Many people often ask me how I lost the 70+ pounds that I gained when I was pregnant with my daughter.
I had a friend recently comment to me, “I don’t know what’s more impressive: the fact that you gained 70 pounds when you were pregnant or the fact that you lost 70 pounds!” When I thought about the answer, I had to laugh out loud to myself because I honestly don’t know which one IS more impressive! Hahahaha! Seventy pounds is pretty “impressive”, either way you look at it!
There are no shortcuts! You decide in your mind that you’re going to do, and then you JUST DO IT! It boils down to simple actions that you already know how to take. You’ve heard them over and over again, but you refuse to believe that getting into shape and losing weight is that simple. You look relentlessly for the “magic formula” or the “magic pill” that will do the trick. The answer is simple: eat healthfully and exercise.
I’m a 39 year old mother to a very active six year old little girl. I am a social media consultant to the fitness folks, die-hard momma & wifey, writer, and fitness enthusiast w/ a passion for health, helping others, and all things good, positive, & funny! I gained over 70 pounds when I was pregnant with her because I thought I could eat whatever the heck I wanted (primarily Haagen Dazs ice cream) and the weight would melt right off after I had the baby. My pre-pregnancy weight was anywhere from 125 pounds to 130 pounds. I topped out at 205 pounds when I was at my heaviest. Yikes! I wish I could say that my weight loss was immediate and an overnight success story, but my journey back to ME was a long and soulful journey.
I finally lost all of the weight, but most of it was recently lost in the past three years. It was a rough road back (I used to be a gym rat in my 20’s), but it was well worth every day at the gym and every drop of sweat, blood and tears as an older and wiser version of myself!
Yeah, you know you need to exercise. Yeah, you know it would be nice to get into better shape and drop some weight. Yeah, you know you’ll live longer if you got rid of some of that belly fat. Yeah, you know you would decrease your chances of getting heart disease and a bunch of other diseases if you exercised. But with each passing day, you find one excuse after another. “I’ll start tomorrow.” “I had to work late”. “I had to work early”. “I had to _________”. Fill in the blank. Been there, done that.
My turning point was when I realized that I let my life slip away from me after my soul mate grandmother passed away at the tender age of 98 three years ago, followed by other personal and family tragedies and losses. I was ready to put all the darkness behind me, I was sick and tired of being sick and tired, and I knew it all started with my health and my lifestyle. For me, I had to hit ROCK BOTTOM before I realized that I needed to change. My hope is that you don’t get to where I was before you consciously make the choice to become a healthier person for yourself. I was slapped in the face with tragedy unexpectedly, and my life as I knew it no longer existed. And by tragedy, I don’t mean my grandmother’s passing. The old me died three years ago. It was one of the most painful experiences of my life, and I never thought I could be standing here today, and sharing with you that I am stronger, wiser, healthier and happier. It was at that dark turning point that I knew I HAD to change or I would spiral further into this dark hole and lose myself forever.
It sounds almost ridiculous that losing weight could give you your life back, but it does! What I didn’t realize at that time was that the physical aspect of my life was closely connected to the emotional, mental, social, and financial aspect of my life as well. When you feel good about yourself, you have more confidence in everything that you do. You don’t sweat the small stuff, and the stars do seem to “magically” align in the universe for you. You have an extra bounce in your step, you have a sparkle in your eyes, you have a magnetic energy that others can feel and are attracted to, and you have a powerful aura about you. You have the “IT” factor! If you don’t believe me, try it for yourself! And then let me know how your life changes when you are a healthier and happier version of yourself!
