Ok so I know this isn't a DIY post but I wanted to share my weight loss journey with all of you! I was just thinking maybe if I share how I did it (and am still doing it), it could possibly help someone else.
From the time I was little I was always super skinny, too skinny really! In high school I think I weighed 105 and I'm 5'7"! I ate whatever I wanted to so it wasn't like I wanted to be skinny! I ate junk food, fried food, you name it! But I think I just had a really high metabolism because I also wasn't into sports or anything like that so I rarely got any exercise. I never had to worry about being overweight. I always had to worry about being UNDER weight! I know most of you are thinking "lucky you" right? Wrong!
Being so skinny meant other girls found me as an easy target. Whether that meant mean comments or trying to start a fight. They knew if they started a fight, chances were that they would win! They were probably right! I guess some people feel like they need to make someone else feel bad to make themselves feel better. Yes people, being told you are too skinny, you look like a bean pole, you need to gain weight, you look DEAD, you look like you are on crack DOES HURT people's feelings!!!!! So for anyone out there who is overweight and thinks "being skinny" will solve all of your problems it's just not true! You need to lose weight to be healthy, not because you think your life will be easier. I'll save that sob story for another day, because this is about my journey now.
I got married at 18 years old to the love of my life and best friend. We got pregnant really quick and we had our baby when I was 19. My body changed. Drastically! It didn't help that when our little one was only 10 months old we got pregnant again! Needless to say it wasn't good on my body!
Pre babies I was probably around 115-120 lbs. A pretty healthy weight but could have stood to gain a few pounds. After coming home from the hospital with our 1st bundle of joy I weighed around 150 lbs. After coming home from the hospital with our 2nd, I weighed 161 lbs. So I gained a total of around 55 lbs.
How in the world could I gain so much weight just by having babies? I was pregnant so I was under the impression I could eat whatever I wanted and how much I wanted! After all, I was eating for two! WRONG! If you are pregnant let me tell you right here, right now that you still have to eat healthy most of the time! We lived right outside city limits so Taco Bell, McDonald's, you name it was only a couple minutes away. City Limits + Pregnant girl = gaining 55 lbs! lol
I did go to the gym with my hubby for most of my first pregnancy. But I stopped going because I was tired, moody, irritated, sick....pregnant! Who wants to workout when you're pregnant? I only went because my husband was into fitness and body building when I first met him. I think I was a bad influence because when I quit so did he. He didn't want to take more time away from "our time" just to go work out.
So girls, please keep eating healthy and working out while pregnant. Even if that means walking a few days a week! It's better than nothing! You can have Taco Bell but limit it to a couple days a week instead of twice a day like me. Sometimes I would even get 2 combos instead of 1 as embarrassing as it is to admit that.
Anyway, I can't blame it ALL on pregnancy! It has been 6 years since he having my last bundle of joy and instead of trying to lose the weight, I kept gaining! I gradually gained 20 more pounds throughout the years. I didn't exercise. I didn't eat healthy. I didn't drink water because it made me sink. The thought of it made me sick! We would eat fast food at least 3 days a week, sometimes more. On weekends we would even eat fast food 2-3 times a day if we were out all day. Bad, bad, bad!!! Processed foods and sugar are the worst things you can put into your body! Just because it's easy and quick doesn't make it okay.
I had wanted to lose weight ever since after having my last child 6 years ago, but always kept putting it off. "Oh I'll wait to start on a Monday", "I'll do it next week", "I'll start tomorrow", "I'll wait till I get a treadmill", etc! Throw out an excuse and I've used it! It was depressing being overweight because I wanted to look good for my husband and myself. I wanted to feel good about myself and wanted him to have a wife he was proud to be with, even though he says he has always thought I was beautiful (insert awww best husband award here). I'm a stay at home/work at home mom with my own small business so that meant sitting around all day on the internet, watching tv, and eating junk food!
It is HARD to lose weight! It is HARD to get the motivation to lose weight! It is hard to keep that motivation as well. I used to think it would be so easy to lose weight. I would think why in the world don't they just exercise and eat less? I thought if someone actually wanted to lose weight then they would. In a way it is true, but it is also very hard to do.
I tried weight watchers a couple years ago and lost 10 lbs in a month but I didn't stay motivated so I gained it all back and more. Diets don't work. Plain and simple. You have to want to be healthy to be able to lose weight. You have to have motivation and self discipline. Diets are a right now kind of thing so once you lose the weight you pretty much stop dieting. That also means you gain the weight back and a lot of times plus more!
I got my motivation almost 4 months ago when I stumbled upon a Facebook page promoting and selling a diet supplement called A.C.E which stands for Appetite Control & Energy. Now I know what you are thinking, she took diet pills!! No they are not diet pills that make you lose the weight! You have to have a prescription to be able to get diet pills because you have to be a so much overweight before you can get those. These are like the kind they sell at Wall-Mart or other drug stores. They give you energy and take away your cravings. They help you to feel full so you aren't hungry all the time.
ACE has changed my life. It gave me the motivation that I needed. It keeps me full so I only eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I occasionally have a snack before bedtime. I don't over eat either which used to be a huge factor in my weight gain. I would think if I ordered food I needed to eat it all even if I was full because I would be wasting money.
Also just so you know, I DO NOT sell ACE. I do NOT work for ACE in any way. I do NOT get any money or any compensation from it. This is 100% honesty. I want to share because it may help you. If you don't want to take a supplement then that is totally fine. You can still read about what foods I eat and what exercise I do. You can't lose weight just by taking ACE. You have to exercise and you have to eat healthy most of the time.
Losing weight is a a lifestyle change and that is why diets don't work! You have to keep yourself motivated and find your willpower to stick with it. I eat healthy during the week and then one day on the weekend I eat whatever I want to. I don't go overboard but I treat myself to Mexican food or whatever it is that I didn't allow myself to eat for the other 6 days of the week. I think this helps me stay on track.
If you want to learn more about ACE you can visit the ACE website here or comment below with any questions you may have. I'm not a professional or anything so I just have my opinions and experience to go on. Before taking it or anything else, I recommend asking your doctor about it to make sure it is safe for you to take. I have heart problems and I take it but that doesn't mean you can or should. It has all natural ingredients which was what got my attention in the first place! I take one a day and skip a day a week to help boost my metabolism. It costs $1/each pill and you can get as many as you want in multiples of 2 for anyone wondering. But taking ACE isn't the only thing I do to lose weight!
I have to eat healthy and get some exercise in to be able to lose weight! You also have to drink LOTs of water! I mean like all day. I used to HATE water!!! With ACE you have to drink a full glass of water when taking it. So the first thing I do when I wake up at 5:30 am every morning is take my ACE and drink a full 16.9 oz bottle of water. I love water now! I even choose to drink it over anything else and that includes when we eat out! I try to drink atleast 4-5 bottles of water a day. I know those plastic bottles aren't good for our planet but I have well water and anyone who has it knows it does not taste good! Getting city water is on our to do list!
How much have I lost since I started trying to lose weight and taking ACE? 30 lbs! I lost 30 lbs in 3 months! I am so proud of myself! I didn't think it was possible. I still want to lose atleast 20-25 more lbs but it depends if I am pleased with my body. I might not even want to lose that much I dont know. So my goal for right now is 10 more pounds. I recommend setting smaller goals for yourself that are within your ultimate goal.
I joined the 90 day ACE weight loss challenge which started my main motivation at the time. That is when I lost my 30 lbs. I recommend joining a similar group because you keep each other motivated even though you are competing against one another. You make new friends who are going through the same thing as you are!
Make sure you drink your recommended daily amount of water! It helps you to stay full and flushes out all of the bad toxins from your body! It has cleared my skin tremendously too! After having children, my body was really bad, and that meant my skin as well. I had an occasional breakout during my teens but nothing major. Then I started getting acne as an adult in my 20's! That also made me feel even worse about myself. Now my skin is so much better! Except for right now....a couple weeks ago I lost my motivation and started eating out everyday for over a week and guess what? I gained 5 lbs and my face broke out super bad! I hadn't had a breakout before that in 2 months! So now I know what is causing it. Putting bad food into my body and not drinking enough water was causing the acne all along. So now, thanks to my week of greasy bad food I am paying for it! I lost those 5 lbs that I had gained thank goodness!
That downslide was definitely a wake up and the motivation I needed to keep going! I got to remember how much better I felt while exercising and eating healthy! That week was miserable, even though I was eating the foods that I wanted. I remember a quote I saw on pinterest.
I hope these motivators help you like they have me! I have a whole pinterest board filled with them! I like to look at them daily to keep myself motivated! Some are funny and some are just simple truth or brutal honesty!
Read my next post for the foods I have been eating to lose weight!
