With the temperature rising, and the mosquitos biting, I’ve found myself indoors and a lot less active than I was when Quarantine began. I have yoyo’d between 5-8 pounds since late May and I’m ready more than ever to drop the weight. I, like so many, love my wine and I really enjoy food, well carbs :). Since COVID started, I began to drink a lot more, eat a lot more, and go to bed much later than ever before. Despite going to bed late, I still wake up every morning at 6:45 because my kids are up ready to start the day. Lately, I’ve been dragging myself out of bed and skipping those morning workouts that I so desperately need.
With school starting back up soon, and the rise in cases, I told myself, “Well, COVID is here to stay, so the only way to protect myself and my family from the virus, is to be healthier!” So, I made a pact with myself, that no matter what, 5 days a week, I just have to SHOW UP! Whether I run or walk on the treadmill for just 20 minutes, or take a virtual yoga class, I just have to show up! I’ve got to put the wine glass down, get in bed at a reasonable time, and not let 2020 get the best of me!
To shop my favorite Fitness Outfits click here.
Below, I’ll get a little personal about me, my fitness regimen, my fat loss program, how I plan to lose my Quarantine pounds, and share some secrets that have helped regain my confidence back after pregnancy.
Please note* Always talk to your Doctor before you try a new diet or fitness plan. Everything that I share below has worked for me and I’ve consulted with my Doctors prior to starting anything new.
My Health
I’ve been active my whole life. I played sports as a little girl and all the way through high school. My parents were/are both healthy, fit, and thin. However, At 13 years old, I was diagnosed with Hashi Motto’s Disease, a type of Hypothyroidism. Basically, it means my metabolism is really slow. My thyroid gland doesn’t produce enough hormones to jumpstart my metabolism. I’ve taken a pill for 20 years of my life and I go see my Endocrinologist twice a year to get my thyroid levels checked. This isn’t a “skinny pill” and not a “diet plan”. It’s a pill prescribed by my Doctor that just makes my metabolism “normal” and to function properly.
Pregnancy & My Body
I’m a mom of two sweet girls and very blessed to have two healthy children and two easy pregnancies. To be honest, pregnancy was really hard on me mentally and physically. I am no petite pregnant girl and it looks really painful on me (haha)! People would gasp when I walked by because my babies were huge and so was I! Oh, and the comments I got daily were just exhausting and annoying.
My favorite (sarcastically speaking), most common comment I got was, “Girl, is that baby due any day now?” and my reply, “Well, I’m only 20 weeks pregnant, so I’ve got a ways to go!” (as I fake smile and waddle away mumbling expletives).
My dad is 6’9, athletic build, and my husband is 6’3, broad shoulders, athletic build, and he was born at a whopping 11 pounds 11 ounces. So with those genetics, I knew that we were destined to have big babies, and big babies we’ve had!
Went back to the archives to find this gem, me pregnant with my second at 37 weeks with two weeks to go!
My first born, I gained 60 pounds (when I stopped looking) and she was born three weeks early at 7 pounds 10 ounces, 20 inches long. My second pregnancy, I gained 45 pounds, and she was born a week early at 9 pounds 4 ounces, 22 inches long.
Best Product To Use While Pregnant For Stretch Marks
Thanks to one of my mom’s best friends, she gave me this tip when I got pregnant with my first. I have to say, I literally do not have one stretch mark on my stomach because of this product! It helps diminish the appearance of stretch marks too!
Faster Way To Fat Loss
After my first born, it took me a full year and a half to get my body “back“. I tried everything under the sun and nothing worked for me. I was defeated and was left feeling totally helpless and hangry. After having my second baby in early January of 2019, I made the decision that I would have patience and lose the weight in the healthiest way possible. I found a fat loss program that didn’t deprive me from the food I love, and one that I could actually eat, and of course drink (because I didn’t for 9 months).
The program is called Faster Way To Fat Loss (FWTFL) and they combine a work out plan, with counting your macros, and incorporating Intermittent Fasting too. I did two rounds (12 weeks) of FWTFL and started at 3 weeks postpartum. I lost 32 pounds of my baby weight in just 4 months, and a total of 55 pounds by the end of November 2019.
Yes you are able to eat, a lot actually, drink, and at the time I was only working out 3-4 times a week. No, I didn’t breastfeed because it’s never been easy for me, or my kids, but you can do this program and breastfeed (your coach will modify your numbers for you)!
Not only are the results amazing, you will feel amazing too! I was well rested, energetic, and felt healthier than ever.
My Results
The first row of pictures was day one of starting FWTFL (3 weeks postpartum).
The middle row of pictures was after I completed the first round (6 weeks) of FWTFL.
The last row of pictures was at the end of my second round of FWTFL.
I did this program for 12 weeks straight and was so relieved that I finally found something that worked for me.
What you get by signing up to do a round of FWTFL – Price: $200
*One round is 6 weeks, plus a week of prep and learning about the program.
*Weekly Meal Plan Options
*Carb Cycling – This is basically the amount of carbs you intake each day. One day is a low carb day, the next day is a regular carb day, etc.
*Daily 30 Minute Work Outs (options: you can join in on the app with the rest of the FWTFL members, and they also offer low impact, at home, and/or gym options too).
*An Accountability Coach and a Facebook group of about 8 others in the program too.
What To Expect
- Never stepping on the scale or talking about your weight in your group.
- This was hard for me because I like to see a number. Their whole idea on this, is that you’re exercising and putting on muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat so you could be making great progress, but you don’t necessarily see it on the scale.
- Using the My Fitness Pal App to count your macros aka your macronutrients. Your macronutrients are your Proteins, Carbs, and Fats! Your coach will teach you how to count them. If you want to be really precise, get a scale for your food. This is not a calorie counting program, you’re just counting your macros!
- Intermittent Fasting – This is a daily time of restricted eating. In simple terms, you stop eating at 8pm every night, and don’t eat anything until noon the next day. Sounds hard, but it’s by far the easiest thing with this program. By doing intermittent fasting, you give your body the chance to eat away at your fat. Your body has feasted on the food you ate from the night before, so with no food in your system the next morning, your body then begins eating away at your fat. During the fasting period, you can consume up to 50 calories, but that’s it. So if you are a coffee drinker, you’re allowed black coffee, with a splash of almond milk. You’ll be surprised though, you may find you don’t need it anymore because if done right, you’ll have more energy than ever before. For me, I’m a Diet Coke drinker, and I gave this up cold turkey during my rounds. The problem with “Diet” drinks is that the artificial sweetener, though no calories, actually tricks your body into thinking it is real food. In turn, your body stops eating your fat and attacks that artificial sweetener.
- This is how I maintain my body weight, even today. Whenever we have a big meal for dinner, I will fast the next morning so I can give my body a chance to basically burn off what I ate the night before.
- Dairy Free – If you really want to see quick results, cut dairy out while doing the 6 week program.
- Accountability Group – Each evening, you are to take a screenshot of your daily macro intake on the My Fitness Pal App and send it to your FWTFL Facebook group.
- Though a little daunting, having a group of people to do this with will motivate you even more to stay on track.
Common Questions
Q – What if I have a bad day and eat terribly, have I lit my $200 on fire?
A – No! That’s the beauty of this program… you can have a really bad day because this isn’t really a diet. If you have a bad day, just start fresh the next day and just try to keep up the consistency of eating clean. It’s a lifestyle change, not a diet.
Q – What if I have a cocktail or wine at night and it cuts into my Intermittent Fasting time?
A – This was me in a nutshell. If I drank past that 8pm cut off time… I didn’t worry about it honestly. I just made sure I didn’t eat until noon the next day. Drinking lots of water the next morning helps a ton too!
Q – What do you eat and how do you enjoy the foods you love?
A – You pick the right day to eat the foods you want, based on your FWTFL Weekly Macro Schedule. On Saturday’s it’s considered a regular Macro Day, so we would enjoy our Chick Fil A nuggets and fries! For pizza nights, we usually get cheeseless pizza with a lot of meats and veggies, I also like to dip it into balsamic vinegar for a little more taste. Another favorite of mine on low carb days, is a hamburger salad with a ton of ketchup! Low carb days you are to double your healthy fat intake to get energy from the carb depletion. Hamburger patties are high in protein and healthy in fats too!
Q – This seems like a lot of work and very daunting, how do you find the time?
A – The first week, which is prep week before the 6 weeks begin, you will watch a series of videos that teach you the program. Your Coach will help you so much along the way too. It’s super easy to do and once you get the hang of the My Fitness Pal App, it’s a piece of cake!
Helpful Tips
- Plan out your dinner first when you are planning out your meals. Then work your way down to snacks and lunch time.
- Make Smoothies to get all your macros in for the day!
- Use Coconut Aminos to get an extra boost of nutrients your body needs!
My Favorite Snacks
For the Sweet Tooth
I had never heard of “No Bake Energy Balls” until my Coach told me about them. The Baker Mama has a recipe too that you can find by clicking here. They are so tasty and really curb that sweet tooth craving too!
How I Maintain My Weight Loss After FWTFL
Like so many diets, once you’ve lost the weight, it seems to come back so easily after a weekend of “bad” eating. The beauty of FWTFL is that it’s so easy to maintain the weight loss because it’s a lifestyle change. When I gain a little weight, I’ll eat a little cleaner and really stick to Intermittent Fasting for a week and I’m back to where I started. The Intermittent Fasting is the key to maintaining your weight loss.
Exercise
As for exercising, I try really hard to work out a minimum of 3 days a week for 20 – 30 minutes. During FWTFL, I stuck to my own work out routine because I know what I needed to do to drop the weight fast, and for me that’s interval training. We have a Peloton Treadmill and that’s been a life saver for me. What I love about the treadmill, is that it offers interval training, bootcamps, yoga, and more! Peloton also offers an app on your phone that you can get all sorts of workouts straight on your device!
My Secret To A Toned (ish) Stomach
I was given this information from a great friend of mine and I’m forever grateful for it. The answer to a toned (ish) tummy after kids is not crunches, it’s Rolfing. Defined on Wikipedia, “Rolfing is a form of alternative medicine originally developed by Ida Rolf as Structural Integration”. Just think of a deep tissue massage, that hurt so good type of massage. However, the Rolfer isn’t working out knots, they basically move your muscles back to where they used to be. Think of it as a realignment of your whole body. There is no popping or scraping of any kind and the amount of relief you find after one session is truly remarkable.
I was having severe hip and back pain after childbirth and after one session with my Rolfer, I was a new person. Having two c-sections and gaining that much weight with both my girls, really did a number on my body. I felt like I couldn’t suck in anymore and my stomach, hips, and even my ribs were all messed up. Once I had my session at 10 weeks postpartum, I finally got some definition back in my stomach and could suck in again.
11 months postpartum
Some may think it sounds a little hoaky, but I swear by it. A session is usually an hour and thirty minutes. It can run you around $200, however, some insurances will cover the cost! This little secret is pure gold, and I thank my gal pal for giving me this gift and my stomach back!
To conclude, every body, metabolism, and body image of ones self is different, and we are our own worst critic. I’ve had to learn to be patient with my health journey and to give myself a little grace. Since doing so, I’m not as hard on myself and in turn, I’m a much happier person.
I’ve found that it takes two weeks to make a habit, and I’ve got one work out down and nine more to go to make my five days a week workout plan a habit! Just got to show up!
Favorite Fitness Apparel
To shop all my favorite fitness apparel, click here.
These Align lulu Leggings are in every way my absolute favorite leggings. This is the new color “Ancient Copper” and they’re giving me all the Fall feels! These high waisted leggings are by far the most comfortable leggings I own. I wore my black Align leggings pregnant (order your normal size) and wear them not pregnant too! I now own five colors in these because they’re that good! My sweatshirt is Target for $20! I love this creamy winter white color and it’s super soft too!
The Poncho that can take you from Pilates Class to a night out with your girls! Keith gave me this Poncho last year for my birthday and I wear it just about everyday! Now available in 3 colors!
My Elsa Ice Blue Leggings by Summersalt is another pair of leggings I wear on repeat. I call them my “Elsa” leggings because this blue reminds me of the movie, Frozen. Wearing my Target sweatshirt again and my favorite Amazon tank too!
Stay safe and healthy out there!