Hello friends. Well I have been getting a lot of diet and exercise questions lately, I think it’s because summer is coming and we all want to look great in our bathing suits, me included. So I decided better get to writing, so hear I am trying to decide how to go about all this diet stuff. First off I must tell you I am NOT certified in any kind of Diet or exercise programs I am just sharing what has worked for me. I also want to start off by telling you that like most woman my body image and my weight is something I have struggled with my entire life. I went through stages of being overweight, all the way up to 200 lbs, and way underweight, 115, as well. I have since found a place called my happy weight; it is the weight that I feel my best at which is 135. I am 5’7, which is pretty tall, and at 135 I feel my best, I am lean and have muscle and I still have my curves! I have tried every diet out there and have also done things the wrong way as well. So I am here to share what I have learned has worked for me over the years.
The one diet I have to say works more than other I have tried is Weight Watchers it was the first diet I had tried that I ate real food that I bought and prepared and could even go to restaurants and still lose weight! It was great I did the counting points side of the diet and it truly taught me how to eat right and how important portion control is. You can check the out here !
Now I have gotten to a point where I don’t have to count points anymore. I LOVE food more than anything and have weakness’s BIG ones mostly sweets and carb’s so I had to learn to control those without completely taking them out of my diet. I don’t believe in saying NO you can’t eat that, I think you can but in moderation. You can’t eat a cupcake every single day but you can once a week and it’s going to taste so much better when you do!
If you watched The Bachelor Pad you may remember the pie-eating contest that I had to bow out of. About two years ago I became really sick and wasn’t able to eat much, after lots of Dr’s and tests they figured out that I had gallstones, big ones, and was going to have to have my gallbladder removed. This was a fairly easy surgery, which a lot of people have and live their normal lives after it. After the surgery the Dr’s told me that for a while it would be hard to digest many foods so I needed to take it easy and start slow. Well I did and everything was making me sick, after months of this and lots more testing the Dr’s told me that I am one of the few people that’s bodies have a hard time adjusting to digestion without a gallbladder and that I would have a much harder time digesting fatty foods and I should cut out things that are high fat, fried and greasy, basically all the good stuff. Good-bye In N Out. When I did try foods that were on the do not eat list I would end up in ER so I quickly stopped trying. So I had to learn to eat again and it’s been hard. I basically can eat clean foods, which you think would keep me pretty thin but because I do fine with breads and carb’s I keep the weight on.
HA that’s me crying and telling Chris I can’t eat all that pie or I will end up in the hospital and that wouldn’t help me win $250K, I am not a very cute crier hehe.
My diet at this point is pretty bland and also pretty consistent for fear of getting so sick I end up in the ER again.
I am and egg white and toast girl in the AM they make me happy and keep me full of energy until lunch. If I am feeling like living on the edge I will have half of an onion bagel with fat free cream cheese on it, wooohoo living loud now. COFFEE is a must for me as well I use fat free coffee mate and a splenda and it’s delish!
In between breakfast and lunch I like to have a snack, I usually have a Luna or cliff bar they are really yummy.
For lunch is always a salad, I Love salad and I only eat spinach or kale salads these days. I use to eat all the other kinds of lettuce but never felt full and wasn’t getting half the nutrition I can get by eating spinach or kale. I always have some protein on my salad as well either chicken or Hard boiled eggs, whatever is at the salad bar that day and for dressing well I don’t like many so I use very very little extra virgin olive oil, a little garlic salt, and apple cider vinegar. It’s the best, apple cider vinegar is so good for you it helps aid in digestion and helps burn fat!
I usually like a snack before dinner as well and my afternoon snack is an apple and almonds, I love Fiji apples they are so sweet and yummy and raw almonds make the perfect pairing.
Dinner is a toss up this one I change up much more often. Sometimes it’s more salad, spinach or kale, and sometimes its sushi, which I have become a big fan of recently. I like California roles, salmon and yellowtail mmm making me hungry just typing. I also love to make chicken on my George Forman, it always cooks all the way through and takes out all the fat, I usually pair this with any green vegetable but mostly asparagus because its my FAVORITE! I only put lemon on my asparagus with a touch of extra virgin olive oil. I will also eat pasta every so often as well, which I make at home because most of the sauces in the jar make me sick and have too much additives as well.
Cant forget my sweet tooth which I get all the time and if I don’t I end up eating the entire bake shop. I like Fat free chocolate pudding with fat free cool whip or sugar free Jell-O with fat free cool whip its amazing!
I am also a big juicer I LOVE to juice and will start posting some of the juices I make.
AS for exercise well it is key as well. Eating healthy is a priority but exercising just makes you feel good. I have worked with trainers and find that most talk a lot about results but don’t listen to your wants and needs, so again I found what worked for me. I practice Yoga twice a week with an amazing yoga instructor in West Hollywood, I have been practicing now for about a year and there is a complete difference in my body and the way I feel. It is an amazing exercise that not only strengthens your body but it really does soothe your soul and quiet your mind. I find my body craving that quiet time and needing it. When I miss a class I can tell I am off, it’s amazing. I also have started running this year, ugh right. Two Christmas’s ago when I was home my cousin Courtney and our friend Dina told me about this thing called couch to 5k and that I could download these podcasts and t would teach me to run and build me up to run a 5k. Two years later I actually tried it and fell in love with running, not only do I feel amazing after I finish but it truly transforms your body. I started off by running on a treadmill and recently switched to running outside and boy what a difference. I can’t run as fast pr as far outside and I am trying to build myself back up but I cant lie I may just go back to treadmill running.
You can get more info on Couch to 5K here ! The podcasts that I used you can find HERE ! If that link doesnt work search couch to 5K on Itunes I used Robert Ullrey’s.
I practice yoga on Tuesday and Thursday and I run on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. On my running days I try and add other stuff in as well like crunches, we all hate them but they have to be done and lunges and squats as well I like have a big booty and want to keep it and lunges and squats help keep it in shape!
Like I said earlier I am no expert and I am just sharing what has worked for me. As soon as I start eating healthy and working out I notice not only a shift in my body by also my attitude I feel happier and have way more energy and I have to say after a run I actually feel sexy and what woman doesn’t want to feel sexy! Ladies its not about how much we weight but how happy we are with ourselves and by staying healthy and taking care of ourselves we become happy with the way we look and feel no matter what weight we are. The more you eat healthy and stay active the sexier we will feel and then the pounds just come off. So start small and build your way up it’s the only way it works and don’t listen to the newest fad, find what works for you, your body, and your schedule! Make sure and do one active thing each day for at least thirty minutes, go for a walk, play with your kids, or chase a dog anything that gets that heart rate up and once you start moving you wont want to stop I promise. But remember to start slow, if you take on to much to fast you will either get hurt or feel overwhelmed, so small goals at first and one at a time you will cross them off your list and start feeling amazing!
If you have any questions please let me now and please share what works for you as well. I love to try new things and we can all learn from one another. Can’t wait to hear all your stories! Stay healthy and every once in a while EAT THAT CUPCAKE!
Xoxo
