The insanely short explanation is...I track my food and I exercise.
Which is in all honestly the only things I have done but I can not just say that without an explanation because getting to this point has been anything but as easy as that sounds.
When I was pregnant with Tucker, I wasn't super concerned with what I was eating and due to some random pregnancy symptoms, I was kind of terrified to do any working out. I gained a lot of weight. 70lbs to be exact. After I had Tucker I kept on A LOT of that weight. It was hard for me to motivate to work out because it wasn't a habit when I got pregnant and it's really hard to start a habit when you have a child who doesn't sleep through the night for the first year of their life. Plus, some people drop weight breastfeeding, I did not. I lost some but not all of it...because I was hungry ALLLLL the time. When Tucker started sleeping and I didn't feel like a zombie, I started to incorporate a little more exercise into my life. Shortly after that my mom went on hospice and I began driving back and forth from my parents pretty much every week and the whole exercise thing got put on the back burner.
The most important thing about all that is, I gave myself some grace during the first year and a half after Tucker was born. I was a new mom, I was tired, I started a job two days a week, I was tired, I started losing my mom, I was exhausted. Life happens and sometimes I honestly believe it's not the right time to start up a new lifestyle so I kind of just didn't. I didn't gain weight, but I wasn't losing any either. A few short months after my mom passed away in October of 2015, I found out I was pregnant with Noella. It was right before Christmas and although I had kind of started to watch what I was eating a little more, that surely halted the whole weight loss idea. With Noella I wanted to do better. I didn't want to gain as much weight and I wanted to be more active. I ended up with gestational diabetes (which was HUGELY frustrating and annoying) but I kind of credit that with kick starting my lifestyle change.
I was forced to start tracking my food and watching what I put into my body. I have been tracking my food now for over a year and that part is HUGE. WITHOUT ANY EXERCISE I lost almost 30lbs in the 6 months after having Noella. Tracking food and realizing how much crap you actually eat is kind of an eye opener and naturally makes you change your habits. Who wants to put in a 400+ calorie starbucks drink in more than once in a while....
In April a friend (thanks Beth) challenged me and a few of her friends to exercise every day for 100 days. This is when I began to incorporate exercise. Because I began exercising, I allowed my sister (thanks Jana) to start helping with my nutrition because she was in the process of getting her nutrition certification and I figured I'd let her test out some of her knowledge. I started out slow. I would walk/run a mile on the treadmill. I would go for short walks outside. I would do little 7 min exercises, and I would try to do SOMETHING daily. The accountability was huge because we would check in via text every day. It forced me to get off my butt and do something. I began seeing more progress, began fitting into clothes better, and stopped hating pictures of myself (huge...that was huge). Once you see progress you become more motivated. I lengthened my workouts, I subscribed to beachbody on demand to incorporate some weight training and plyometrics. I wanted to mix things up so I didn't get bored. I was eating a lot and eating well to fuel my body and keep up with my activity level and I felt pretty great. Measuring carbs, proteins and fats allow you to have the freedom to eat what you want but inside certain parameters. Cuts your portion size naturally and fuels your body for your specific activity level and goals.
Just recently I participated in a 6 week fitness challenge (money was on the line...it wasn't hard to commit to) but I was a little terrified. It involved challenges that I knew would be difficult but I had already been tracking my food so that huge part of it was easy. Mostly, I just knew the accountability would be necessary since my previous 100 days of exercise was over. I received the information about the fitness test I would need to complete and I told my sister it was nice knowing her. It involved running a mile, air squats, lunges, pushups, situps and burpees. I do not do burpees. I have since done an INSANE amount of burpees (like 70 in one day...stupid) but it all pushed me in the best way possible and I feel like I am in the best shape of my life. I FEEL amazing. A lot of this is about numbers on a scale but I'll tell you, that's definitely not the most important thing. I can chase after my kids outside and not feel winded, I can look at a picture of myself and not hate it, I can run a mile in less than 9 minutes (that might be slow to some, but that is not slow to me haha), I have done burpees, I have found something inside myself that makes me feel like the athlete I once was and I kind of love it.
So when people say "you look great, what have you been doing" it's kind of hard for me to answer. Because there is a short answer and there is my long "why" answer. This random rambling (probably nonsese) is my why answer. I found something that worked for me. It didn't involve supplements, or programs or anything that I tend to not like to by into (if it works for you, awesome!!) I found motivation. Watching my mom pass away was honestly a huge part of it. If I ever have to battle something, I want my body to be ready. I want to do everything I can to put up a fight. I am praying I never have to worry about that, but I want to be ready. I STARTED! Just start somewhere. It takes a lot to get started on anything. On tracking food because it's annoying, on exercise because it's hard to make time or just effort...but just start somewhere. Most importantly, find a why. If you have a reason to get yourself into a healthier lifestyle, it makes it easier. Remind yourself why you are doing what you are doing. Know that it's bigger than the number on a scale. Overall health can't be measured by just a number.
So that's the long and short of it. I figured maybe if I type this out, when I have days where I struggle to stay motivated I can come back and read this and remember what got me here! I am going to add a before and after picture because honestly, the change is SLOW sometimes and you don't realize how far you've come until you look at where you've come from. The before is from June 2015 and the after is from today. <3
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