Lose Weight Now

I have never been a fan of the ultra-low rise pants, but after having two kids within the past 2 years, I have learned that no low rise pants are a friend of mine. Can we say muffin-top? For all you that don’t know what a muffin-top is, it’s the fat that hangs out over the tops of your pants.

I don’t care if I go up two sizes in my pants, I still can’t wear the low rise pants. Which I guess is ok, since I am a mother now and I should be shopping in the women’s department and not in the juniors. But if you look at places like Gap, Old Navy, and even Express, they have low rise pants and they are geared towards women. But, anyways, for now I am stuck with normal rise jeans that sit right below the belly button.  No, I am not wearing mom jeans, that go up above the belly button, but until I probably lose another 20-30 pounds, I am not even going to try to wear the low rise pants.

So, after your pregnancy or pregnancies, was there something that you found just did not fit you anymore like it used to?

In case you haven’t noticed I have not posted on here in awhile. My life has just been hectic lately. I have been trying to work from home more and taking on more clients while at the same time trying to watch my two little ones, trying to fit in exercise, see my husband every once in awhile and get a couple hours of sleep. Well, you can guess what got put on the back burner? Exercise and sleep.. two very important things.

So, I have made the resolution again that I am getting back on track. The weather is getting nicer (thank goodness) and I am trying to make a schedule out for working at home and getting everything else accomplished. Losing this weight is not a choice, it is a must.

One good thing though, is that during these past 2 weeks of getting off track, I have not gained any weight, so at least I did not put myself behind. So, I have 2 pounds to lose within the next 13 days to reach my first goal. That is so doable and I can do it. How has everyone else been doing with their weight loss?

As I mentioned before, I have all kinds of different sizes in my closet from when I was pregnant and afterwards. The lowest size that I have in my closet is a 6, which is were I would love to be again by the end of the year. When I look at my closet it actually makes me sick. First of all, the money that I have had to spend on different size clothing could have been better spent on buying one or two sizes and actually getting use out of them. Secondly, I look at my size 6 pants and dresses and I get so discouraged. They are probably half of what I am now. I can’t even pull the pants up past my thighs.

 Now, I know that I just had a baby less than 3 months ago, but this is not all baby weight. I have mentioned before that I gained honeymoon weight as well. Sometimes my weight loss just seems like too big of a task. I am only 2 pounds away from my first goal but yet I can’t get the bigger picture out of my mind. I am 22 pounds away from my pre-pregnancy weight and 45 pounds away from ultimate goal. It just feels like it’s just too much to handle.

 I know I am the same person who told everybody to concentrate on short term goals, but it is so much easier to give advice than actually take your advice. So, I have placed my size 6 pants out were I can see to motivate me. I am going to turn this around and use them to motivate me instead of frustrate me.

I also vow not to go shopping again for clothes, unless it is something that I need (like maybe a new dress for Easter), until I can fit into a size 8 again. This way I will not waste money, because I am not going to be this size for long!

I can’t believe it is already week 8 and it’s going to be March already! I’m still longing for that warm spring weather to come.

Here are the stats for this week:

We are all guilty of it, comparing ourselves to others. We do this for all sorts of things, such as is she smarter than me? Do they have nicer things than me? And most of all, Is she prettier/skinnier than me? Most women won’t admit it but the first thing they do when they meet a new female, is they check her out. It’s true, and you can’t say you don’t. You always compare your body to hers. Is she skinnier? Is she prettier? I think this why women have trouble getting along at first. They are too busy being competitive.

 What I realized the other day is that how can you ever feel good about your body if you are constantly comparing it to others? You are always going to find that someone is prettier than you or skinnier than you, even if they aren’t. If you start putting yourself down, you are never going to measure up in your eyes. Every woman has a different body. In fact, you will never find two woman that have the exact same body. Some woman may carry more weight in their stomach while another one may carry it in her thighs. Or some woman may be too skinny. Every woman can find one thing on her body that she doesn’t like. It could be a facial feature or it could be a body part.

 Instead of comparing yourself to others, what you should to do is compare yourself to yourself. How much healthier are you now than before? How much weight have you lost? How high is your self-esteem now? You might also find that you aren’t as closed off to other woman also and you may be able to make more girlfriends. When you are confident in yourself it will show and you have nothing to be jealous about, so others will want to be around you. So, stop comparing yourself to others and you can get more self-esteem along with a couple new friends!

About a month ago, I posted about my new workout DVDs called 10 Minute Trainer. You may have seen them on infomercials from BeachBody. The instructor on the videos is Tony Horton, who also makes the famous P90x series. Since I purchased this series, I really haven’t done them that much. I like the more fun exercises like Turbo Jam and Hip Hop Abs, rather do actual calisthenics and things that I find boring.

 Well, I was watching television this past weekend and I saw the infomercial for 10 Minute Trainer again and it kind of  got me re-motivated to use the workouts on a consistent basis. The testimonies on the infomercial were outstanding. People going from wearing a size 14 to a size 6. I want to be the size 6 person! So, I have decided to re-visit the workouts. My goal is to do the 10 Minute Trainer videos at least 5 times a week. They are only 10 minutes (14 if you count the warm-up and cool-down) so I am attempting to try to fit them in along with the Turbo Jam and Hip Hop Abs. Right now I have a renewed motivation to get back down to were I want to be. Hopefully this motivation last for awhile!

Despite all of your efforts to lose weight, it is bound to happen that you are going to hit a weight loss plateau and your weight loss will stall. This is the point in the weight loss program that so many people quit. When the scale stops moving, so do people. It can get quite frustrating, as I have been there. I think anybody who has ever tried to lose weight has been there. The key is to move on and get through it. You may be surprised that it may just take one little tweak to your program and you will be back to losing weight in no time.

Here are some ways that you can get over that weight loss plateau and start losing weight again:

1. Keep a food journal for a couple of days and see exactly what you eat. Sometimes you may not realize that you are eating too much, as little snacks add up. Or maybe you are not eating enough. Your calories should never be below 1,000 a day as this will only stall your metabolism and send it into starvation mode. If you are eating too much, cut out an extra 200 calories a day to start and see if that gets you losing weight again.

 2. If you haven’t done so already, add weight training to your exercise routine. Having muscle will actually help you burn more fat when you are just sitting on the couch relaxing or when you are sleeping. Muscle raises your metabolic rate as it takes more energy to sustain muscle than fat.

3. Simply add 10 more minutes of cardio to your routine. You don’t even have to add it into your regular routine, but can add 10 more minutes later in the day. Instead of running for 2 miles, try running for 3 instead. If you workout to a DVD, do the DVD and then do some jump roping or go for a walk also. Simply adding about 30-40 more minutes of cardio in a weight, can trigger more weight loss.

4. Try something new. This may mean a new healthy food or a new form of exercise. Losing weight may become common place and every once in awhile you need to shake it up a little bit. Don’t get bored. If you are bored, then you may not be putting in a full effort, which could be the cause for the plateau. Be creative and do something new.

I have been bad lately. I have been procrastinating about exercising every day for the past week of so. I keep saying that I will do it when my husband gets home from work, or after dinner, or when the kids fall asleep… guess what? Before I know it, it’s 10:00 at night and I then really don’t feel like exercising.

I think it’s just the actual starting up of the exercise that just makes me not want to do it lately. Because once I get going, I have no problem continuing and exercising. I actually enjoy exercising once I start. So, what is my problem?

I think that I just have so much to do, as I am still pursuing freelance writing and have been getting more and more clients, which means more work and less time to exercise. But it also means more money and less stress in my life. I think that I just have to establish a balance, between writing, exercising, taking care of the kids and house, and finding time to sleep and relax. I’m working on it but  it just seems like there is never enough hours in the day.

Have you ever noticed that when you started eating better and more nutritious food that your skin looked a lot healthier. Eating a balanced and nutritious diet, benefits your skin greatly. Your skin is the biggest organ you have and it needs certain vitamins and nutrients. By not eating healthy, you are depriving your skin of those nutrients. In return, your skin will look dull, discolored, or you may get frequent acne breakouts. You can simply change the appearance of your skin and bring it back to life with a healthy diet and plenty of water.

 So, no only will the inside of your body benefit from a healthy diet, but the outside will too. At the same time you are losing weight, you can be making your skin glow and look radiant. Try adding more fruits and vegetables to your diet day by day and you will soon see your skin clearing up and looking healthier every day.  

Photo Credit: bobike@www.sxc.hu

Lately I have been so busy with my writing and taking care of the kids that I have not watched any television. Well , this morning I turned on the television and what do I see? A new infomercial for a new workout series. It’s called ChaLean Extreme and its actually done by Chalene Johnson who does Turbo Jam. This is another workout series that is produced by BeachBody.

The workouts are comprised of 3 different levels, but mostly include weight training with cardio mixed it. The point it to build lean muscle so that you burn more fat.

 I was so tempted to whip my credit card out and order this workout, but I resisted and just continued to watch the infomercial. If I can reach my goal of losing all the pregnancy weight by 6 months then I will allow this new program to be my reward. Yes,  I am rewarding myself with more exercise. I love Chalene and the videos look great and not boring like normal weight training.

 So, has anyone out there tried this ChaLean Extreme yet? Let me know if you like and if it is worth the money!