Workout Misconceptions

I started working out and eating healthy on January 2nd of this year. I had had 2 kids and not worked out a single day since having them. I'm one of the lucky ones that got skinny again right after having babies--but that luck wore out. I started the year off weighing 140.5 pounds--the highest my weight had ever been. It wasn't any sort of "new years resolution" --I had reached my breaking point because I hated how my body looked. Something switched in my brain and I was ready to do whatever it would take to get that weight off. January 2nd was my first day of working with a personal trainer and I was SO nervous. Would I throw up or pass out? Luckily, I didn't do either. 

Working out with a trainer, I realized that everything I *thought* I knew about losing weight was wrong. Here's a little insight for you:

Lesson #1: EAT!! Let me start this off with: I NEVER starved myself. I downloaded the MyFitnessPal app onto my phone and started tracking everything I was eating. It set me up with a 1200-calorie-a-day allowance, and soon I was checking the calorie count of everything before I ate it. It sort of became an obsession. I *thought* that if I was under my calorie goal I'd lose weight. Sounds simple, right? Not so. I found myself eating around 900 calories a day (which is hardly anything!) and thinking I'd have huge weight losses, then weighing myself and seeing that I had gained. I was furious!! I had a long talk with my trainer, and she lectured me on how I needed to eat more--around the 1500/1600 calorie range. That just sounded crazy to me. How would eating more make me lose weight?! Apparently my body was going into starvation mode. You have to eat AT LEAST a minimum of 1200 calories a day or else your body thinks that you are starving and it holds onto anything you eat. I listened to my trainer and started eating around 1500 calories a day making healthy choices: lots of protein and vegetables (having a high calorie allowance does NOT mean you can just eat whatever you want!) and I found that I was finally starting to lose weight. Pretty soon I found myself working out more so that I could eat more--I'm ALWAYS eating! You don't have to starve yourself to lose weight--it won't work. 

Lesson #2: DRINK LOTS OF WATER. When I started working out, I honestly don't think I was drinking any water at all if I wasn't working out. That's not good!! I remember at one point I was on a week-long plateau and was starting to get really frustrated. My husband told me to drink an entire gallon of water that day to flush out my body and I'd see results. Drinking an entire gallon of water sounded SO overwhelming to me--I thought there was no way I could do it. Joe grabbed 4 of those BIG Dasani water bottles and asked me if I could drink all 4 of those in a day. I said "yeah, easy." Well, 4 of those water bottles equal a gallon of water. I set time limits--I had to have water bottle #1 finished by 10:00, water bottle #2 finished by 2:00, water bottle #3 finished by 6:00, and water bottle #4 finished by the time I went to bed at 10:00. Easy. The morning after I did this, I had lost over a pound and was finally off of my plateau. Trust me--you will not gain weight from drinking water! (side note: you will pee ALL DAY LONG. It gets annoying, but its worth it)

Lesson #3: LIFT WEIGHTS! The trainer I was working out with was crazy into lifting weights. At first I was nervous and scared--I didn't want to get bulky like those figure competitors. That wont happen at all--they are on crazy hardcore diets and it takes a LONG time to get to that level. Once I started lifting weights, I realized that I loved doing it and felt like my workouts were pointless if I didn't do it. Designate different days for different muscle groups: have a leg day, a biceps/triceps day, a back day, etc. (I personally LOVE leg day!).  Finish up your workouts with some abs (unless your abs are sore--then give them a day or two off until they aren't hurting anymore).

If you follow all of these steps, I'm sure it'll kick start your weight loss. I'm obviously not a personal trainer, and I'm sure that there's a ton more you can do to lose weight, but these are some of the things I've learned over the past few months. I weighed in this morning at 125.9 pounds--14.6 pounds lighter than I was at the beginning of the year. I've already surpassed my goal weight and I'm feeling great. I was never on a "diet" ...it was more of a complete lifestyle change. You don't have to cut out the foods you love; you just have to love them in moderation. I still eat In-N-Out burger--I just get my burgers protein style now with no buns ;). 

Good luck with your weight loss--now get out there and exercise!!