Work it Out

Let me start off by first saying I have been overwhelmed by the kind words and all the support when I posted some fitness pictures. I was surprised at all the texts & messages telling me to do a blog post on my weight loss. I am finally sitting down to give some ways in which I was able to lose the weight. I am by no means an expert nor do I have any secrets on losing the weight but for those who have asked, here's what worked for me. First off, if you want to lose weight or even just get healthier and in shape you have to be doing it for the right reasons. The only way you will be able to stay strong is if you are doing it for you and only you. Not to impress anyone but yourself. I always was super active in sports my whole life but then theres that gap period where I just didn't work out as much and it's easy to not even notice. These are the steps I took to get serious about it and how it worked.

Step by Step to start off:

1. Get serious & dedicate yourself to it. -Don't just casually decide to get healthy- it's a whole lifestyle change. I set my mind to it & that was it. Whatever is going to push you to be dedicated do that. Its different for everyone and it will be easier to lose weight if you're doing it for yourself and nobody else. Not to make others happy or because you're comparing yourself to others.

2. Get the my fitness pal app. Its awesome because you can put in your weight and how much you wanna weigh, your exersice level and it tells you how many calories you should eat. Then you can log your calories in it. Even if you forget its nice to learn how many calories things are. I don't really use it as religiously as before but now I know about how many calories are in the things I eat. You can scan things and it will tell you or type them in. It's really nice and no one ever thinks about how many calories are in a banana but if you are serious about losing it's the way to go. This is how I first started out. If you dont have a smart phone I am sure you can do it on your computer or find a similar website. I had a friend use a my plate one but I am not familiar with that. The point being every body is different and should be eating different things. Lyle and I started out eating the same thing and the same amount but he should be eating more than double to what I do. 

3.Make realistic goals. The key word here is realistic, guys. Don't expect the same amount of weight to come off every week. Or a lot of it. If you have a lot to lose then at first it may come off but then it will get slower. Do not get upset about this and give up because you feel its not working because it is. And as annoyed as I was to hear this at the time, muscle is forming. I weighed myself and wrote it down. I wrote where I wanted to be and made a timeline. 

4. Tell everyone. I'm not joking. Tell your family, your spouse, your friends. If you start telling your server, your cashier at the grocery store or random strangers that may get a little weird but tell all those closest to you who will support you. It drove me crazy when people said I didn't need to lose weight or didn't support me. Those people were lying fo sho. Anyway, the bigger support system you have the better. Encourage those people to help you and ask you about your progress is key. It's easier if you have people hold you accountable for exercising and eating right. I would always say Lyle please don't let me eat two of these cookies. Having Lyle to work out with was amazing. My mom would ask when I was going running that day and I would have to be like oh yeah crap I guess now...Take your husband or your dog running with you. Heck take your neighbors dog. (They seriously help so much!) Having someone to push you, who won't let you stop is necessary.

5. Start Slow. If jumping into eating right and exercising is too much start with just one. First off, even if you run 5 miles a day but eat crappy it doesn't matter so don't think you can eat whatever you want just because you worked out. Yes maybe you can have that cookie or brownie but half the pan is pushing it. Diet is more important and that is something I have learned the hard way because those who know me know I love to bake & have the biggest sweet tooth out there. A way around this is I bake it and give it away so maybe I can have a piece and get my fix but not have it sitting around to nibble on all day. If you are one of those people with zero self control don't even make it. 

6. Do not cut things out of your diet right away. Cutting out sweets altogether initially is very hard. People who do this normally end up craving them so bad that they just binge and eat 5 of that treat instead of one. At least I did and lots of people who talked to me. I do not recommend giving up something altogether unless your will power is straight up perfect. If you are craving something have it but limit yourself. If you don't trust yourself have someone supervise. I know that sounds silly but if its necessary....If you can't do that throw the rest away before you change your mind or give it away. I could never cut something out altogether but slowly weening off it is key. I used to think dessert was a meal I deserved every day but really once or twice a week is it. Sugar is addictive. It's as simple as that. If I go through a phase where I eat a lot of sweets my body craves it and I tell myself I need it everyday but I don't. Slowly start curbing off it SLOWLY and eventually you won't need it everyday and not only will your waistline thank you but I was surprised at how much more energy I had and how I felt healthier and better too.

7. Get into a routine. Try running in the morning and at night. See what works best. I have way more energy in the evening and Lyle does in the morning. I work my hardest in the evening so thats when I normally work out. Pick a time and try to stick with it. At first its hard but even if you need to go out and walk its better than nothing right? My routine is so set now that even when I absolutely do not want to I have to. I take Sundays off but work out 6 days a week and theres no excuse to miss it. I'm glad my body or head or whatever it is that gets me going is so used to it now because the post run feeling is definitely one of the best feelings in the world. 

8. Reward Yourself. I have seen tons of cute ideas on pinterest on ways to reward yourself. One of them was for every pound put a certain amount of money in a jar and then spend the money on a new top or something. People always ask how we keep up our routine and we reward ourselves (not with food!) but things we like. Not all the time because they aren't special but it was a new bathing suit when I hit 130 and so forth. Maybe it's just me but when I'm bribed you better believe I will do what I set out to do.

Tips I LIVE by:

-Buy pre-portioned snacks. I'm talking the snack bags that only have one serving- for chips, cookies everything. I don't know the price difference versus that of a family size but if its more portion them out yourself. Take ziplpoc bags and measure out your own serving of chips. I can't tell you how many times I look at my bag of sunchips and I'm like whoops I ate more than I should. By eating 2-3 servings of chips you are putting hundreds of calories in your body & for me I am supposed to eat 1200 calories...that is not a lot. So snacking will kill you. I even measured out my cereal portions too because you will be surprised the difference in what you think is a serving and what the box thinks is a serving. You should just check it out of curiosity because I was shocked haha. I normally eat oatmeal every morning because its low cal and I stay fuller longer. Lyle drinks a protein shake every morning because after cereal he's hungry in about an hour unless he has the equivalent of three servings haha. Although there are days when we both just want cereal so we do. But not everyday.

- DON'T EAT AFTER 8. If I could give you one piece of advice it would be this and the piece of advice below. I am not even joking. When we moved down to Texas our schedules were so out of whack. We were eating late but I was still running just as much and eating the same foods as before but I was gaining weight. I understood that I wasn't losing as much because I don't have much to go but still. I started eating earlier and now I'm back where I should be. I think I heard this piece of advice on Oprah or something forever ago and I tried but never really followed it but after this Summer I know this is 100% accurate. Yes there are cases when you have certain commitments where you eat later but just try not to make a habit of it because it really is important.

-DON'T EAT OUT. I have friends who tell me they eat out all the time. 1. its pricey and 2. its so bad for you. Lyle loves to eat out, me on the other hand I avoid it like the plague. Trust me, I love eating out but it's bad. People always tell me they have salads but little do people know half the so called healthy salads have more calories than some of the entrees. Now I know some places have stuff thats under 500 calories but I just like knowing exactly whats in my food. But if you're going to eat out try to pick a place that doesn't give you endless bread or chips or etc... ya know, all the good places ;)

-water water water. Carry a water bottle everywhere. I read that a lot of people think they are hungry when in reality they are just thirsty so you are overeating. Water flushes you out and drinking a lot of it is super important. This is probably the thing Lyle thinks is most important. He is ALWAYS telling me to drink more water and thats how he says he loses most of his weight.

-I don't do big meals, I snack all day. I'm seriously like one of those people that you would think has 3 toddlers around but actually the snacks are just for me and Lyle...I even take some to church because if not I come home and stuff a lot of food in my mouth at once. And then when you are out running errands or something you don't stop at the mall or fast food or eat something fast and easy. People are probably like how does she stay in shape when I always see her eating but thats how I do it...its not like I'm eating crap, its usually fruit, nutrigrains, string cheese or sometimes a pre-portioned snack like chips or ritz (because ya know I'm only human ;))

-I don't know if this helps but for meals I like to have all food groups represented. We always have some type of salad and fruit. Fruit is the best thing ever in the summer too!

Here's a yummy recipe I got from the Connors (who made me the cutest cookbook one Christmas! I love you guys, thank you!) and I make it ALL the time. Lyle absolutely LOVES it. I do low sodium soy sauce! If you really wanna be good you can opt out of the honey but the honey is my favorite part!

Here is the protein we use:

I'm not saying its the best kind but it works for us. If I can turn into a runner anyone can, I am looking to do my first half marathon! But eventually you need to start adding weights. So I rotate between abs, arms and legs on top of running. I have started having this as my afternoon snack (i mix in skim milk, a banana and blueberries and it is amazing!) I first tried it and hated it but now its like my own sweet. I definitely can tell with my muscles that it's working (at first I didn't) but my arms which have never been, are getting so tight and so are my abs and even though I haven't hit my goal of 119 I am building muscle which will burn the fat faster. My goal is to hit that by September when we do our one year anniversary pics! I am so close but hold me to it guys! I really hope this helps in some way.

I was trying to show my mom that I almost had those V things...I don't think anyone sees them haha.

I would have done a before picture if I could find them but I tried to destroy all the evidence. I'm sure there are more than enough at home though... I know a lot of it is the stuff you've heard but this is the way I've done it and I've lost almost 50 lbs. CRAZY. I never even thought I looked thattt bad. Its taken time and dedication. It didn't happen over night but I have found it easy to keep it off and thats the most important part. My lifestyle is completely different and once you get there you will be so happy you did. Hopefully it wont be hard for you to maintain it because it will become who you are, a way of life. I love all of you so much and you really have no idea how much your comments, support and love mean.  Oh and for all the boys & girls who liked me when I went through a chunker phase you're awesome. Sorry, I just had to. If you have any questions, comments or just want support I've got you. I really want to start posting healthy recipes on here too because I make a lot up with chicken and they are super good. One is Salsa Chicken! And I'm sure there is something similar out there but this is way easy. 

Love, Cait