How I Lost 40 Pounds

Over the past year I’ve lost 40 pounds and after mentioning it one day in my Zumba class several members have been asking how I did it. This is the process that I went through.

I want preface this by saying that I am by no means an expert in weight loss, I’m just here to share what has worked for me so far. Hopefully you can figure out what will work for you as well.

MENTAL SHIFT

It all started for me with a mental breakthrough. I’ve battled my weight for my entire life and even suffered from an eating disorder back in jr. high and high school. Fortunately, it was something that I was able to overcome but I think in response, I developed a negative association with restricting my diet. Subconsciously, I thought that if I worried too much about food that I’d slip back into an unhealthy state.

I didn’t have terrible eating habits but over the years my weight slowly crept up. You don’t really notice gaining a pound every other month but after 4 years, I was up over 20 pounds; you definitely notice that! It was embarrassing when my husband, Steve, and I would visit our hometown of Winnipeg. I knew that my friends and family must have been noticing the difference in my weight and I didn’t want things to continue in the direction they were headed.

During the pregnancy with my 2^nd son, Pax, I gained 35-40 pounds but most of it came off on it’s own within a few months of his birth. The last 10 pounds was where the weight stopped coming of and I knew it was time to put in a little work. Although I’d be happy to get rid of my baby weight, I knew I still needed to lose the weight I’d gained before I had kids. This sparked some reflection on my diet. I’ve always felt like the “big girl” in my group of friends. This time, instead of just feeling sorry for myself, I started to compare the differences in our lifestyles. I’d notice that when we were celebrating a special occasion they would ask for a small piece of cake. When out for dinner they would pack up a portion of their meal for lunch the next day. While watching a movie they would stop munching on snacks a few minutes before me. These all seemed like insignificant events but I realized that over time these might be the decisions that add up to gaining or losing that ½ pound every month. Another thing I had to admit was that all my friends exercised regularly while I wasn’t exercising at all. For an exhausted mom with 2 kids under the age of 2, exerting more energy at the gym wasn’t appealing, but changing my diet seemed like something I could do. I realized that even though I may never be a size 2, there was no need for me to be as heavy as I was. I also realized that it would be okay for me to cut back portions and say no to treats once in a while. It didn’t mean that I was going to spiral back into sickness; it was simply something that all healthy adults have to do if they want to maintain a particular figure. These may seem like small and even obvious statements to you but for me it was empowering. It was time to make a change and I knew that for the first time I was going to be successful. I wasn’t worried about how fast I was going to lost the weight, even if it was 5 pounds a year, as long as the scale was going down instead of up I’d be happy.

TRACKING

The first step that I took and one that I highly recommend, especially at first, was to track EVERYTHING that I put into my mouth. It was extremely helpful by making me aware of how much mindless eating I was doing. Luca, my eldest boy, wouldn’t finish his grilled cheese sandwich so I’d finish the last half. While getting the boys a snack, I’d grab a handful for myself not because I was necessarily hungry but because it was there. I’d be thirsty while up in the night with Pax, so I’d grab a glass of juice or milk instead of water. These were the type of things that I didn’t really account for during the day but that added up to hundreds of extra calories! Tracking my food intake led me to more mindful eating. While reaching for a snack I’d stop myself and ask, am I really hungry or am I just eating because it’s there? Most of the time it was the latter, but if I was legitimately hungry I’d take the time to make myself a small healthy snack that would tide me over until my next meal.

I found it most convenient to log my food and drink intake in my phone, but some people choose a notebook. I picked my phone simply because I knew that I would always have it with me, where a notebook would be less convenient to tote around.

Diligently tracking may seem like a tedious and time-consuming step but in reality it takes just a few minutes out of your day and the pay-off is huge. Every time I’d start to think, “Augh, I don’t feel like doing this!” I’d tell myself, “That’s fine, but then I’m going to have to be happy at this weight”. That made it easier to stay on track. I had to acknowledge the fact that what I had been doing so far clearly wasn’t working for me and unless I was willing to made some significant changes, I couldn’t complain about my weight.

PLANNING

The next step I took was pre-planning my meals for the entire week. You may feel like you don’t have time for this step either but again, the pay off is huge and really, it doesn’t take that long!

My biggest downfall is waiting until I’m hungry before deciding what to eat. I’ll inevitably choose something that is quick and easy, which usually ends up being a poor choice. Sometimes it would be fast food or a bowl of cereal for supper, which would leave me hungry and eating again right before bed. So I invested in a couple of healthy cookbooks and at the beginning of the week I would plan out each meal for the next 7 days. It was great to avoid the scramble each night to come up with a different meal only to find that we were missing key ingredients. It also cut back on wasted groceries as everything I bought had a purpose. I wasn’t strict on keeping the exact order of the meals. If today I was craving Friday’s dinner, then I’d just swap them, but overall I’d try to stick to my weekly plan.

SWITCHING IT UP

Between the tracking and planning I started to lose weight. I was proud of every ounce that I lost, but after a few months and 17 pounds I started to lose steam. I fell out of most of the good habits that had been working so well and my weight therefore hit a plateau. I was now lighter than I had been in years, but was still heavier than I should have been. I needed some extra motivation to keep going.

It was around this time that new neighbours moved in across the street. After getting to know Cheryl, I found out that she was on her own mission and had lost 40 pounds on Weight Watchers. I knew that Weight Watchers had a great reputation for successful and lasting weight loss, but I had never seriously considered joining. I guess I felt like Weight Watchers was for people much heavier than me and I felt a sense of shame in joining. Did I really need that much help? Eventually, I got over myself and decided that I had nothing to lose (except more weight!) so I looked into it. Weight Watchers has a couple of programs to choose from: weekly meetings or their on-line option. The first choice is more expensive, but you get the accountability of a large support group and weekly weigh-ins. I felt like I was disciplined enough that I didn’t need to be accountable to anyone but myself, so I picked the less expensive and more convenient on-line program. They had a promotion where you could pay $65 for 3 months, so I decided to give it a try.

WEIGHT WATCHERS

The Weight Watchers program was more of what I was already doing, planning and tracking, but what it did help me understand was the importance of portion control not only for treats but for healthy options as well. I’ve always made good choices such as choosing skim milk, whole wheat bread, skinless chicken breasts, etc, but I learned that if I wanted to continue to lose weight I’d have to cut back those things as well. I used to think of my daily lattes as “freebees” because I made them with skim milk, but Weight Watchers pointed out that a latte with 1 tsp of sugar still accounted for about 10% of my daily-allowed intake… and I’d usually have 2! That’s a big percentage to blow on coffee. I learned that if I did decide to blow my points on drinks, I’d end up hungry at the end of the day but if I chose a calorie-free drink, I could use those points towards something that would actually fill me up.

Over the next 3 months I planned, tracked and cut back my portion sizes and lost another 15 pounds. Some weeks I lost 4 pounds; some weeks I gained a few pounds, like over holidays or while staying with my Italian in-laws ;) but in the long run the scale was still going down. I would strongly recommend Weight Watchers to anyone who wants to learn the tools for long lasting success. After my 3 months was up I felt like I had learned what I needed and could continue on my own, so that’s what I did.

THE GYM

As I previously said, at the beginning of my weight loss journey I specifically remember trying to figure out how I could do it without having to break a sweat. Yes, I see the irony given my new profession. Cheryl had started attending Zumba classes and it reminded me of how much I used to love going to fitness classes before my life got so busy, so I decided to join her one night. I loved it even more than I remembered and signed up for a gym membership right away. I tried out a few different classes but it was Zumba that really got me. It was a great work out, the time flew by and it was actually fun! Plus, it was the one hour out of my day where I didn’t have to worry about anyone but myself and for anyone with kids you know how significant that is! Cheryl and I were hooked; jumping from gym to gym so that we could get in 4-5 classes a week and that is when I started to notice a real difference in the shape of my body. I believe that if you are looking to lose fat, you’ll see the best results by focusing on your diet, but adding exercise is a great addition for shaping and defining. I felt like my boxy mid section was an irreversible result of my pregnancies, but once I started with regular cardio the inches came off faster than diet alone and now my waist is the smallest it’s been since jr. high! I also found that adding exercise helped to curb my appetite and would prevent me from snacking on unhealthy foods as I wouldn’t want to blow my whole workout in a matter of minutes on a chocolate bar.

I started arriving to my Zumba classes 20 minutes early so I could run through a few weight machines before getting in my cardio. I hardly noticed the difference in time because I was usually there early waiting for class to begin anyways but it also helped to shape and define my body. I haven’t been doing any weight training for the last few months but should definitely get back into it. I know I would see results.

GOALS

When I first started out I wasn’t concerned with setting a particular goal for myself. Like I said before, as long as the scale was going down I’d be happy even if it was slow. But as I started to see my efforts paying off I felt like it could be beneficial. I needed my goals to be healthy, reasonable and attainable and I wanted to give myself a time frame to work within. Every winter, as a perk to my husband’s job, we get to go on a tropical vacation and I decided that I wanted to try to hit my goal by the day we left. I started with my transformation in March of 2010 and the trip was planned for mid January so that gave me 10 whole months to lose the weight at a healthy pace. Plus, if I could actually reach my goal, what better reward could I give myself than feeling comfortable in a bathing suit for the first time in years? It was one of the things that kept driving me as the months passed. Every time I would have a bad week or two the trip is what motivated me to get back on track. I actually remember talking to a friend while we were in the Dominican Republic and she was shocked at how much weight I had lost. She asked what my secret was and I had to say that actually sticking to my plan was the key to my success. I had tried diets in the past, but could never maintain them past a week or two, so my weight loss would end at 5-10 pounds. This was a long-term lifestyle change that I stuck to for a whole year and it made all the difference.

There is something about writing down a goal, whatever it may be, that gives you a better chance of success and that proved true in my experience as I hit my target weight for the first time on the very day we left for our trip.

MAINTENANCE

I’m a little more lenient with myself these days. Sometimes I might have a snack later in the evening or a dessert when out for dinner with friends, but for the most part I’ve replaced many of my old bad habits with new good ones and I’ve now surpassed my original weight loss goal. Also, physical activity is not only a part of my weekly routine; it is now my profession and something that I love. I don’t have a perfect body and I’d still like to lose a little more weight, but I’m definitely proud of how far I’ve come and if it takes me the next year to lose the last few pounds; I’m okay with that!

Before & After

With my brother and friends a few months before I became pregnant with my eldest, Luca. 

Summer 2007

 With my mom and brothers- Fall 2007

May 2009- 11 months after Luca was born

 Where you'll likely find me these days...

Off to a Zumba class

 Or at home with Luca

 or Pax

May 2011