My year long weight loss journey

Thirteen months ago I was almost sixty pounds heavier than I am today. That was one beautiful child and one C-section ago. Today I am in my best shape ever! Find out how I did it in one year....

I had to wait almost three months before I could work out after having my first baby. Since I couldn't work out I lost some of my initial weight by drinking Shakeology shakes. I used them as a meal replacement for breakfast or lunch and sometimes both.

Once I could start working out I decided to do the Turbo Fire workout DVD series. I also decided then to become a Beach Body coach for additional motivation. I was still pretty sore and out of shape from the C-section but it definitely jump started my fitness again and motivated me to keep going.

When I finished the Turbo Fire series I still had about twenty more pounds I wanted to lose and it wasn't coming off. I spoke with my nutritionist who suggested I do weight lifting instead of cardio. I found out that when you are really stressed (I was super stressed-new mom, working full time, finishing grad school) if you do cardio sometimes it stresses your body out even more and messes with your cortisol levels and hormones. So, I then decided to start the Body Beast series with my husband. Through that I was able to lose weight and gain ten pounds of muscle. I was more toned and stronger. 

Finally, after completing the Body Beast workouts I still had ten more pounds I wanted to lose. So, I did the Brazil Butt Lift Series for a month while also taking HIT classes at my local gym two nights a week. I wasn't as stressed during this time so my body could handle the cardio again.

Now, I am back to my pre-pregnancy weight and I feel much better than I did before I got pregnant. Unfortunately, my appetite and food cravings I got while pregnant never went away so I fight it by sticking with a healthy diet and working out. It is a lifestyle. I am back into running now (training for a half marathon), I still attend HIT classes, and I rotate between doing Turbo Fire, Brazil Butt Lift, and Body Beast DVD's in the morning before work to maintain my weight and health. I always start my day with a Shakeology shake for breakfast. 

It is hard for people to share their weight loss success because what works for one person doesn't always work for another. It took me an entire year and lots of different workout routines and changes to finally get the results I wanted. I would love to encourage and support you in your weight loss journey as well. I can work with you and offer advice based on the different things I tried. Check out my website and sign up to make me your free fitness coach. 

 Best wishes!

Megan 

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If you can't say something nice...

I know that I posted something similar to this in the past but the trend has continued which has led me to want to write on this topic again.  I have a feeling there are others out there who can relate!
A very simple concept I learned at a very young age while watching the movie Bambi was, "If you can't say anything nice then don't say anything at all." During my entire pregnancy (okay probably whole life for that matter) and now after I have often felt although I should wear a sign that says this around my neck. Because quite honestly, people shock me with their verbal negativity that comes my way. I am going to share a few instances....

During my pregnancy:

1. I was about six months pregnant at an aerobics class and a lady in the class (who I had never met) came up to me and said ,"Honey-you aren't taking this class because you are worried about gaining too much weight while you are pregnant are you?"

Ughhh no lady...I am taking this class because working out while pregnant has a lot of positive benefits for myself and the baby...if I was concerned about gaining weight I probably wouldn't have had my 80th round of chicken wings last night.

2. On a DAILY basis I had two things occurring-one person would come up to me and tell me that I was "too thin" for being pregnant and they couldn't believe how far along I was and then literally an hour or so later a completely different person would comment on how big I had gotten?!! Talk about playing with my mind!! Make up your mind people...am I too thin or too fat for as pregnant as I am??

3. A co-worker of mine came up to me and said, "Wow! I can really tell you are pregnant now-your face is really starting to fill out!"

Okay, I was very aware at that moment that my face was indeed "filling out"...I probably could have been okay without someone else telling me so

After my pregnancy:

1. I had a girl in my office who saw the picture of my baby and she asked how old she was. When I told her she said, "Wow! I didn't lose weight that easy after my pregnancy....I had a C-section so it's harder to bounce back"

First off, I too had a C-section and you are right-it is harder to bounce back and also I didn't lose weight that easy-I worked my butt off to lose the weight! Thanks for the judgement that I didn't have a C-section and that it was easy for me to lose weight.

2. I went to the gym the other day (note: my daughter is 9 months old right now) and I had two older ladies who I haven't seen in a while come up to me at the gym separately.  The 1st lady said, "You don't even look like you just had a baby-you look great!" Awww-gee thanks! (Confidence soared-my hard work had paid off!)

not even ten minutes later a different lady came up to me and placed her hand on my belly and whispered, "Are you pregnant again?" WHAT??!! I sure hope not! Thanks lady for implying that I had enough pudge in my belly area still to possibly look pregnant-nice.

These are just a few highlights of things that have been said to me. I could probably think of a dozen more. The points I would like to make are these:

1. I would NEVER say anything to anyone about their weight unless they asked for my opinion or they truly have a medical problem and I am deeply concerned about them and I think they need an intervention (like when my husband has too many slices of pizza-ha!)

2.  Just like it would be considered to be rude to go up to an overweight person and comment on their weight...it is equally rude to comment to a thinner person on theirs

3. Just because you are thinner before or after having a baby does not mean it is because it was easy or effortless. Yes, I can think of a few individuals who lost weight immediately after childbirth without much effort but I am not one of them. My daughter was 7 months old before I could stop wearing my maternity pants. I gained 60 lbs while I was pregnant (they average 10 lbs between the baby and fluids) so to go to a level playing field maybe 50 lbs... and I worked my butt off to lose all 50 lbs. This included: eating healthy, Drinking Shakeology, and getting up at 5:30am six days a week vigorously doing TurboFire.

4. Before I ever got pregnant and when I was in good shape people who often come up to me at the gym and say, "What are you doing here? You don't need to work out!"  WHAT?!!!! ummmm...1st off, how do you think I got in good shape  and 2nd, even if you are thin (naturally or not) you still need to work out to be healthy! There are a lot of bigger people who are more in shape then thin people just because the way they are built. 

5. I do gain weight and feel crappy when I don't work out and eat healthy. I had a period in my life where I just didn't care and I gained 30 lbs by just not working out and not eating well. Although I am blessed with thinner genes in my family I do gain weight like everyone else. I workout because it is the healthy thing to do. Yes, I do want a body like Jillian Michaels and arms like Kelly Ripa's but ultimately I take care of my body because the bible tells me to...

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says, "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body."


Again, I just shared this because I know that someone (or lots of people) out there can relate. My advice is this-we can't change what people say or do but we can change the way we handle it or let it bother us. So, try to get in the person's mind as to why they are saying what they are (usually they are trying to justify why it is okay that they aren't happy with their weight) laugh it off and immediately forgive them. Obviously not everyone has watched Bambi before....


Love,

Megan

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Book Review- "Push" by Chalene Johnson

  

You have probably heard me talk about how much I appreciate Chalene Johnson's workouts (such as Turbo Fire, Turbo Jam, Chalean Extreme).  As you know, I am currently in my 2nd month of Turbo Fire and loving it. Well, I recently started reading Chalene's book "Push". I love the layout of the book.

 The first part of the book is a 30 day challenge to read a chapter for 30 days and each day do the exercises they suggest. Now, these are more mental exercise, not physical. She refers to them as your daily Push. For example,  the first  Push exercise has you thinking about and writing out your priorities. 

 The next section of the book after the 30 day PUSH shows different exercises to do, and then the final section of the book has tons of great, quick recipes. The books has pictures and it is an easy read. It feels more like reading a magazine lay-out rather than a book. Trust me, after my long days it takes a special type of book (like this one) to keep my attention and not make me fall asleep! 

This book has really, truly been the extra PUSH that I need to stay encouraged to stick with my Turbo Fire series. I have only completed three days of the push challenge exercises and I  appreciate the way they help me self-reflect and stay motivated to continue to make positive changes in my life. 


If you are interested in finding out more information on any of Chalene's Work-out DVD's follow this link and sign up for a free account.

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Well...I am mighty proud of myself! I have made it through three weeks of Turbo Fire. I did not miss a single work-out and I felt like I kept up with the workouts pretty good. So, it was to my dismay when I saw that I had only lost two more pounds. I know that they say to not get caught up on the scale but these last fifteen pounds I need to lose sure don't seem to want to go anywhere!


I finally came to accept the fact that I can't just workout but I also need to watch what I eat. My biggest culprit these last few weeks has been frozen custard. My husband and I have been frequent visitors. So, this week I decided to quit ice cream and any other unnecessary junk. So, what would you know but while I'm grocery shopping I get a text message from my husband requesting on my way home I stop and get us frozen custard!


On the way to the custard place I had a dialog in my head that went something like this, "You do not need ice cream. Just because you are getting him ice cream doesn't mean you need any."  "Okay, I won't get any....but...if the flavor of the week is raspberry chip then I can have some"  (Funny how we can bend the rules so easily).  Would you believe that when I pulled up to the custard place a big sign said that the flavor of the week was raspberry chip?!! "Okay, guess I was meant to have ice cream" I thought.  Well, the health Angels must have been looking out for me because the next thing that happened was when I pulled up to the drive through to order another sign said that their debit machine was broke and they could only take cash. I peered into my wallet to find a $5.00 bill. Only enough to cover my husband's ice cream.  Good thing that happened because obviously I did not have enough will power to handle it on my own. 


The moral of the story is that there is always going to be a reason why we feel we shouldn't start that diet or exercise program the day we decided we were going to. There is also always going to be someone's birthday at work that we have to have a piece of cake for. If we really want to start to look and feel great then we have to make some sacrifices. So, I guess mine will be starting to eat better!!




If you want me to help keep you motivated as well (click here) and I can be your coach for free!
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As Stephanie Tanner would say, "How Rude!"

It has amazed me my entire life how people so openly comment on my weight. It probably started when I was in Junior High. A lot of girls around me developed quicker (okay who am I kidding I don't know if I ever did develop-ha ha). I felt really self-conscious about my weight back then because I was so all bones and no shape like other girls. Finally when I was about a sophomore in high school I gained some weight. Immediately girls started making comments about how I had gotten "fat". I finally grew into my body and before I knew it I had graduated high school and had put on the famous freshman fifteen. I felt like it was a never ending battle about either being too skinny or not skinny enough. It didn't help that everyone around me had a comment about it.


 Before I got pregnant I was at my lowest weight but probably my best shape ever. However, a lot of people kept telling me that I looked too thin. I was so excited when I started packing on the pounds immediately when I got pregnant. I thought, "good! now that I am gaining weight people will be happy". To my dismay, it was the opposite. I remember going into the doctor's office and him politely telling me that I was "ahead of schedule" with my weight gain. After the appointment I went to the car and cried. At that moment it hit me that I would never be able to please anyone. I was either going to get criticized for being too thin or being too "fat". Throughout my pregnancy I couldn't believe the comments people would tell me. Even complete strangers. One minute someone would say, "Wow! You are seven months pregnant?! You look like you are only a couple months pregnant" and then literally an hour later someone different would say "Wow-you are really filling out".  It amazed me how night and day the opinions were...it really messed with my head. I just wanted to be healthy and have a healthy baby.


Last week (the day I had already planned on starting Turbo Fire) I was at work and a complete stranger came up to me and put her hand on my belly and said "Awww...you are expecting?" I couldn't believe that she was so bold to do that. I gracefully told her that I had just had a baby a couple months ago. 


My point to this story is that there comes a time when you have to block out the voices and the opinions and worry about how YOU feel inside. The important thing is that you are healthy and feel confident. You are never going to please everyone. This is a lesson that I am learning and continuing to learn every day.  I guess I have always tried to live with the old saying, "If you don't have anything nice to say then don't say anything at all". Unfortunately, I don't think everyone got that memo.  Pin It

I usually spend Sundays preparing some healthy snacks for the week. If I am not armed with healthy snacks I end up eating whatever is in front of me. Today I cut-up some strawberries and added some blueberries and raspberries into small containers to take to work this week. I also made some Shakeology Protein Bites.   My husband loves them and has already eaten half of the batch. If you would like to make them check this out!

No Bake Energy Bites:
1 Cup Oatmeal (I used steal cut oats)
1/2 cup peanut butter (I like to use crunchy)
1/3 Cup Honey
1 cup coconut flakes (I leave these out)
1/2 cup ground flaxseed
1 scoop Chocoloate Shakeoogy
1 twp vanilla

Mix all together in a bowel and form into balls and store and chill in the fridge.

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Week One Down-Turbo Fire

I made it! One week down into my Turbo Fire Workout. Can't wait to have a body like Chalene's! I was amazed that even working full-time I still had plenty of time to work-out and spend quality time with my baby and husband. I even managed to squeeze in some much needed girl time with my friends this week. It is all about prioritizing. Some days instead of sleeping in an extra hour I got up while the baby was still sleeping so that I could workout. I also cut out some T.V time and other things that wasted my time. I'm excited to see what next week brings!





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