I have always been good at maintaining my weight. The problem was that maintaining my weight after the birth of my daughter was two dress sizes bigger than I wanted to be!
I had a fairly healthy diet and was obviously managing to balance what I consumed with what I used as energy. I ate three meals a day starting with a bowl of cereal or toast and marmite, sandwiches for lunch and a home cooked meal with my husband in the evenings. I would sometimes join my children for their afternoon snack although if I think about it I would normally join them if it was biscuits and not if it was fruit on offer! I was probably managing 3 or 4 of my 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day.
I had been exercising several times a week since my daughter was 6 weeks old and had a fairly good, and improving level of fitness.
So, if I was to reach my “shape” goals something had to change. This is what I did.....
- I cut most carbohydrates out of one meal each day. This would usually be lunch when I would enjoy a bowl of soup, a salad, an omelette or a mixture of stir fried vegetables instead.
- I reduced my serving sizes. I started having porridge for breakfast on a regular basis and weighed my oats into the saucepan – by doing this I found I had previously been eating about one and a half portions each day.
- I also reduced my serving size at my evening meal serving my husband slightly more than I had.
- I added a scheduled afternoon snack to my day and I made sure it was a healthy one. I now sit down with my kids at 3.30 and we will have fruit, nuts, yoghurt, popcorn or occasionally a biscuit.
- I gave up caffeine for Lent. I have never drunk coffee but cut out tea and diet coke for 40 days, and replaced them with herbal tea. When I started drinking caffeine again I limited myself to 2 mugs of tea each day. Occasionally I have 3 but very rarely.
- I buy a much wider range of fruits and vegetables. I plan my meals a week in advance and I try to choose some fruit and vegetables that I know will last longer than others so that we have a good range to eat throughout the week.
- I stopped drinking alcohol for 2 months. I finish this next Friday when I am going out for my birthday. My aim is that having demonstrated I can do without for so long I will drink far less when I do start to drink again – just like the caffeine in 5 above. I wont drink every Friday and Saturday night - “because it's the weekend” - but will go for a few weeks without a drink and enjoy it all the more when I do have one.
There you go, 7 changes I have made to eat a healthier diet – with no “DIET” in sight! Together they have enabled me to lose 8cm from around my abdomen and 4cm from around my hips over the last six months (since 28/12/08). I have also reduced my fat percentage by 4% over this period.
All this whilst running my own business, bringing up my two pre-school children and dealing with all the other stresses and strains associated with being a 30 something year old wife and mother in Poole!
Believe me, if I can do it so can you! Give me a call today on 07899 984597 and together we'll give you a shape you can be proud of!
