what I ate when I lost the baby weight.

{See my full postpartum weight loss adventure here.}

SMALL. CLEAN. OFTEN.

Here is an example of my diet when I lost the baby weight. I ate like this every day (+ ONE cheat meal a week, 2 if I was feeling naughty) and lost the 50 lbs I gained with my first son in 9 months, and the 35lbs from my second son by the time he was 6 months old. I obviously learned from the first pregnancy- what comes on, must come off! 🙂

TWO week difference after starting my post-baby diet plan. 🙂

A Day:

7am: 1 FULL glass of water before anything! 1 cup of coffee with truvia.
1/2 cup Oatmeal + 1 cup almond milk + PB2+  blueberries + cinnamon + flax seeds

10am: A small whole grain wrap with 2 chicken slices + baby spinach leaves + hummus + fresh ground pepper + a squeeze of lemon. (the size= picture a wrap from chick-fil-a, now cut it in half. It looks tiny at first, but your body will learn this is what a normal portion is after about 1 week. DONT LET THE SMALL PORTIONS SCARE YOU, JUST GET TO 1PM AND YOU CAN EAT AGAIN!)

1pm: One small (organic if possible) Chicken breast, 1 cup green beans or asparagus

3pm: A “homemade” protein bar (look at Whole Foods, Sprouts, or Central Market)

6pm: Ground turkey, crushed garlic tomatoes + 1 cup whole wheat pasta + fresh basal

B Day:

7am: 1 FULL glass of water before anything! Coffee with truvia.
Protein shake made in my magic bullet- 4 ice cubes + 1/2 cup almond milk + 1 scoop chocolate protein powder (look for low sugar, low carb, high protien.) + 1 Tbs PB2

10am: 1 cup egg white omelet + Sautéed spinach, mash 1/2 avocado on top & sprinkle paprika & ground pepper on top

1pm: Tuna fish or chicken on whole wheat wrap + 1/2 Tbs olive oil mayo + walnuts + ground pepper & one twist of ground pink Himalayan salt

3pm: LÄRA Bar (LÄRA bars are very trustworthy, the sweetness comes from dates- no added sugar! I always stock up on these at the store and keep one in my purse at all times) or a banana or apple

6pm: One small chicken breast & half of a baked sweet potato

-Alternate these A & B days- mix stuff around and find what you like. Just remember to keep the portions SMALL. When in doubt, HALF it! You may not feel full after eating… and thats OK y’all!! It is so a “first world problem” to think we have to feel full after every meal. Like the comedian Louie CK says in reference to Cinnabon, “I don’t stop eating when I’m full, I stop eating when I hate myself”. Makes me LOL every time… its funny, but NO that will not be us! We will stop eating BEFORE we feel full. Save the I hate myself moment for your Thanksgiving and Christmas feast. Thats only twice a year yall. 😉
-ONLY drink H2O! A lot of H2O. NO milk, juice, coke, diet coke, (i’m from Texas where Coke means all soda), or alcohol. Unless its with your cheat meal, but I would still steer clear if you can! Cokes and juices are full of sugar and have no nutritional value. And don’t even get me started on diet Coke. Its a lie. Just stay away!
-NOTHING to eat after 6pm meal! Water is fine though.
-PLAN your cheat meals (Fri or Sat night), look forward to them. Don’t just start eating bad and say- oh I guess this is my cheat meal for this week! No, keep to your diet and only cheat according to your plan. YOU are in control.
-MEAL PREP! Get it all ready and organized on Sunday. Get some good containers and adjust  your fridge to very cold, it will stay good all week, I never had a problem eating meals from sun-fri.

MEAL PREP IS KEY!

-Heres a tip to help you at the beginning: find a meal prepping service in your area and invest in their service for the first 2-4 weeks so you learn what proper portion size is and can get some recipe ideas. It is worth it! And you’ll learn how convent prepping is- all you do is pull it out of the fridge and heat it up! Was perfect for me and my crazy schedule with work/school/kids! It makes this whole process start sooooo easy! And you’ll actually save money by emptying out your fridge every week (nothing goes to waste) and you have no excuse to say- “I’m too tired to cook tonight, lets just order a costly, fatty pizza. Google search your town + “meal prepping service”
Tampa & Jacksonville areas: Nutrition Solutions
DFW area: Simply Fit Meals 

example of proper portion size for one meal.

-Also, here is a good grocery list I found thats helpful! Just remember to always check the labels, get organic when possible, eat simple, avoid flavorings and seasonings as they contain MSG and GMOs.

-Summing it up again:

• Small: 300 calories or less per meal- a LÄRA bar, a protein shake, small chicken breast with a veggie, a small spinach salad, a small wrap (half the size of a wrap you would get at Chick-Fil-a) with light dressing, egg whites, 1 cup of oatmeal with almond milk, a banana, black bean burger with 1/2 avocado, ect….
• Clean: ABSOLUTELY NO- fast food, salt, seasoning packets, processed foods (in a package with an expiration date over a month), foods that contain more sugar than fiber or protein (READ THE LABLES), no fried food, no soda- ESPECIALLY “diet” soda. Fast food is not real food. Think of it as un-edible (and it will be after you eat clean for a while). AVOID: breads, dairy, alcohol, juices, more than 1 cup fruit a day. STOCK UP: H2O H2O H2O!!!!!! USDA certified organic meats and veggies, almond milk, some fruit, oatmeal, egg whites, almonds, simple organic spices, thin cut chicken breast, lean flank steaks, lean ground turkey, Truvia, fresh (not instant) coffee, Morning Star and Kashi are trustworthy brands but still ALWAYS read those labels and beware of sugar!!!
• Often: Every 3-4 hours you get to eat a meal! Well a 300 calorie meal. I like to think of it like eating like your baby: every 3 hours while awake 🙂 Basically this kicks your metabolism into high gear. If you eat small, youre giving your body just enough to fuel you for about 3 hours. In 3 hours you’ll start feeling hungry and you can eat again! But just enough to keep you going for 3 more hours. This way your body is using what you need and dips into fat stores because it learns that it will only get just enough to last for a few hours. Skipping meals is NOT ok- because then your body goes into starvation mode and holds onto what it has (my thighs) because it doesnt know when it will get food again. Your body has to trust that you will keep fueling it in order to let some of that thigh go. It does take a few days for your body to learn your new diet, it will be hard. But after about 5-7 days it becomes the new normal and I promise you can get there!! Get past those first few hard days, get used to feeling a little hungry (you will not starve to death!) and then it will get so much easier and you will feel amazing. You will get to a place where your mindset has changed from eating every meal for pleasure to eating to fuel your body.
• Reward Yourself: Weekly and at the end once you reach your goal, let yourself enjoy something! This consists of, drum roll please….. a CHEAT MEAL! Woo! You deserve it! ONE cheat meal a week will not hurt you. In fact it will help you! Its something to look forward to at the end of a long week of dieting, and it lets you give in to your craving without loosing control. When I have a cheat meal I actually appreciate every bite, when I wouldnt if it was something I ate every day. Also, I think you’ll find you’ll feel super stuffed and maybe even feel a little sick after your cheat meal.  You get used eating healthy! 🙂 Then at the end of your journey, when your goal has been met its time to celebrate! Take a vacation, go on a shopping spree, get your hair done to top it off!

 YOU CAN DO IT!!!!!!!
SMALL. CLEAN. OFTEN.

And finally, here’s your homework: educate yourself on nutrition by watching this film, Fed Up.  Knowing the truth about what real nutrition is and isn’t will help your mental strength tremendously and guide you from dieting to an actual healthy lifestyle change. FedUpmovie.com