Contributed by: Jaime Ible

I was invited to contribute to this blog after posting a note on facebook, I’d like to thank Rob for inviting me. I figure I will start off my first blog with the note I posted, since I did put a lot of thought and effort into it. I wrote this note because I get asked by my friends ALL the time HOW I lost my weight and transformed my body so completely in the past couple of years.

Anyhow, on with the post:

I get asked A LOT how I lost so much weight (I was 60lbs heavier after I had my son) and people who know me now are shocked when they see pictures of me 4 years ago. I really have transformed myself. I was a size 16 when I started, I am now a size 4, that adds up to me losing 12 sizes. I am in the best shape of my life.

So, I’m going to actually really break this down and give you a lot of tools, if you have ANY questions do not hesitate to ask! (I seriously should consider being a personal trainer LOL)

First off, I didn’t follow it this time, but a few years back I followed the “body for life” book by Bill Phillips. I have found (and so have many other people) that the diet in this book is unreasonable for normal people to follow BUT it has a LOT of really good hints and the fitness part of the book is excellent.

Dieting:
In the beginning I did cut calories. I ate about 1600 calories a day. I started off by counting calories religiously but in a couple of weeks you get the hang of it and you know basically what to eat in a day. Here are a few really good hints:

1. Carbs- if it’s white, don’t eat it. Popcorn, white bread, white rice, etc etc… it is high glycemic which means it turns into sugar.
   Opt for whole wheat carbs and brown rice.
2. When you are low on energy there are 2 things to fix this- eating or sleeping . Your brain can cross these signals, like if you are tired, you may want to eat OR if you haven’t eaten you may feel tired. A lot of late night bingeing is because you are actually tired, not hungry.
   If you recognize this, then you can do something about it, like maybe go to bed
3. Try eating your larger meal of the day at lunch. This helped me a lot. Larger lunch, smaller dinner. Also, avoid eating after a certain time at night. For me it is 7pm.
4. I know this is a little personal, but a lot of friends I talk to have this problem. Being regular. I never used to be, in fact the opposite. Think of it this way, whatever you aren’t getting rid of, is getting reabsorbed into your body. This is not good for a whole lot of reasons! I drink a high fiber energy drink every morning and I cannot tell you how much better I feel in general!!! I’m not sure how much it helps weight loss (I’ve heard it does) but it’s worth it just because you feel so much better.
5. NO SODA it is horrible for you!! Even diet stuff!! It robs your body of oxygen and it makes you feel even thirstier and hungrier after! I’ve been told by a nutritionist that Sobe lean is good if you want a diet drink.
6. Drink LOTS of water. Eight 8oz glasses a day is what is recommended.

Exercise:
Seriously, you’re going to have to work out. I can diet till the cows come home, but I could never have gotten where I am if I hadn’t been working out. Plus it’s good for you. Get off your butt!

I started off in the very beginning by pushing both of my kids in a double stroller, a mile uphill as fast as I could, then went down the road slowly (it’s hard going downhill slowly with 40 lbs of kids in front of you) then I would turn around and do it all over again. I’m bringing this up for those who think they can’t work out with toddlers and babies
Around here there are a lot of Mommy and me fitness groups, women who get together and go on stroller walks and exercise together. If you can’t find one, maybe start one!
Here are some other hints:

1. Join a class.
   Join a class that you need to pay for upfront and has a scheduled time. Then you are expected to be there and you lose money if you don’t. These are great motivators.
   For me I joined a Pilate’s class, I had to pay up front for a month and there was a scheduled time I was supposed to be there at. AND they called you if you didn’t show up!
   With my cardio kickboxing class, you pay upfront and there is a day and time they have the classes, they don’t “expect” you to be there, but after awhile you make friends there and they sort of expect you to be there. It’s a great support group.
2. Do something you like to do. I can tell you, I tried the treadmill at the gym thing. I could not do it. I hated it. It’s hard to get out and do something you hate.
3. My kickboxing instructor said this once and I think it is really great, Nobody ever said “Boy! I wish I hadn’t worked out today!”
   (I’m adding this in since my original post) Saying you don’t have enough time is a COP OUT. Everyone can find an hour a day, whether you wake up and hour earlier or stay up an hour later at night.
   Hey, you are taking the time to read this… think about how many crunches you could have done in this time
   Saying you can’t get to a gym is a cop out too. There are a million exercises you can do at home with free weights and a Pilate’s ball. Buy a few weights, a Pilate’s or yoga video, get some books with different exercises, stop making excuses!! This is so cliche’, but it’s on the wall of my martial arts studio-
   “A journey of a million miles starts with one step”
   Believe me when I say I did not wake up one morning and decide that I was going to take Pilate’s, kickboxing, ju jitsu and eat whole grains, stop drinking soda and cut fast food out of my life.
   Try changing one or two things a month. Cut out one bad eating habit and add one activity.
4. If you join a gym or whatever, try getting a personal trainer if only for a couple of weeks. You’re not going to get anything out of exercising if you aren’t doing it right. I see so many women just going through the motions and then they are upset because they aren’t getting results.
5. You get out of your workouts what you put into them. If you are really trying, you’ll see results, but if you just go through the motions… well.

SOME OTHER IMPORTANT WEIGHT LOSS TIPS/TRICKS:

1. This sounds weird, but take a picture of yourself in a bathing suit. You see yourself every single day and sometimes you don’t see the results you are getting. You might be surprised one day to look at a picture you took months ago and see a huge difference.
2. THROW AWAY THE SCALE. Don’t weigh yourself! Muscle weighs twice as much as fat. In the beginning you might even gain weight, you most probably will not lose weight at all.
   Base your weight loss in how your clothes fit and inches you have lost.
3. Be patient. For me, I gained muscle for about a year. I used to joke that I had a 6 pack under the fat on my tummy, that all I had to do was get rid of the fat! I kept up with it though and then all of a sudden, at least a year later, the weight and fat started coming off. I know a few women this has happened to. It’s like your body gains muscle to a certain point to where all of a sudden you are burning off more than you are eating.

I hope this helps! You CAN do it if you decide to! You just have to really want it!

-Jaime Ible