In the real world, most moms of a one and three year old probably have some extra pounds on them. But my case was pretty drastic. I had gone from 136 lbs with my older child to 220 by the time I had my second. A year after the birth of my second child, I found myself weighing in a whopping 195 lbs. And while I still carried on with life as normal, deep down I wasn’t happy with the shell that I was living in. I knew something had to change but never could quite muster up the determination to see through any diet or exercise plan.
However, all that changed one Sunday morning. The night before, my husband and I had gone to a friend’s party and I recall feeling very inadequate seeing many of the other women looking slim and fit. Although my husband always tried to make me feel beautiful and never complained about my body, I wasn’t satisfied with the way I looked. So after a night of deep reflection, I woke up that Sunday morning and prayed to God to help me find the right diet and exercise plan that worked for me and give me the spirit of winning this battle of weight loss. After that prayer, I put on my sneakers and ran a half mile outside my home. All the while envisioning the new me.
And that was the beginning of the new me. I decided to try a carbohydrate free diet and include a workout regimen that consisted of 35 minutes of cardio activity 5 days a week, pushups and sit-ups.
For my meals, I would eat 5 meals a day which included 3 main meals and 2 snacks. Examples of what I’d eat for breakfast were vegetable egg omelets, cheese, turkey sausage, peanut butter, nuts, etc. and coffee with skim milk and artificial sweeteners. For lunch, I would have a salad every day with a protein or vegetables and protein. And for dinner, it would be the same thing as lunch except I would just switch up the protein and vegetables. Every now and then when I had a sweet craving, I would have a citrus fruit or berry or drink sugar free coffee or drinks,
What helped me stay on track when I wanted to quit was constantly remembering the feeling I had that night in the party and visions of how I looked in college. Also, I weighed myself every week to track progress and that also motivated me each time the scale dropped.
Nine months after I started this diet and exercise plan, I’d lost a total of 51 pounds and was at my freshman year college weight. I had successfully achieved my weight goal and couldn’t be happier. It showed in the way I dressed, how I interacted with my children and social settings. I became a new person and I loved her. Also everyone started treating me nicer from complete strangers to co-workers, family and friends. At work, I started getting offered more visible roles and it made a difference in my salary.
My advice for women especially moms who are trying to lose weight is – Don’t be too hard on yourself. Your body has been through changes and as we get older the change continues. To lose weight successfully, you need to be 100% ready in mind, body and spirit. I believe any diet can work but you have to get to that rock bottom place where you feel desperate and have no other option but to drop the weight. Once you get to that place reach for something deeper to sustain you on the mission. For me it was soul searching and reaching for a higher power – God for help. Set a weight goal and reflect daily on your mission to keep it front and center. As humans we sometimes fall off the train but stick with it, be consistent and slowly but surely, you will get there.
Signed by,
A Queen