New Year, New You

Jan 13, 2012 by Lauren

Rarely do I write a post when I don’t already have a good idea of what I’m going to say.  This is one of those times.

Like most people, Adam and I have one New Year’s resolution: lose weight/get in shape.  Like most people, we have been very determined for the last 3 weeks.  Like most people, however, we don’t have an awesome plan as to what exactly we are going to DO in order to lose the weight/get in shape.

I believe that previous sentence is a key point though: Losing weight or getting in better shape should be about what you DO not what you DON’T do/eat/etc., right?  Listen, I’ve tried a lot of different ways to get healthy.  None of them have worked 100% because I didn’t keep up with them, or put 100% of my energy into them when I WAS keeping up with them.

Here’s what I DID:

1. While I was pregnant, I got hooked on sugar, specifically ice cream.  I thought that after G$ was born, the ice cream craving would simply go away.  All the other cravings did…but not ice cream.  I fixed the ice cream problem by simply not purchasing any more ice cream.  Duh, right?  But I was still having outrageous sugar cravings.  Totally out of control.  So what to do?

2. The only thing that has ever broken me of sugar cravings is the South Beach Diet.  I know, I know, it’s supposed to be “lifestyle change” not diet, right?  Well that only counts if you follow the whole plan.  Adam and I used this diet in the past to lose weight and break the addiction to sugar and it works!  Two weeks later, you have no more sugar cravings and you’re back to eating fruits, vegetables and whole grains.  You know…the stuff you should be eating.

3. Adam and I did the first two-week section of the South Beach Diet and, wouldn’t you know, it worked again.  Mostly.  In the past, I’ve lost up to 10 lbs in those two weeks and Adam usually loses around 15.  Not this time.  Adam lost 9 and I’m down less than 2.  Grr.

At this point in the story, bloggers usually like to post their starting weight or a “before” picture.  I’m not going to do that.  It’s not because I am embarrassed over the number; in fact, if you ask me in person, I’ll be happy to share my starting weight.  The main reason is I really hate reading blogs where people say “I’m so fat/gross” or “OMG eww…I weigh xyz” and then “xyz pounds” is less than my weight.  That happened yesterday.    I’m not going to post my photo now.  If you know me, you know what I look like.  If not, then stay tuned for more posts tracking our weight loss and eating/exercise plans.  Photos WILL be coming.  Buuuuuut, since everyone loves a visual, bear with me for a moment.

As I mentioned before, Adam is also looking to lose a lot of weight.  He was encouraged by his 9 lb. loss (and he should be!) until he visited our neighbors and their son thought he was (get ready for the visual):

 

That’s right, Santa.  Not cool.  Out of the mouths of babes, right?  Less cool? If he’s Santa…that makes me Mrs. Claus.  Yipes.

So here’s our plan:

PHASE ONE:

Complete the first two weeks of South Beach diet

Break sugar cravings

Begin exercise regimen

Phase one: COMPLETED!  Woohoo!  It might not seem like a big deal but I did not work out AT ALL while pregnant so, between that and the ice cream, I got fat and lazy.  Getting back on the wagon was a big deal to me!

 

PHASE TWO:

Eat healthy foods but leave room for treats

Eat more vegetables

Increase exercise and make sure to SWEAT
But first…we are going on a much-needed VACATION!  See you all in a week! 🙂