Oh boy...little did I know that a year later I would be regretting all those late night binges. I had no idea I would be anxiously getting up in the morning to check out my belly in the mirror and see how much smaller it had gotten overnight (only to be disappointed when it wasn't). They say it takes 9 months to put the weight on, and should take 9 months to come off. Well, the 9 month mark is quickly approaching and I'm still hovering right over my pre-pregnancy weight. I still have 5 pounds to go, not to mention the additional weight I would love to lose before even thinking about getting pregnant again.
I don't believe in "fad diets" such as Atkins, South Beach, Slim Fast, Special K, etc. What happens after you lose the weight? Have you learned anything about proper eating habits? I can pretty much bet that weight comes right back. Because of this, I have found it a bit difficult to find legit weight loss info online. There are a very few things I have learned, and for the most part, I try to incorporate them into my daily eating rituals.
Firstly, I have learned a lot about portion control. I now eat 90% of my meals off the small plates (so hard when dining on Chicken & broccoli Alfredo!-which yes, I realize is awful for dieting), I am trying to eat several small meals instead of 3 large ones, and we now eat dinner between 6-6:30 vs. the 9 p.m. dinners we were having a few months ago so we could dine in peace. This one works in our favor, though, now that Addison is eating on her own, we actually have pleasant family meals.
On top of portion control, I have learned what to eat, and what not to eat. Surprisingly, ice cream ended up on the What Not To Eat list :( Who would have thought?! I have learned how important fiber is in your daily diet. According to my nutritionist, if you take the number of calories you eat a day, and subtract the amount of fat, that's how many calories you are actually ingesting. You'd be surprised how much fresh fruit I eat now!
Also, a great piece of advice I received was to make sure and eat some lean protein at every meal to keep your appetite in check. I love me some carbs, so this is by far the hardest part of dieting for me. I just try and add some chicken to my pasta and salads to ensure that I'm not hungry again an hour later.
Unfortunately, I know I still won't reach my full weight-loss potential while sitting around watching TV and playing with my daughter. I am trying my darnedest (Okay, that's a lie) to get back into Pilates-great for pulling in the abs after childbirth and great for toning your whole body-but between getting sick, and then the heat...excuses excuses! I also checked out this great fun class called Zumba! When we can afford a gym membership, I am definitely thinking of enrolling in this class! I'm actually excited about it!
Beyond this, though...I am at a loss. I keep hoping against hope that this weight will just melt off in this heat. Well, at least 2 pounds did so far! I'll weigh myself again this weekend and see if that continued or if me binging on ice cream and Popsicles kept that from happening. Sigh. I read this quote that I thought would be very encouraging for me: "Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels." The only problem with this is, it isn't quite as movtivating when you add "...except for french fries," to the end of it.
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