, lots of room! Yay!

I have lost another 4 pounds since I last posted. So, since this is working I will finally tell you my size of jeans when I began this journey :) I WAS a WHOPPING size 18 or so. I am now comfortably wearing 14's. My hope is to be in my 12's by Labor Day. I have lost a total of about 22 pounds. I have 19 to go until I'm at my goal. My goal is to be in a size 10. I've never been below that. I'll be elated to reach that goal and if I continue to lose, it would be beyond my wildest dreams. I am so excited to be in clothes that I have not worn in 3 years! I LOVE the things I'm eating now. It's so simple. I do miss cooking all kinds of things like spaghetti and enchilada's and will do so once I reach my weight and I will do it healthy, but until then, I have to be strict about the amount of carbs, fat, and calories I'm taking in and it's easier to do it with the menu's I've created for myself. I posted some of what I'm doing on my last post. I have hit a sort of plateau, but I'm confident things will begin to change in the next week or so.

I told myself I will have a cheat every 10 pounds, so over the 24th of July, my SIL made the most amazing Pumpkin Cobbler in the dutch oven. Let me tell you, I indulged! It was so amazing! Next month, it's roasting marshmallows with the kiddo's. I can't wait!

The other thing I'm pretty excited about is how my exercising has improved. Running has become so much easier and instead of 11:30 miles, I'm running 10:30 miles and even 10 minute miles on good days! I can't tell you how great it feels! When I see these kinds of improvements, it makes it so much easier to take better care of myself.

I will try to update around Labor Day and tell you my progress!

Do you see that bicep? It's beginning to show. LOL! There is a small bump :)

Down one size...

I have lost 6 more pounds! Well, lets just say I had gained a couple and then lost them...so all in all, I've lost 20 lbs. I've dropped 2 sizes. It feels so wonderful! I committed to start and then wasn't super strict until the last few weeks. I have been very diligent and it is starting to show. I'm 20 lbs away from my goal, but I would like to lose 30 lbs to be close to what they say I should be, you know, those silly BMI people ;)

Here's what I'm eating:
Breakfast:
1/3 cup oatmeal with almond milk, stevia, cinnamon, maple flavoring
1 whole egg, 3-4 egg whites (scrambled)

snack: Protein shake, with water and banana

Lunch:
Huge salad, Walden Farms (no calorie, no sugar, no carb) salad dressing (found at Harmons)
4-5 oz of chicken or steak
1/2 cup brown rice or Quinoa or 1/2 small sweet potato, or one small sprouted wheat tortilla

Dinner: Same as Lunch. If I'm not in the mood for a salad, I will stir fry veggies (broccoli, peppers, celery, carrots, etc.)

Snack:Protein shake with peanut butter (1 Tablespoon), water, cinnamon

I've cut out all dairy. If I use anything at all I stick to Almond Milk. I stay away from most fats, except for those good fats and even then I limit them to about 1 tablespoon a day. For condiments I will sometimes have no more than about a 1 tablespoon of ketchup. I like taco sauce or tapitio (sp?). I also will have soy sauce. I love things with lots of flavor like pickles, raw onions or garlic on my salads.

For exercise:
4-5 days a week...
Lift weights 15-30 minutes and then 30-45 minutes cardio (spinning, running).

I try to keep my exercise around an hour. It TOTALLY helps to have a workout buddy! I'm so grateful for my sister-in-law Stephanie! I also have to admit that this menu in general, along with lots of good advice, I got from my friend Melanie, who is a personal trainer herself and was in the last NPC Naturals show won 2nd place in the bodybuilding women's competition. Thanks Mel!