I did it. Without swearing off carbs completely. Without giving up booze. I lost a few pounds and toned this old ass lady up !! How did I do it ? Do I have proof? Reluctantly, I show you the pictures along the way … I am THRILLED TO SHARE MY PLAN.  Below you will see a “along the way” picture.  Not quite the beginning, and , definitely not the ending… I AM STILL WORKING ON THE ENDING !!

It all started when I saw a horrible, disgusting, actual picture of myself from a year ago. It was summer and I was FAT. Fatter than I had been in a really long time. No one wants to be their version of fat in July.   I was seeing this picture in January. It was all the motivation I needed to start getting serious about getting rid of the yucky body I was living in.

WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO MY BODY?

It happens … we get comfortable in our flowy shirts and skinny jeans and the French fries aren’t so bad after all. I am here to tell you there is a space between comfortable and holy crap that we all need to avoid.

I typically gain weight between Halloween and the Superbowl.  We have talked about that before. But, I have never really taken a ton of weight off since I had babies.  I am 5 feet tall. So, for me, a ton of weight is like 5-10 pounds. Five pounds on a 5 foot tall person is like a total makeover.

When I started taking these pictures I decided they need to be in the same spot. No fancy lighting or filters. WHICH TOTALLY SUCKS – I LOVE A FILTER !!

OK JENN – WHAT DID YOU DO TO LOSE THE WEIGHT ??

What did I do to make the changes?  First, I joined a gym within 7 minutes of my house.  I had not been a member of a gym since before I had kids.  My oldest is in middle school… it had been a ‘minute’.  It was easy to pop in and out.  Even if I was just there for 30 minutes while I was driving my kids to a sports thing I did “work out” more than I had in a long time.  Next, I did listen to my APPLE WATCH. When the rings were just hanging around I knew I had not really done anything.  So, I would walk or pop into the gym.

Food ? Well, I was not insane about the diet.  I tried to be good most of the time. When I was bad I wasn’t totally terrible bad.  I would and do have a French fry from my kids plates here and there , but, I have not ordered fries since Christmas.  On days where I was good it did feel like I was “starving” myself.

EXAMPLE:

breakfast: Vega Protein shake

work snack: individual pack of cashews and a mini orange

lunch: low carb broccoli  and chicken rice meal ( like fried rice but not)

dinner: salmon or chicken with veggies and red wine… maybe a glass & a 1/2

 

 YOU HAD WINE?

Yes, I had wine most of the nights.  Red wine… isn’t that a vitamin ?  Some days I would have a chicken nugget.  Other times I would do tortilla chips and hummus post workout.  Like I said … I tried NOT to do a weird diet.  Ready for the pics ??

I hate to say it but I ate less and exercised more.  I am proud to say that I did NOT give up pizza or booze.  I declined cookies at work and definitely have not have a pina colada in a few months.

Bottom line, it’s April.  I am headed to the beach and I feel ok about that.  I have trimmed up the yucky and I ready to have some fried fish and non-lite-beer.  Yes, I will get back on track after Easter… and YES you can do it too.

I am honestly hoping to get  back my version of serious after vacation. I am hoping to tone up more and more and really feel better in my clothes and my own skin.  But, this week I will not say no to much. I will say yes to golfing, boating and wine.

So I did it !! 5 pounds down !!

Without a dumb KETO diet.

Without a dumb running plan.

Without any nonsense that totally disrupts all the fun we are all supposed to be having!!

 

PS YOU CAN DO IT TOO !!