Losing weight as a mom is a lot different than doing it the pre-child time in your life. You no longer have free time the way you did when you were child free. There is always laundry, cleaning, a boo boo to kiss or Legos to build. Sure, I could forgo playing with the kids to get more done, but wouldn't that be sad for everyone?
I'm not saying there isn't a lot to do if you're still childless. I'm just saying that there is more likely to be something that comes up and ruins your perfect plan for how to get stuff done that day. It's a lot easier to get a workout in when you don't have toddlers crying for a snack, or a toy or to go outside.
That is my biggest downfall right now. My kids would live outside if I let them, which is wonderful and exactly why I moved somewhere we could enjoy beach, mountain and as much of nature as possible. However, it means all the laundry and cooking and cleaning that needs to get done gets put off and I sometimes forget to take care of myself in all of this.
That is exactly why food prep and crock pots are now such an essential part of my life. By the time 4/5pm rolls around, I may not have energy to put together a nice healthy meal, so having prep work done, or a healthy crockpot dinner already going is essential to my success, and really the success of any mom of young kids trying to shed the excess weight and get healthy.
I love lots of veggies on salads for lunch (and really, one should be consuming 8 cups of veggies a day), but I don't always have time to chop up fresh ones. That is exactly why I always chop up all the peppers and onions and carrots and zucchini or whatever other wonderful fresh veggies I have, as soon as I have any spare time. When I get the kids inside for lunch, I just keep chopping until I'm done, and put the ones I don't need into zip lock bags in the fridge so it is one less thing to worry about.
I will cook up a huge batch of quinoa or brown rice, rather than just what the recipe calls for so I have that on hand too, and finally, I live for crock pot meals. The middle of the day around lunch is usually the longest period of the day I can keep the boys inside and distracted while I get stuff done. It is the perfect time to throw things in the crockpot so I don't have to worry about dinner the rest of the day.
My favorite blog for recipes is www.skinnytaste.com, and I also love grabbing ideas from www.tlsslim.com/shopswartz. The database of recipes, and my easy ability to add those recipes to my food journal adds even more ease to my weight loss journey.
I also have found certain snacks I am obsessed with, and have them auto shipped to my house through www.shop.com/shopswartz groceries. I love me some Luna Bars, and they are not only completely in line with low GI eating, but are delicious and so easy for me to grab while chasing kids around or to pack with me while out running errands. This doesn't even include all the other staples like Annie's organic mac&cheese I can buy im bulk which makes trips to the grocery store that much faster, freeing up at least some time. Plus, getting cash back for having them delivered to my house never hurt either! :)
All of this contributes to how I am able to be successful. I know I said I would discuss exercise this blog, but I think this covers enough for today, so stay tuned to how to fit in exercise while taking care of twin toddlers and a newborn! Also stay tuned for food journaling, and why it is sugh a vital part of my weight loss journey.
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Friday, September 19, 2014
The Journey Begins...
Mason arrived four weeks ago now. Between our renovation, and adjusting to life with a newborn while still taking care of twin toddlers, it took me a few weeks to get motivated to take my "before" pictures, and to get started on my journey.
During my pregnancy with the twins, I got something called diastasis recti, which is a splitting of the abdominal muscles. Most women get this to some degree when pregnant, but it is so negligible that they may never even realize it happened. With the twins, my abs split over a full hand apart. They went back together for the most part, but this pregnancy it happened again. It is only four fingers this time, but it still limits what exercise I can do. It doesn't, however, restrict my nutrition, so for the beginning of this journey, what I put in my body is going to be the most important thing. It really is the most important thing anyway, but it's easier to feel like you're making progress towards your weight loss goal when you're working up a sweat every day.
In the one week that I've started to focus on eating foods that are high in fiber, and replacing the sugary junk foods with way more fruits and vegetables, I've already lost 2 lbs. Some people may say that's the breast feeding, but I know it's because I'm finally putting good foods into my body consistently. When I was nursing the twins, I barely lost any weight until after I was done because any time I started to restrict calories in the slightest, my supply would go down, and nursing my twins properly was way more important to me than losing the weight right away.
This time, I know nursing is helping, but I believe I am able to start dropping the pounds because I'm not focusing on calories, but rather the quality of the food I'm eating. I make sure I am putting food into my system at least every 3 hours while I'm awake to keep my supply up. My snacks include things like protein bars, or celery with peanut butter, or a TLS nutrition shake with some spinach, kale, and berries thrown in. Before I was reaching for chips, or just a banana. What I've learned already through TLS, is that if I have protein every time I eat, not only does it help me keep my energy up, it helps me keep the all important milk supply up too.
One day last week, I did what everyone does, and I decided to not follow what I knew I should, and only did snack on an apple to try to speed up the weight loss process. That led to a fussy Mason because I didn't have as much milk as usual at his next feeding, and a grumpy momma because I was hungry again so quickly with no time to grab a snack.
Here are my before photos, as promised, and I can't wait to give you more updates. My next post is going to focus on how I manage my time, while watching the kids, so that I don't start eating what is "easy" and completely terrible for me. It will also focus on how to fit in some extra, easy exercise that doesn't just include chasing around the kids. I need it for my sanity as well as my health!
Thursday, August 7, 2014
Welcome
Every weight loss journey has to start somewhere. I guess technically mine started years ago, and has been an up and down battle ever since, but I am choosing to see this next stage as a brand new journey and the beginning of a long lasting, permanent change. Like everyone out there who has struggled with weight, you may be thinking to yourself, why is this time going to be any different? For me to establish the answer to that, I think it is important to establish my background and where I've come from in the past. I apologize, because this will be a long post, but it will give such better insight into who I am today.
I was a very successful high school athlete who went on to play soccer in college. However, with each year in college, I packed on the pounds and became a less and less successful athlete. My dad, who had been diagnosed with cancer back in 1999, found out it was back a week before I left for college my freshman year. I was depressed, drank too much, studied way too little, and ate all sorts of junk. It didn't help that with my mom being sick my entire childhood, and my dad being essentially a full time single parent, all we ate in my house was junk. Taco Bell, McDonald's, Wendy's, Pizza Hut, etc. were food groups. I never was taught about proper nutrition.
By senior year of college, I had gone from being the less than 130 lb college freshman to being almost 160 lbs. My dad passed away, and it got even worse. Over the next year, I got all the way up into the 170s, a weight I had jokingly told me friends to "kill me" if I ever got to. I was such an arrogant kid, thinking my natural athletic ability would protect me from ever being anything but skinny.
After seeing myself in pictures, and making a huge decision in my life, to get tested for Huntington's Disease, a dominant genetic disorder that has no cure and what my mother passed away from, I knew I had to change. I knew whether the results were good or bad, I needed to start getting healthy for myself again. I didn't want to be a depressed miserable person anymore. I started running again, ate less junk, and viola! I was on track to being healthy again.
Then I met my now husband, and off track I went once again. I like to think of that as my happy fat phase. I gained some weight, got lazy with my running. Although I still forced my body to complete my first marathon, the Marine Corps Marathon, in almost 5.5 hrs, nowhere near my under 4 hrs time I know I am capable of someday. Plus, we ate out A LOT.
Once we were engaged, I realized I really wanted to get back to where I had been, so once again, I began running, but I also joined Jenny Craig, because I had maxed out at close to 180 lbs, and knew I needed help with my nutrition and I wasn't going to take the time to fix it myself. It definitely worked for me, and I got back down to the 140s, before we found out I was pregnant and my weight loss had to go on hold. However, all the additives they put in their food that I now know more about would prevent me from ever going down that road again.
Unfortunately, I used pregnancy as an excuse to eat whatever, whenever, especially once we found out we were having TWINS. After all, I was eating for three now, not just two. I got all the way to 240 lbs, gaining over 90 lbs over the course of the pregnancy. I was ashamed to be in pictures with my two amazing little boys, and was depressed looking at how many more pics we had of the boys with my husband because of my shame of getting in front of the camera.
One step at a time, I started walking, and eventually running my way back into shape. I plateaued out around 160 lbs, and was trying to figure out what to do. One of my best friends was a beachbody coach, and she got me hooked on their amazing workout programs. Plus, I did their Ultimate Reset cleanse, and had amazing results and felt like a new person. I decided to become a beachbody coach and help other people make the same amazing changes I did. I ran my second marathon in just over 4 hrs 40 min, a 45 min PR, went to Ethiopia and did a five day trek of the Simien Mountains with one of my very best friends, and was in pretty damn good shape.
However, once I got back from Ethiopia, and my husband and I were trying for baby #3, I started to slack some in my working out, and eating again. Once I was pregnant, I was determined I would not let myself go again. Here we are, almost 9 months later, and I did exactly what I said I wouldn't. I am 216 lbs, about to give birth any day to our third son. I was close to 140 lbs before I got pregnant this time, and I only have one baby in there.
I am gearing up for this next little bundle of joy, and ready to lose all this weight once again. However, I have left beachbody in favor of something I KNOW will not only help me lose the weight, but help me to keep from ever putting on so much weight ever again. With beachbody, I felt like it was all about drinking this magic shake and working out nonstop. At the end of the day, I didn't feel like I made real nutritional change. I felt like I didn't have enough support with healthy eating, except from fellow coaches who were not necessarily trained and just supporting each other. I think that's great, but I am someone who needs a little more structure than that.
That is why I have now turned to TLS Weight Loss Solutions for this next chapter in my life. I 100% will still use my beachbody workout DVDs because I love working out from home, and I do think all of their home programs are the best out there. With that said, nutrition is way more important for long term weight loss and maintenance, so I need to keep that my primary focus this time around, especially until I am cleared to start really exercising again.
It is an amazing fat loss program that focuses on putting the right foods into your body day in and day out. It teaches people how to get their bodies performing at maximum performance to lose fat from their bodies while also keeping energy levels consistent and high. Plus it is completely customizable for every person. If I really need to, there is a Simply Delivered option, just like I had with Jenny Craig, except without all the excess junk in it, and completely in line with the low GI eating that is the focus of the program. I cook now though, so I will be using one of the other options. I just am obsessed with all of the different choices I have!
Now don't get me wrong, exercise is still part of the journey to anyone becoming healthy, but it's not the focus. I took an amazing 2 day training to learn everything I could about this program, and cannot wait to see results I am going to have once this little guy evacuates my belly. I LOVE that there was a real life in person training to teach me about the program, and why it is the best out there. Eviction notice is up for baby boy Swartz #3, as far as I'm concerned, so I will be posting soon all about my journey to becoming a fit twin mom again!
Bring it on! This momma is making a permanent change and not taking any prisoners this time around because I'm getting my nutrition right first, and not from some magic shake. So excited to help other people make the same changes too!
summer 2009, the year I met my husband
By senior year of college, I had gone from being the less than 130 lb college freshman to being almost 160 lbs. My dad passed away, and it got even worse. Over the next year, I got all the way up into the 170s, a weight I had jokingly told me friends to "kill me" if I ever got to. I was such an arrogant kid, thinking my natural athletic ability would protect me from ever being anything but skinny.
After seeing myself in pictures, and making a huge decision in my life, to get tested for Huntington's Disease, a dominant genetic disorder that has no cure and what my mother passed away from, I knew I had to change. I knew whether the results were good or bad, I needed to start getting healthy for myself again. I didn't want to be a depressed miserable person anymore. I started running again, ate less junk, and viola! I was on track to being healthy again.
summer 2010, a year after meeting my husband
Then I met my now husband, and off track I went once again. I like to think of that as my happy fat phase. I gained some weight, got lazy with my running. Although I still forced my body to complete my first marathon, the Marine Corps Marathon, in almost 5.5 hrs, nowhere near my under 4 hrs time I know I am capable of someday. Plus, we ate out A LOT.
fall 2010, engagement party
6 months post twins, August 2012
Unfortunately, I used pregnancy as an excuse to eat whatever, whenever, especially once we found out we were having TWINS. After all, I was eating for three now, not just two. I got all the way to 240 lbs, gaining over 90 lbs over the course of the pregnancy. I was ashamed to be in pictures with my two amazing little boys, and was depressed looking at how many more pics we had of the boys with my husband because of my shame of getting in front of the camera.
Beachbody Before/After, during pregnancy late 2011 to summer 2013
Beachbody Results
I am gearing up for this next little bundle of joy, and ready to lose all this weight once again. However, I have left beachbody in favor of something I KNOW will not only help me lose the weight, but help me to keep from ever putting on so much weight ever again. With beachbody, I felt like it was all about drinking this magic shake and working out nonstop. At the end of the day, I didn't feel like I made real nutritional change. I felt like I didn't have enough support with healthy eating, except from fellow coaches who were not necessarily trained and just supporting each other. I think that's great, but I am someone who needs a little more structure than that.
Ethiopia, October 2013
It is an amazing fat loss program that focuses on putting the right foods into your body day in and day out. It teaches people how to get their bodies performing at maximum performance to lose fat from their bodies while also keeping energy levels consistent and high. Plus it is completely customizable for every person. If I really need to, there is a Simply Delivered option, just like I had with Jenny Craig, except without all the excess junk in it, and completely in line with the low GI eating that is the focus of the program. I cook now though, so I will be using one of the other options. I just am obsessed with all of the different choices I have!
Now don't get me wrong, exercise is still part of the journey to anyone becoming healthy, but it's not the focus. I took an amazing 2 day training to learn everything I could about this program, and cannot wait to see results I am going to have once this little guy evacuates my belly. I LOVE that there was a real life in person training to teach me about the program, and why it is the best out there. Eviction notice is up for baby boy Swartz #3, as far as I'm concerned, so I will be posting soon all about my journey to becoming a fit twin mom again!
This morning, 39 weeks pregnant
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