I have never written about my diet or exercising habits here on The Glamorous Housewife. Mainly because this isn't a 'diet' blog and because I have never really had a weight 'problem'. I did gain about 20 pounds after my second child, and loosing the weight was what was inspired me to begin dressing the way I always wanted to dress- which is in vintage and vintage inspired garments, as well as the impetus to
start this blog. I wasn't planning on having a third kid and I figured I would be at that size (around a 4-6) for years. Cut to 10 months after having a baby and I have about 15 pounds to loose if I am going to fit into any of my gorgeous summer dresses! Oy.
I happen to be pear shaped, which basically means I have great child-bearing hips and a 'juicy' butt. Though after this pregnancy, I seem to be storing weight around my middle as well. I know many of you see my photos and might think to yourselves, 'she doesn't need to loose weight'. And I see what you are thinking. But in order for me to feel better and, frankly, so I can wear my vintage clothing I spent a lot of time and money collecting, I would like to 'get healthy' again.
So far I have lost about 5 pounds and I thought you kittens might be interested in how I did it. You see, I don't follow a diet. I didn't start Atkins, or become vegan, or just eat cabbage soup. I just changed a few of my eating habits and that has made a big difference. So here are 6 ways I was able to rework my 'diet' in order to eat healthier and loose some weight.
1) Stop drinking soda.
I used to drink exactly one can of Coke every afternoon with lunch. Not Diet Coke, regular Coke. But I realized that was almost 200 calories for nothing. So I decided to try Diet Coke. Hated it. I tried Coke Zero. Hated it. Slowly I began to cut down on the amount of coke I was drinking. This wasn't something that changed over days, we are talking months. Then I tried substituting a cup of hot tea (I don't like coffee) with 2 tsp of sugar and some soy milk for the Coke. It worked! I found the caffeine to be enough and the tea filled me up in a way the Coke never did. So now, instead of soda I drink tea to get my caffeine in the afternoon. I even managed to wean myself off the sugar I used to mix in as well!
2) Stop eating chips at lunch.
I love a sandwich at lunch. Sometimes chicken, sometimes a fake chicken patty, sometimes cheese and avocado. The sandwiches varied, but I had to have a handful (or two) of chips to go with them. I knew these were also empty calories, so I started to wean myself of my chip addiction. First I would only put one handful on my plate. After time I tried to substitute something else like carrot sticks or apples. That was very unsatisfying so it didn't last long. Then I started only eating baked chips. And that worked for a while as well. Until one day I was out of chips (the horror!) and just grabbed two baby dill pickles. I checked the calories on the jar and it actually said there were zero calories! I ate one small pickle with one half of the sandwich and the other with the other half. I got the crunch, the salt, and the tang from the pickles and I have yet to buy another bag of potato chips! True story.
3) Snack on smoothies.
I make myself two smoothies every day. The first is in the morning after I do my cardio. The second is usually around 3:00 in the afternoon. Each one is pretty much the same- 8oz of water, half of a banana, around 3 frozen strawberries, 1/4 cup frozen blueberries, 1-2 handfuls of spinach, and sometimes I also add frozen mango. Then I blend and drink. I used to use protein powder, but I found it didn't seem to keep me fuller any longer then without, so why bother? This keeps me from getting too hungry and I like the fact it is just fruit and veggies. I could substitute a salad, but I find throwing things in a blender much easier.
4) Stop drinking wine every night.
This one has been by
far the most difficult for me. I love wine. No seriously. I adore it. I look forward to that first glass while I am cooking dinner, and then I usually have another glass during dinner. My favorite is Sauvignon Blanc- the dry fruity liquid tastes like the nectar of the gds. *sigh. But that is also a ton of calories I don't need. I tried drinking less. But that didn't work because after one glass my willpower didn't kick in and I would inevitably pour a second. So the only thing that has worked for me is to not have it in the house, and then only have my two glasses on Friday night. After my two glasses I pour the rest of the bottle out. A waste of money? Yes. But I dont' buy expensive wine and I think it is worth it. Sometime a girl has got to do what a girl has got to do.
5) Park at the end of the parking lot and always take the stairs.
Normally I would make sure to get a parking spot as close as possible to the entrance of whatever building I was entering. Now I just park at the other end and walk. And I always choose to take stairs- never the elevator or escalator. Just tweaking this little thing helped in the 5 pounds I lost.
6)Find an exercise routine and stick to it.
When I had my first son I was so bored at home. I found a mommy/baby stroller exercise class and started going. I ended up going to that class for almost 4 years! Then life changed, my schedule changed, and I was back at work so I 'didn't have time' to exercise. That is when I gained the 20 pounds the first time. I only lost the weight by finding a new routine that worked for me. I joined a gym that was about a mile away and walked to it at least 4-5 times a week, then lifted weights at the gym and then walked back. That alone was enough for me to loose 20 pounds because at that time I was still able to drink the coke and eat the chips and maintain my 4-6 size frame.
Recently I have finally been able to add exercising back into my life. I put the baby in a jogging stroller and walk my 7 year old halfway to school. Then I power walk or run (occasionally stopping to lunge) for around 30 minutes. I have been doing this on and off for about a month, but I have found I haven't been loosing any more weight. So now I make sure to do this five days a week. After I get home from the walk, I drink a power shake, put the baby down for her nap, then do some weights. I focus on my shoulders, arms, and back three days a week and on my butt and legs twice a week. I am hoping that this new routine, combined by my tweaks in eating habits, will allow me to loose at least 5 more pounds by July.
As you can see, in each instance I started off by identifying a problem, tried to find ways to solve that problem and worked slowly to incorporate the solution into my lifestyle. It wasn't a crash diet, or something I could do for 3 months and then go back to my old habits. These were little tweaks that will sustain me for the rest of my life.
So what do you darlings think? Are there any tweaks you might be willing to make to your own eating habits? If so which ones? Are any of you interested in what I normally eat in a day? And how do you stay in shape? Let me know in the comments.
