Introduction to: Lose the Fatty Friday!

As I mentioned in yesterday's blog, Fridays...for the next seven weeks, are going to be dedicated to helping you lose any unwanted pounds that you have collected on your body. I weighed 197 lbs. at my last weigh in before I had Bree, and now I am 128 lbs. It wasn't easy, and there were many tears and fat days that went along with this year and a half of weight loss. I am not going to tell you at anytime during these next 7 weeks, that losing weight is easy, because it's not. But, if you are determined, disciplined, and dedicated...it will happen.



I still can't believe the before and after pictures. I can't believe that I was that big, but I was. I began the weight loss procedure almost immediately after Bree was born, but I didn't know what to do. I had never really had to lose that much weight before. I was a chunky kid growing up, but slap some braces on my teeth, and that's a guaranteed weight loss process all in itself. I couldn't put my braces on my teeth this time. My freshman year of college, I had dropped down to 115 pounds, because all of my classes were uphill, across campus from where I parked my car. I was walking an average of 4 miles a day, uphill. Not to mention, I was in the middle of mental breakdown and not hardly eating anything. It was a very, unhealthy, weight loss.

So, since I wasn't having a mental breakdown and walking up hills six hours a day, or not eating because of the pain and aggravation that braces can provoke, I had to for real lose weight. I had to do it the right way. That's when I began googling all kinds of exercise programs. That's when I ran across Lelsie Sanson's Walk At Home videos. I highly recommend these videos. They are pretty awesome, and I could tell a difference right away when I begun using them...consistently. Being consistent is definitely ONE of the MANY keys to losing weight.

After using the Walk at Home videos, I successfully made it from a size 14, to a 12, to a 10, and then to 8 in matter of four months. Even after all of that weight loss, I still wasn't happy. I still had that post pregnancy belly flab, and I was not loving it! I did something I shouldn't have done though, and took a Summer off. I'm sure I gained weight during this break of not exercising, because when I wanted to get back to it...it was harder than when I had originally started.

That's when I discovered Pilates. Pilates literally changed my life. It is a wonderful, stress relieving, body building, exercise. You use your own weight and strength to perform moves, and it is surprisingly addicting. I went through a few Pilates DVD's before I finally found the right one. I came across Brooke Silar's "Pilates Weightloss for Beginners" and fell in love right away. You can purchase this DVD at any Walmart or Target.

Although exercising is a wonderful thing, it is pretty much pointless if you still eat whatever your eyes cross. In order to be healthy and lose weight, you have to eat healthy. Too many times have I watched women go to the gym daily, and then cross the street a pick up a Big Mac with fries and a large sweet tea. You can't lose weight doing this, and in my opinion, you're just wasting your time. I am also, a FIRM believer in that good ol' H2O. If you cut out all other liquids (soft drinks, tea, etc...), I promise you that you will automatically lose 10 pounds just by doing that. People think I am crazy when I say that, but it happened to me, and I've seen it work with others too.

Each Friday I am going to issue a Challenge for you to work on that week. This week's challenge is to switch all of your liquids over to water. Resist any soft drinks or tea. Coffee is okay, but make sure you don't drink more coffee than water. If you have never done this before, or don't like the taste of just plain water...add a lemon to the drink. Nevertheless, resist the temptation for all other drinks and practice the three D's: Determination, Discipline, and Dedication. You want to lose weight? Drinking strictly water is the first step!

Alright, so that's it for this week. Tell me what you guys think, and if you have any questions, please feel free to ask!


In Other News...
Mrs. M from "I've Changed My Name to Mommy" chose me to be featured on her "Fabulous Find Friday"! Head on over to her place, and read my interview! You might find out some stuff about me that you might not otherwise had known. She's also a pretty cool lady, so make sure you follow her if you haven't already!