Motivation and Getting Started...

I feel like I have so much I want to share! I hope I can get it all out well enough to not overwhelm everyone and get my point across!

I thought I'd start with some motivation and basic "getting started" info!

One thing that has always been motivating to me is seeing real-life results! I had my before and after pictures on the 
blog before, but got a little embarrassed and took them down. After realizing that some people are at that same point I was when I started, I've decided to share them again. Hopefully my story will be relate-able enough to get the ball 
rolling for some of you! I realize that the things that motivated and inspired me may not be the same for everyone, so 
I've also asked some others in the group who I know have had success to share their stories and I'll be sharing those as the competition goes on. Here's my story in a nutshell:

After having my first baby and looking at the almost 90 lbs. I had to lose (I was about 30 lbs. overweight when I got pregnant), I became EXTREMELY overwhelmed! I felt like I didn't know how to choose a healthy meal, let alone make one! I didn't know how to grocery shop (I was in school before that and we pretty much lived off fast food) or exercise 
or really have any type of knowledge base bigger than the general knowledge that vegetables are better for you than cookies!

I ended up joining a weight-loss competition on a whim about a year after my son was born with the username 
"Someday Skinny".  I didn't really expect too much to happen. I'd "tried" to lose weight before and failed before I even got started. I think my big "AHA!" moment came when I heard the statistic we've all probably heard many times in our lives:

Weight loss is 80% diet and 20% exercise.

That realization has changed everything for me, and I've since ventured to say that for me personally, weight loss is about 97% diet and 3% exercise. (Anyone who knows me or my family, knows this was a tough realization for me! WE LOVE FOOD! We center gatherings, trips, entertainment, weekends, holidays, EVERYTHING around food!)

I started counting calories and have since changed my eating habits drastically. I've learned to LOVE healthy food, 
and found ways to make it taste good and still be enjoyable and the center of attention! :) I still have a long way to go and a lot to learn, but I've reached many of my goals and am excited to share what I've learned.

I had my first baby in January 2011.  As you can see, it took almost a year before I decided to do something about all the extra weight I was carrying.
I'm about 170 lbs. in the first picture, 135 in the second.

After gaining (and then having to lose) WAY too much weight the second time around as well, I feel like I've finally 
gotten a handle on what being at a healthy weight means to ME and how to go about it.

Dec. 2012-180 lbs., Feb. 2013-155lbs., April 2013-140lbs., July 2013-130lbs, Oct. 2013-133lbs.

I'm most definitely NOT an expert, but I've had several people ask me about menus/recipes/what worked for me, etc. 
and I thought a blog would be a great place to share some of those things.  With so many different diets and 
supplements and theories on health and nutrition out there, it's hard to appeal to everyone so keep in mind that these 
are all my opinions and what has worked for ME and the things I personally think are important with weight 
loss/health.

So, based on what I've learned, here is my advice to get started with weight loss:

DIET, DIET, DIET!

Image via Google

As I said above, I feel that for me personally, weight loss is about 97% diet and 3% exercise.  SO, when I'm giving people advice about where to start, especially if you feel like you're really starting from scratch like I did, I usually suggest they start by putting a significant amount of their focus on what they're eating.  In my experience, I've seen much faster and more noticeable results by focusing most of my planning and dedication on diet.

Just to be clear, I'm using the word "diet" as a noun, not a verb! I'm NOT saying, "you have to go on a diet", or "you have to diet". I'm saying you need to adopt a healthy diet. Eat clean, healthy and in reasonable portions 80% of the time!

A great way to be aware of and control what you're eating is to count calories or keep some sort of food journal. 

I realize that calorie counting is hard and tedious, but I highly recommend it if you've never done it before. Free apps like MyFitnessPal are a great way to help you realize exactly how much you're eating and help you decide how much you should be eating. Most people are surprised to find out exactly how much they're consuming vs. how much they need. When I first started counting calories, I learned that in order to MAINTAIN my current weight, I should've been eating about 1800 calories a day.  I was completely surprised to find out I was actually averaging between 2500 and 3500! Most people need a deficit of about 500 calories a day to lose weight. That could be a daily candy bar, or Blizzard, or shake! It's so important to understand the calorie load of the foods you're consuming!

Image via Google

Remember to make the calories you are eating healthy ones! Stock up on fruits and vegetables and whole grains. Most vegetables are so low calorie, you can eat very generous amounts and stay within your calorie goal. Try to substitute unhealthy ingredients in some of your favorite recipes for healthy ones.

If you've counted calories before, and are just plain sick of it, keeping a daily food journal is another great way to be aware of what you're eating. Writing it down or taking pictures of your food are other ways to be able to look back at exactly what you ate. I know a big pitfall for me is thinking I had a good eating day and then looking back and realizing, "oh yeah, I had seconds of dessert" or, "I guess my veggies didn't take up most of my plate like I thought". 

I've seen so many people on diets walk around chronically hungry. In my opinion, if you're hungry, you're not eating a healthy diet. Remember, you're trying to create this for the long haul. You can't walk around hungry all the time! If you're hungry, eat something healthy to keep your blood sugar up and your metabolism going, but try to have that snack before you get hungry. On the contrary, I know I'm doing well when I feel satisfied all the time.I've heard from several people once they've gotten started that they feel like their meal plan is too much food and that they don't even want their snack when it's time for it.

There's A LOT to say in this diet section but I feel like a lot of cleaning up diet just takes time, learning and trial and error. So if you feel overwhelmed or discouraged because you're trying to eat healthy by tomorrow, take a step back...we'll get there one step at a time! Simply trying to be aware and conscious of what you're eating makes a big difference!
 ***If you're pregnant or breastfeeding, I've added some info. at the bottom for YOU!

BE ACTIVE

Image via karmajello.com

 Most people find it easier to eat right when they stay active. Try to go for walks or do a light exercise circuit around the house every other day or so. My 3 year old LOVES taking turns on my yoga mat with me doing push-ups.  Especially if you're starting the way I'm suggesting, you don't have to set aside two hours of kid-free time to work out!  I used to work 12 hour night shifts with a girl who was extremely fit and she would do quick workout routines she'd found on Pinterest during her breaks.  You'd be surprised where a few 10-15 min. exercise sessions will get you!

SNACK!

Try to eat every 3-4 hours. I've found that the longer I wait to eat, the bigger meal I end up eating when I finally do eat. Also, I'm more likely to snack on whatever I can find or grab fast food because, well, it's quick and I'm HUNGRY! 


Healthy snacks have been the staple of my weight loss.  If you feel like you're eating enough food (and you are consuming enough or more than enough calories), but you're still hungry, look to see if you're eating a lot of empty calories.  I've found that eating a candy bar usually doesn't hold me over to the next meal time, even though it's about 100 more calories than a healthy snack like boiled eggs and fruit, which usually will.

DRINK MORE WATER.

Image via blog.spafinder.com

I feel like diving into all the health benefits of drinking water would take all day, when really the only thing that needs to be said is just do it!  It's KEY to weight loss and overall good health! 

Try to have a water bottle with you all the time!  It sounds lame but my water drinking habits changed drastically when I got this cool, cute water bottle I actually felt kind of cool toting around.  If you think that might help, try it! 

PLAN. 

I've found it nearly impossible to have success with out a plan, specifically a menu plan. You need to know what your goals are and plan how you're going to get there.  Since diet is such a huge part of weight loss, so is making a menu plan. This is SO important to help keep you from falling back on bad habits or seemingly convenient, but unhealthy meals. Make simple meals that are convenient and don't overwhelm you.  Have a back-up plan in case you have one of those days where it's 6:00 and you haven't even started yet!  If you're new to healthy eating, try to stick to the menus I've posted to help simplify things.  But if you have certain food preferences, it's good to at least have a back-up menu for yourself that you can refer to if you don't like something I post. Pinterest is full of meal planning printables and healthy recipes. A few I really like are here (8. Menu and shopping list-this is the one I use regularly) and here. 

Even if you don't want to do a full menu plan every week, just make a list of the things you'd like to make or meals you already have the ingredients for and at least you'll know you have those to choose from when meal times come up. For example, I rarely plan snacks. I just have a list of healthy snacks I have available, that way when I get munchy, I have options for whatever I'm in the mood for.
Setting realistic, attainable goals is a very important part of planning! You need to visualize where you want to be. This is why you'll see points offered for setting and achieving two goals every week. 

This is a good outline to follow when making goals:

1. Your goal

2. How you plan to carry it out

3. What you'll do if you have an "off" day to get back on track

BABY STEPS

Each of the subjects I just discussed are things I tried to address when making the point system. Personally, I feel like following the guidelines the point system creates is a fool-proof way to lose weight. Like I said, this competition is about weight loss, not points, but I think maximizing the point system will get you there!

Don't get discouraged by setbacks, we ALL have them! I remember during one of my attempts at weight-loss (in the midst of my fast food days), I was so proud of myself because I actually went into the produce section of the grocery store and bought grapes and bananas. Well, come to find out from one of my very health conscious friends, grapes and bananas are "the two fruits at the top of the glycemic index". Basically according to her, the most unhealthy fruits I could've bought. I was very discouraged and went back to the comforts of fast food not long after that. Remember everyone is at a different level. You may eventually get to where you're eating a completely clean diet with organic everything but for now, give yourself a chance to make mistakes and learn what works best for you.

When you start to get discouraged, look back on where you were a week from now. Have you eaten better than you did last week? Have you learned some healthier recipes? Have you eaten homemade meals all week? Were you even consciously making an effort to be healthier this time last month? Be proud of yourself for the healthy decisions and efforts you are making. No matter where you start, it's going to take time to learn what you need to know to get to where you want to be.

This is an excellent article about getting started and overall weight loss. 

So, here it is in a nutshell:

You can save this to your phone or print it if you need help remembering this week.

Next week, when the competition officially starts, we'll be focusing a lot on diet. So for this week, I'd like to focus on getting some goals established so we each know our focus when the competition actually starts.

So, plan of action for today:

Make a few small goals for the week as to how you're going to get started and share them on the 2015 Goal Weight Competition Facebook page!  They can be suggestions I made above, or something else you know is a weakness for you that you're going to have to work on in order to succeed like kicking a soda or fast food habit.  Include:
1. Your goal
2. How you plan to carry it out
3. What you'll do if you have an "off" day to get back on track
You can make multiple goals, but make them doable for the week. Make it something for you that you know YOU need to help YOU get started off on the right foot!


***For those pregnant or breastfeeding:  Beware that if you're breastfeeding or pregnant, you need more calories-but you may need to troubleshoot a little to determine how many more you need.  According to most sources, breastfeeding burns an extra 200-500 calories per day.  This means you'll need to add those calories and see what works for you.  Kelly Mom has a great article about trying to lose weight while breastfeeding. I waited 2-3 months with both my kids before I tried to lose weight. I believe that that time is crucial in helping your body determine your milk supply. I breastfed both my kids exclusively until they were a year old, and ate about 1500 calories/day to lose the weight.  I tried eating as many as 1800 but the weight just didn't come off, so in my opinion, you need to experiment and see what's right for you. Either way, if you're hungry (especially to the point of having physical symptoms), you're probably not eating enough (also, see what I say about empty calories above)!  Pregnancy is a time when I have struggled the most! It's been hard for me to troubleshoot how many calories I need while dealing with cravings, a raging appetite, food aversions, fatigue, etc.  Too often, I take the easy way out and give myself a break because I'M GROWING A HUMAN for crying out loud! Unfortunately, that excuse hasn't really proved to pay off for me in the long run and I've decided that the only solution is NOT gaining in extreme excess while pregnant!  All the research I've done seems to agree that in the first trimester, you should gain 0-5 lbs. and you don't need any extra calories. In the second trimester, most experts seem to recommend 300 extra calories, but some that I found said you still don't need any extra . Then, by the third trimester, 300-500 extra calories. Like I said, that can be kind of hard to troubleshoot. Anything's gotta be better than eating whatever you want or most people's definition of "eating for two"! This is a great tool to help visualize how much you should be gaining during each week of pregnancy, I refer back to it a lot!  If you are in the first trimester and in the "eat whatever sounds good because it's all you can keep down" phase, that's okay, try to give yourself a break! Just try to eat healthy whenever you can. I had someone recommend to me that I eat whatever healthy thing I could that sounded good, even if I ate the same thing every day. So that's what I did the last time around! The same thing almost every day for the whole first 6 weeks after finding out I was pregnant! But, I found what I could/would eat that was healthy and I only gained 3 lbs. in the first trimester instead of my usually 20! (Yes, I gained 20 lbs. the first trimester with my first baby and 15 with my second!)