I Stopped Eating Like A Fat @$$

Three Days After Giving Birth

Losing weight after having a baby is hard. Let me count the ways:

1. Losing weight starts in the kitchen, not the gym.
2. From the moment that I found out I was pregnant, I was eating ALL OF THE FOOD! 
3. After close to 36 weeks of eating whatever, you spend another 12 months or so eating about 2000 calories each day to support your milk supply.
4. Losing weight may require restricting carbs but my breast milk supply dwindles without carbs. So I had to eat carbs.
5. I work at home, in the kitchen, where I live with 2 little mousies (husband and son) who like to snack and never put their snacks away after the partake. Of course, I'm gonna have a mini oreo or two or three before I put them back in the snack cabinet.

My Favorite Snack

You get my drift. The odds are not in my favor here at the Fancy Factory. So, how did I do it? I just decided. I decided that I was tired of not looking how I wanted to look in my clothes. I was tired of not feeling my best. I was tired of squeezing my brains out with spanx and seeing my FUPA anyway. I was tired. It's just like being an addict who needs to kick the habit. Only the addict can decide when it's time. I decided. I decided that I wasn't gonna eat like a fat ass no mo'.

Fitness

Working out has never been a problem for me. I've always had a regular fitness routine, even in college when my average weight was about 120 lbs. I just never had to really watch my diet. I ate pretty healthy but never felt like I had to restrain my sweet tooth. Give me ALL of the chocolate chip cookies, brownies with ice cream, molten chocolate cake, and sweet tea. LOL! 

Felt Cute But Wasn't Excited
When I Look At This Picture

After having my first kid, I came home from the hospital weighing roughly 200 lbs. But he was a spring baby so I started walking 1 - 2 miles per day when he was about 3 weeks old. The weight dropped quickly but then I went back to work, sitting at a desk, I was stuck at about 175 lbs. Womp. At 9 months postpartum, I got serious and adapted the 21 Day Fix meal plan. I dropped 11 lbs in 21 days and kept going. The down side to that was my milk supply suffered so I ended up weaning my son at 10 months when I really wanted to nurse him for a year. I eased up on the dietary restrictions but was able to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight and maintain it. If you have a husband, you know how they can be haters sometimes. I got knocked up again. SMH

I weighed in at 215 lbs. before I delivered my daughter, the second child. I came home from the hospital weighing 198 lbs. This time I knew what to do, it was just a matter of doing it. What I didn't realize was, I wasn't as active as I was with my son. I was doing my little 25 - 30 minute Beach Body on Demand exercises but I was feeling like it wasn't enough. What was I missing? Aaaahhhhh, the walking. Since my daughter was born in November, getting outside to walk wasn't ideal and I had given my treadmill away to make room for Fancy Factory operations. Plus, having two kids takes a longer adjustment period. Shit. We're still adjusting 15 months later. LOL!

Once my daughter hit 8 months, I was over being fat. I got serious about my diet.....again. I had to be careful though because I didn't want my milk to dry up.

Food

Here's is what my daily menu looks like:

• Drink 90 - 100 oz. of water with lemon slices per day (I refill my 24 oz. container 4-5 times/day and refresh the lemon slices daily)
• Breakfast
• Green Smoothie with protein: Handful of spinach, half a banana, scoop of Thrive protein, water (any kind of milk, including non-dairy, has a rack of carbs)
• Accompanied with
• Flax & Oats Oatmeal (for milk production, I stopped eating this after I stopped nursing. Oatmeal has a rack of carbs.) OR
• Avocado toast with fried egg (Ezekiel toast, guacamole, fried egg on top) OR
• One boiled egg
• 8 oz. of Coffee with flavored creamer only. No sugar.
• Morning snack (cuz you've gotsta have a snack)
• Celery with peanut butter OR
• One serving of fruit
• Lunch
• 4 oz./One chicken tenderloin (seasoned and frozen, cooked in the air fryer for 8 minutes at 380 degrees)
• Salad
• Afternoon snack
• One serving of Fruit OR
• Popcorn
• Dinner



May 2019 vs. November 2019

• Protein
• Veggie
• Glass of red wine (sometimes. Gimme a break. I have two toddlers that drive me crazy.)
• Dessert (usually under 200 calories) This can get tricky but I keep dark chocolate around the house for those chocolate cravings. Dark chocolate is healthier for you than milk chocolate. Like red wine compared to white wine.
• One Chocolate Peanut Butter Bite (Using dark chocolate chips instead of milk chocolate chips) OR
• A little sliver of cake OR
• One or two squares of dark chocolate OR
• One fresh baked chocolate chip cookie OR
• One or Two Mini Oreos OR
• Brush my teeth and go to bed. (When I've had a bad day and couldn't stick to the meal plan)

Dassit! The weekend can get pretty sketchy. If you get a stomach virus or flu, that helps. I'm laughing but serious. I have started doing a quarterly 2 day juice cleanse. The juice cleanse is a healthy substitute for a stomach virus or the flu. Hahahahahaha!!! I also drink some Smooth Move tea each night just to get the waste moving out, ya know. If you are holding onto waste, you are holding on to weight. Let it out! The tea is very helpful when I didn't quite drink enough water the previous day.

Document! Document! Document! Just like with anything, what gets measured is what gets done. I use an app to document everything. My Fitness Pal is a great app that tracks, documents, charts, and reminds you to eat, workout or whatever you need help with. I use it to document my meals to monitor my calories and nutrient portions, water intake, daily weight, waist measurements, and daily steps.

I eat the same things everyday. This works for me. I eliminate decision fatique and it's easy for me to pack my lunch and snack when I'm in deez streets. Packing my lunch and snacks prevents me from eating out....sometimes.

Fitness

If we are friends on social media, you probably get tired of seeing my work out pictures #MorningsAreForMoms. While I know that I don't have to workout everyday to be healthy, I NEED that time to myself. Going to the gym is really the only time of the day that I get to myself. I'm not interrupted by phone calls, emails, staff calling my name, kids crawling all over me, a husband asking me questions. Just me and my music or audio book. I COULD work out at home but husbands and kids can be haters. It's the best $10 I could spend on myself. I post my daily workout to hold myself accountable and to encourage my Fancy Friends. It's amazing how showing that you're working on yourself can encourage someone to work on themselves as well. I see improvement in my stamina and strength everyday. I feel better about my day when I've worked out in the morning. I know that if my whole day goes to shit and I don't get anything done as planned, at least I exercised. I got ONE win for the day.





I hope this helps someone who is feeling discouraged. Some days are easier than others. PMS is the hardest for food. Getting to the gym is hardest when I'm on my cycle. But I give myself grace and rest when my body gives me signs that I need to rest. However, I don't let rest day turn into rest week, so I even workout on vacation. I don't let one bad food choice turn into a bad food week. I take it day by day. I get excited for the small wins because the small wins add up to losing. Losing weight.

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Enzymes - How Digestive Enzymes Assist With Weight Loss

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An apple a day keeps the doctor away is a saying that is mostly true. Not so much about the apple. We need to eat more than apples to stay healthy but the concept is true. Eating fresh fruits and vegetables keeps our body healthy and functioning at peak performance levels. The problem with today's microwave and fast food society is that most aren't eating fresh foods. The average American's diet consists of 61% processed foods. Not only does that mean that their bodies are not getting the nutrients they need but also some of the other things that play a key role in bodily functions, like enzymes.

Digestive enzymes are very important. Our body has billions of cells that need "energy" in the form of nutrients. Well, an apple is food and we look at it as energy but our body needs what is in that apple. One apple has sodium, potassium, carbohydrates (also known as sugar), fiber, protein, vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, iron, vitamin B6 and magnesium. We enjoy the taste, texture, and satisfaction we get from eating an apple. But digestive enzymes play a significant role in breaking the apple down so that our cells can absorb these nutrients.

Enzymes are molecules that start a chemical reaction breaking food down into smaller pieces. These pieces are what the body uses fuel day-to-day activities. Without enzymes, food will sit in the stomach and, eventually, pass through the bowels undigested. Digestive enzymes targets types of bonds that processed foods may not exist in processed foods. Looking at some of the ingredients in processed foods may make you wonder if it's food at all. Most of the ingredients have no nutritional value at all, mostly sugar and salt.

Digestive enzymes are naturally occurring in fermented foods like kimchi. The bacteria that causes fermentation also releases enzymes that help with digestion. Enzymes are also found in apricot, avocado, banana, papaya and pineapple. When you're on the go and aren't able to merge these foods into your diet, high quality supplements are a good alternative.

Enzymes are good for your digestive system but they are only as good as the food you eat. If your diet has a large part of processed food, enzymes are not able to properly break them down so that your cells can get the nutrients they need. This can lead to obesity and chronic illnesses. Eat to live. Make sure you are getting enough fresh fruits and vegetables in your diet, including those that naturally contain enzyme. If you can't do that, get your daily dose by taking a high quality nutritional supplement that have enzymes.

At Fancy Free, LLC, we are healthcare professionals. Health and wellness are very important to us. We take great pride in helping people live healthy lifestyles, physically and financially. Call me at (410)929-0302 for your complimentary health and wellness consultation.

Weight Loss Supplements - What The Manufacturers Don't Tell You

Too much of anything is not healthy. Even things that are good for you are best when enjoyed in moderation. Drinking too much water is not healthy. Too much fiber can wreak havoc on your gastrointestinal system. Too much exercise does not allow your body to rest and repair. With that being said, losing weight too quickly is not healthy. There are so many miracle weight lose drugs, pills, and potions that claim dramatic results in a short amount of time. The marketing is very tempting for us to try them but the reality is the results achieved by these supplements are not good for the body and usually are not long-lasting.

For true weight loss and maintaining your ideal weight you need a lifestyle change. If your diet and activity level causes weight gain, a fad diet or magic pill is not going to help. In this culture of instant gratification, advertising weight loss in a way that boasts of quick results without exercise and/or adjusting the types of food we eat is creates a false sense of accomplishment and is not in the best interest of your health. The reality is, making up your mind to completely change your lifestyle is really the only way to lose weight and keep it off. It's that simple.

The goal of marketing these unhealthy products is to get you to buy. After you buy, the results may vary based on body type and metabolism. When reading the fine print, you will see that a lot of these supplements do not offer guarantees or refunds if you do not see your desired results with in a certain amount of time."Results may vary" is the go to disclaimer.

If you are on your journey to a healthier lifestyle that will result in weight loss. Look for nutritional supplements that suit your needs and lifestyle. In most cases, healthy lifestyle habits result in weight loss. Supplements can fill in nutritional gaps to make sure your body gets everything it needs to work properly. Not only will you see a decrease in cravings or appetite suppression, which results in weight loss, you will also see a decrease in risks of health problems associated with being over weight and malnutrition.

Don't be fooled by marketing of fast weight loss. It's not healthy and it's not sustainable. These market products in a way to boost sales. As a customer, your best interest is not what the company has in mind. Instead of just losing weight, set a goal to live a healthier lifestyle. Weight loss and other health benefits will come along with the change in lifestyle. Look for nutritional supplements to decrease cravings and to make sure your body is getting all the nutrients it needs to function properly and repair itself.

Fancy Free LLC. finds joy in helping new people reach their financial as well as personal goals in all areas of life. Call us at (410) 929-0302 to schedule your complimentary consultation.