My Not-So-Lovely Love Handles

I went in for my yearly physical last week.  I knew I had gained a little weight over the holiday season but geez that stupid scale said that I was 15lbs heavier than I have ever been! GASP! 15 lbs? That’s like strapping 3 of those 5lb flour packages to my midsection! I noticed that my clothes have been fitting a bit tighter and my muffin top was starting to spill over the top of my jeans but I never imagined it was 15lbs of muffins in my midsection!  I was immediately embarrassed and disgusted with myself because although I still go to the gym 3 times a week, I have been making very poor choices in the food department. I knew that all those late night coffees, cookies and brownies would catch up to me sooner or later!  So I had a decision to make. I could either  A. Get pregnant again, refer to this weight gain as “baby weight” and work on it next year after the baby is born or B. Get serious about getting healthy again. Begrudgingly I decided that choice B was the best option and vowed to seriously start eating healthy!

Some lifestyle changes I made so far include:

1.       Decreasing my sugar intake. If you know me at all, you know that I LOVE LOVE LOVE sugar! I normally start the day with my favorite Keurig coffee with 2 heaping tablespoons (yes I said tablespoons) of sugar and an over abundance of my favorite cream! I have since decreased the amount of sugar and cream in my coffee and I am slowly learning what real coffee tastes like!

2.       In addition to my 3 day a week Cardio at the gym, I have been doing weight training 5 days a week. I wake up a half hour earlier in the morning, work out, drink my sugarless coffee and start my day. I have stumbled upon some great workout videos on youtube. I really like the enormous selection of FREE abs and legs workouts that the “Tone it up Girls” do. I also like all of Jillian Michaels workout routines.

3.       I’ve really been trying to decrease the amount of processed foods I put in my body and start eating more raw foods. One of my favorite new snacks is fruit smoothies. I combine Greek yogurt, skim milk and my favorite fruits in a blender and viola a healthy snack! Sometimes I will hide veggies in it for extra vitamins. The Greek yogurt is jammed packed with protein and is fat free! Oh and the kids love these too!

4.       I’m also trying to eliminate late night snacking. There is nothing more satisfying to me then after putting the kids to bed, lying on the couch with my favorite snack and tv show. So now my only late night snack is H2O.

5.       I’ve increased my water intake. I normally drink a lot of water but it could use a boost so now I’m drinking about 10-12 glasses a day.

The problems I’m facing are when we are invited to someone’s house for dinner and they don’t serve healthy options. What do I do? I can’t be rude and not eat yet I don’t want to consume that many calories in one meal. What do I do?

I would love your input on this challenge of mine and I’d also like to hear your tips for staying healthy!!

If anyone is interested in jumping aboard the “health train”, I’d love to have an accountability partner or a group of people working together for the same goal!