Hey friends! Hope your week is getting off to a fab start!
A few of you asked what type of pizza crust I used for Friday’s half and half pizza it was a lazy girls thin crust mix! I can’t remember the brand, but it was one of those ‘add water + olive oil and let it rise’ types of dough. So easy and delicious!
On Saturday, I somehow talked Sam into making a Costco trip with me. Grocery shopping is not a love we share, but I persuaded him with promises of a large electronics section.
He still told me to hurry up about 10 minutes into the trip AND we came out with a giant box of pop tarts and an economy-sized box of Cinnamon Toast Crust. Yep.
Over the years, Costco has given me many lovely contraptions a rice cooker, a juicer, and a treadmill to name a few. Well, Saturday was no different.
Say hello to my new little friend (I’ve had my eye on him for months).
Goodbye Swiffer, hello Shark.
I’m all about recycling and preventing unnecessary waste and I’ve always felt bad using a new Swiffer sheet for every cleaning. Well, the Shark only uses water (no chemicals!) and it comes with 8 washable cleaning mats (no waste!). Needless to say—I was embarrassingly excited to open it.
So what did I do on Saturday night? Steam cleaned my floors. Yet another piece of evidence in case you wanted to prove my coolness.
After posting a my weight loss tips a few weeks ago, I left off welcoming your questions so that I could put together a Q&A. I responded to each email individually, so I’ve simply included questions along with my responses.
Weight Loss Q&A
What was your initial plan (i.e., how did you get started)?
Exercise-wise, my initial plan started with simply walking (on the treadmill or outside). I also loosely counted calories and learned about portion sizes to find out just how much I should be eating. Before this I had only ever paid attention to carbs (stupid Atkins diet) so I was pretty much clueless when it came to calories.
I tried to keep my calories around 1500/day depending on my activity level. I also kept a food journal for the first month, so that I could keep track of what and when I was eating.
Before keeping a food journal, I would just mindlessly eat without thinking about it! But knowing that you have to write it down really makes you reevaluate whether you’re eating for hunger or some other reason.
After a few weeks of just walking, I started adding in .25 mile runs (all I could do at the time) and then I just kept building up from there! I love running, but I do a tons of other activities as well! Turbofire, Jillian Michael’s DVDs, and strength workouts are a part of my normal workout rotation.
You’d be surprised how much of a difference strength training makes! Muscle weighs less than fat, but it needs more calories to be maintained! That’s a win-win situation if I’ve ever seen one! The more I exercised, the more my desire to eat healthy increased. For me, eating healthy and exercising go hand-in-hand.
Can you allow yourself to indulge?
I really do believe that maintenance is half of the battle! When I first reached my healthy weight, I was so scared of gaining back the weight that I didn’t splurge much. Now, I always allow myself treats—I just make certain not to overdo it.
I’ve realized that a cookie, a piece of cake, or a cup of ice cream will not make me gain weight. It takes consistent overindulgence to gain weight. Knowing this makes me able to indulge without regret or guilt. If you eat healthy and exercise the majority of the time–then a little splurging here and there won’t make a difference!
Try these healthified brownies!
Or these healthier banana blondies.
Or try out Nature’s Candy!
What about those last 10lbs that just won’t budge?
Oh, those last 10lbs—they seem to hold onto your body for dear life, right? My last 10lbs were extremely gradual (think: 1lb/month). I just kept doing what I was doing and the weight came off very slowly, but steadily. I also added in some harder workouts like sprints and intervals. The high-intensity interval workouts are known for their fat-blasting properties! They got me out of my exercise comfort zone that helped me lose the majority of the weight!
Check out these ways to maximize your workout!
How about portion size?
Portion-control was a big problem for me when I first starting trying to lose weight! The problem was I just had no idea was a correct portion size was. So, I started actually measuring out my food and loosely counting calories just to get an idea of what portion sizes were and how many calories certain foods had. This helped tremendously! For boxed or pre-packaged foods, I followed the recommended serving sizes listed on the nutritional stats. As for veggies and fruits, I eat as much as I want! That’s why I love veggie bowls so much—they’re so delicious and so filling!
While I no longer count calories or measure my food (unless it’s for a recipe), I can now eyeball portions and know what the right size is. Things just eventually fell into place and it comes naturally now.
That concludes my mini Q&A.
Anything to add?
Have a fantastic day!
