The Skinny on Getting Skinny

Let's be honest - that title is a little misleading because nobody really wants to "get skinny" these days, but "The Healthy on Getting Healthy" just didn't quite have the same ring to it.  In my previous post regarding my Herbalife results, I mentioned that I would share what worked for me in reaching my health and fitness goals, so here are 10 of my "Weapons for Weight Loss".

1.  Herbalife nutrition.
This is at the top of my list because it made the biggest difference for me.  I know that you don't have to have this in your plan to lose weight, but it made my life so much easier and my results came quickly.  I'm a PICKY eater, so having two and a half meals a day (out of five) already planned was a big plus for me.  Not only was using Herbalife EASY for me, it was delicious.  I have yet to try a shake I didn't like, and the Bev Mix/tea drink is seriously my favorite part of the day (nutrition wise).

I love it when my cabinet is full of GREEN!

2.  Plan ahead.
One of the best things you can do for your weight loss is to plan ahead.  I like to look at a week at a time and plan my meals for each day (building around my Herbalife nutrition plan).  This allowed me to get the groceries I would need, and I was ready each day.  The days/weeks I didn't plan were the days I "ran to Sonic for a quick burger...and fries...and soda."  This also meant planning for the meals I would be eating out.  I would take a look at the restaurant online to know what to order before hand.  Staying on track with your nutrition goals is imperative in meeting your weight loss and fitness goals.

3.  Log your nutrition.
Along the lines of planning, I would say one of my best weapons for weight loss was logging Every. Single. Bite. into MyFitnessPal Every. Single. Day.  It might seem a little obsessive, monotonous, or even tedious, but it was so worth it.  You can scan most of the foods you eat (including your fruits...) or enter in the nutrition information of your most used foods and even recipes the first time you are using them.  After those first few days, it is much easier and becomes part of your new healthy lifestyle.  Logging the information lets you know where you are for the day, will help you plan those extra meals, and gives you accountability to keep the junk out of your mouth.  {If I'm logging every bite that goes in to my mouth, I don't want to SEE the sugar or carbs go through the roof...so I just don't eat it!!}

One of the best things I did was enter a typical day for myself (pre-herbalife) to see just how bad I had been eating.  The results were shocking (and disgusting).  A year later, I can still see that information in my mind, and it encourages me to make better decisions.

I'll just point out here, that is almost TWO day's worth of EXCESS calories, almost 500 carbs, 250 grams of sugar (Oh. My. GOSH.), and about HALF of Vitamin A and C, calcium, and iron that is needed for my body.  No wonder I felt so awful ALL THE TIME.

4.  Hydrate your body.
I think it goes without saying how important it is to drink water, but since it was a huge part of my weight loss, I'm going to go ahead and add it to the list.  I could write an entire blog on all the things I've learned about hydration, but I will just say that the goal is to drink at least HALF of your body weight in ounces each day.  That amount will only replenish what your body is using.  That does not account for what you are sweating out during your workouts, or what you need to really hydrate your body.  That is why you will hear people say to drink a gallon of water each day.  (The age-old suggestion of 8 glasses a day doesn't come close for some people and their needs.  That comes out to 64 ounces a day, the amount recommended for someone that weighs 128 pounds.)

5.  Set your goals.
You have to have something to work towards.  Knowing what you want to achieve before you even gets started allows for you to measure how close you are to your goals, and it gives you the opportunity to celebrate those victories!  (Celebrating the victories should be a weapon all its own, but I'll just make a note here to plan for some rewards, whether it is a dollar a pound or various prizes as you lose different amounts, those "prizes" will give you great incentive to keep going!)  I found that when I randomly changed my goals in the middle of working to achieve one (ie. getting greedy and going for "a little bit more", almost always resulted in very unsuccessful days/weeks/months.)  Set a goal, achieve it, then go for the next one.

6.  Measure yourself.
It's not ALL about the numbers.  There are certainly non-scale victories every day in my house (NOT choosing to go get ice cream after a crazy-toddler day is definitely one of those victories), but knowing where you are starting will let you know how far you have come.  It will be obvious in pictures and the way your clothes fit, but when you hit that "plateau" and you feel like you aren't making any progress, you can break out the measuring tape and SEE that you really are moving forward!

7.  Eat protein.
Two things: Know how much you need, and eat it at every meal/snack.  I think the one thing I learned the most about over the past year is PROTEIN.  One of the first things I was taught was that in order to lose FAT, you want to keep your muscle (DUH.), which you do so by eating plenty of protein.  You'll want to reevaluate your protein needs throughout your weightless to make sure you are eating for your current body and not where you started.  Knowing your protein needs will also help in your meal planning, you'll want to be sure and spread out your protein between all five/six meals of your day.  (My beginning protein factor was 112 grams, but it is currently down to 102.)

8.  Know your No's.
For me, I shoot for No soda, no fast/fried foods, no bread, no sweets...  The best suggestion I have for this weapon is to not go too far too soon!  You {probably} can't successfully give up a lot of different things at the same time that have been an addiction or a habit for a long period of time.  Also, by phasing them out, you'll be able to tell a difference about what each item does to your body.  Some of these things you might want to give up permanently (sodas) and others you might want to enjoy in moderation (breads...I mean, I'm not about to give up the occasional bread indulgence from my favorite Italian restaurants...and yes, there is more than one).

9.  Have a reason.
It's not about being skinny.  It's not about a specific number on the scale or the tag of your shorts.  It's about so much more than that.  For some people, this weapon might cause the biggest bang of all.  Your "Why?" can be very motivating!  For me, I wanted to get healthy first for myself, so that I could feel better all around (both physically and in my self-confidence).  Second, I wanted to get healthy for my family, bot present and future.  My husband and my daughter deserve the very best of me, full of energy and life.  I want to be able to be active with my daughter for years to come, and I want to feel well enough to serve my family as they need me.

10.  Enjoy the treats.
I don't call these "cheat" meals.  You can wreck a week's worth of work with one cheat meal, and there are just certain things you don't need in your body, ever, cheating or not.  That's cheating yourself.  Now TREATING yourself, that's another story.  Find things that you love, but that you really only need in moderation:  maybe it's pancakes for breakfast, or s'mores for dessert, or some Fro Yo with your family.  You don't have to go overboard, and you don't have to wake up the next morning mad at yourself.  (You could use the "treats" with your "prizes" I mentioned in number 5.  Set your goal of 5 pounds and take yourself out for some frozen yogurt once you hit that milestone!  I can assure you that yogurt will taste better than you ever remembered.)

And a bonus weapon for you - Know your body.  It's important to know what works for you and what doesn't (I always GAINED weight when I added running, but lost when I added walking).  Know what causes "issues" for you.  I have certain foods that trigger some tummy troubles and knowing what those foods are (and eliminating them) definitely helps me feel better...and feeling better keeps me on track!  I also have triggers that lead me towards "falling off the wagon," so I try and just avoid those all together. (Can we talk about the fact that I can't just eat one Reeses?? They are NOT satisfying.)  And maybe more important than anything is to know what special things you have that affect weight loss, for me it's PCOS, and knowing that I have it changes my daily nutrition goals.

Transformation Tuesday: My Herbalife Results

I've had friends and family asking all kinds of questions about why I started this commitment, if I even needed to do anything at all, why I chose Herbalife, my results, and when am I going to "stop," so I thought I'd share a little bit about my commitment over the past year, and then I'll follow up with what worked for me.

Why I made the commitment...
I have struggled with my weight and eating healthy for {what feels like} my whole life.
MY WEIGHT:  I've been WAY up on more than one occasion, and unfortunately, I've been WAY down.  I don't shy away from admitting that I have struggled with an eating disorder, and I do everything I can to make sure I don't go back down that path.  I have to be sure I'm following plans that encourage eating and fueling my body with what it needs rather than restricting myself from certain foods or low calorie goals.

EATING HEALTHY:  I also don't shy away from the fact that I am not a good eater.  I'm extremely picky and have had some bad experiences trying new foods.  Being picky has held me back, made me fearful, and most of all, made being truly healthy extremely difficult.

Thankfully, God has had me on this journey long enough that I had confidence in myself and found my self-worth in Him.  Many of you are to thank for that as well.  I'm so thankful to have such encouraging and supportive friends and family, some of whom would comment from time to time that I "didn't even really need to lose weight."  I had plenty of days that I felt beautiful, even at my heaviest (and my heaviest had NOTHING to do with "baby weight" as you'll read below).

But when you looked at the actual numbers, and where I was headed, it was scary and NOT at all healthy.  I'll be real honest here and give you the facts - When I found out I was pregnant, I weighed 160 pounds.  After battling hyperemesis during pregnancy, I lost 15 pounds during my first trimester and was down to 145.  I left the hospital (with my nine-and-a-half pound beautiful baby girl) at 155...5 pounds lower than the day I found out I was pregnant. (I felt on-top-of-the-world, great, awesome,  etc...I was going to be in great shape in NO time!)  At some point, and the details don't really matter, I began to pack ON the pounds while I slipped into my role as a mommy.  The day I went in for my first Herbalife consultation, I weighed 170 pounds.  I had gained 15 pounds in about 3 or 4 months, and if I didn't make a change, it was only going to get worse.

A few more numbers - I wore a size 14 (after leaving the hospital in my pre-baby jeans that were a size 10), and my BMI was a very unhealthy 31.

I made the commitment because I WAS unhealthy (even if other people didn't see it).  I was tired all the time with no energy to do the basic things I needed to in order to care for Bryleigh.  I can't teach my daughter how to eat well and respect her body when I am not doing either of those things at all.  And most importantly, I made the commitment for myself, because I want to raise the baby I already have (being active and involved), and I want to be healthy enough to have more babies (plural Brad Hammons...PLURAL ;))!!  {But really, that last part is all up to God, and we are okay with His plans for our family.}

Some of my progress pics along the way!

Why I chose Herbalife...
Over the past few years, I watched as my family transformed their health, with weight loss, increased athletic ability, and overall health.  Not only did they achieve their goals, but their results were long term.  What started as a way for my {now freshman in high school} cousin to get healthy turned in to a transformation for so many in our family, and I wanted to be a part of it!  I respected the results that each of them had, and I knew that I could have my own results if I committed to it.

I also chose Herbalife because of their nutrition plan.  As I mentioned, I am a VERY picky eater.  I get overwhelmed trying to plan healthy meals and snacks every day, so having TWO whole meals and half of a snack already planned for me each day made it extremely easy for me to start eating healthier. {And just to note, I am by no means perfect.  I still slip up all the time, and I'm still learning all kinds of things about nutrition. But I have come so far!}

My results and why I'm not stopping here...
Day 1 I was 170 pounds...Day 365 I was 135.  I've lost a total of 32 inches and dropped from a size 14 to a 4!  I will say the cliche that numbers don't matter...and they definitely don't.  Being a size 4 doesn't define me.  The fact that I weigh 35 pounds less than I did on this day 1 year ago doesn't magically make me a better person, but these numbers represent the progress I made over 12 months. The numbers show that my commitment to a plan paid off and it did work for me, and I'm certainly proud of that.

I'd consider myself still a "Work In Progress," and some people have had a problem with that, mostly because they know my past and are a little fearful I will take things too far.  To that I would say that I have people in my life (ie. my mom and my husband) that hold me accountable and will call me out.  My desire for the next year (and beyond) is to continue to learn what fuels my body best and adding exercise to my normal routine.  So that's why I'm not stopping here.  This journey for me is about getting healthy, NOT getting skinny (or having abs...but if they come, that will just be an added bonus).

Be sure to check back for "What worked for me..." - you can find the blog HERE.

Goals vs. Resolutions in 2014

As we start off 2014, everyone is busy proclaiming their 2014 New Year's Resolutions...and hoping that this year is different than those in the past.  Will I be able to make it out of January with my resolutions still in tact?  What about 3 or 6 months from now?  If you've ever been to the gym in December AND January, then you know exactly what I'm talking about!

But have you ever actually looked at the definition of a resolution?  What is it exactly that you are doing?

Resolution: a firm decision to do or not do something

Resolve: settle or find a solution to (a problem, dispute, or contentious matter)

Resolutions don't give you much to go on.  They only give you a pass/fail outcome where you either succeed or don't succeed, and let's face it - most "Resolutions" end up in the fail column by the end of March.  Just because you made that "firm decision" to do something doesn't mean you have the support system or framework set to be successful at that resolution.

Also, based on the definition for resolve (another form of the word "Resolution"), you are looking at all of the negative in your life and resolving to make changes to those specific things.  As you focus on the negative and all of the things you want to change, you overlook the positives and all the good you're capable of.  Sometimes this could even lead to those positives slipping into future resolutions.  (For example - if you already exercise 30 minutes a day out of desire/habit, but you lose sight and set your focus on changing all those negatives...you could start to slip on that exercise habit and eventually, it could fall in to that "needs work" area of your life.)

Now take a look at a different option...GOALS

Goal: the object of a person's ambition or effort; an aim or desired result

I'm not saying that it's not a good idea to take a look at those areas in your life that could use some improvement (or "resolve"), but you want to be sure and have a balance looking at the good and the not so good.  When you set goals for yourself, you aren't necessarily looking to "fix" something, you are shooting for desired results.

If you have ever done any type of professional development, you've probably learned the SMART Goals system.  Your goals should be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Bound.  As I mentioned early, resolutions don't give you a framework.  They simply say, "This is what I'm going to do," and then you go after them.  Your goals, using the SMART system give you a very specific framework, allowing you to be prepared for what lies ahead.


So in 2014, I have 14 goals I've set for myself pertaining to "Getting Fit" in 2014 - financially, physically, and spiritually.  I will continually work to improve my "health" in each of these areas throughout the year, and these goals give me things to focus on.

#PhysicallyFit

#DrinkIt128 (Goal of 128 ounces/1 gallon of water each day)

#WorkIt530 (Goal of working out at least 5 days a week, 30 minutes a day)

#RunIt3.1 (Goal of training for and running in the 5k Turkey Trot with my mom)

#EatIt (Goal of making our meal plan and sticking to it)

#FinanciallyFit

#EliminateIt (Goal of cutting our current debt in half by the end of this year)

#AvoidIt (Goal of not using our credit cards to make purchases, #Swipeless2014)

#PlanItDoIt (Goal of creating our monthly budget and sticking to it, complete FPU)

#BuildIt (Goal of building personal businesses this year)

#SpirituallyFit

#StudyIt (Goal of reading through the bible this year)

#RememberIt (Goal of memorizing one verse per week)

#PrayIt (Goal of keeping a prayer journal for 2014)

#ShareIt (Goal of sharing the gospel with those that I meet)

Along with those goals, here are two additional to get us to the 14:

#GrowIt (Goal of nourishing and growing my relationship with my husband)

#ReadIt (Goal of reading at least one book each month from various types/genres)

Along with those goals, I have chosen a verse for 2014 after getting an email from YouVersion that encouraged selecting a life verse for the year.  I searched for verses that talked about endurance because that is what I hope to have this year as I go after my goals.  I loved Colossians 1:11-12 as soon as I read through it, but loved it even more when I read it in the Message version.

My #Verse2014 - Colossians 1:11-12 and My #Word2014 - Endurance

What kind of shape are you in?

Although we are only 3 short months in to 2010, God has already amazed me with some incredible blessings.


A few months before the New Year was underway, my college pastor (James Myers) challenged our group to read the entire Bible through this year. He picked out a great plan that allows us to read an old testament passage, a new testament passage, a Psalm, and a Proverb so that we don’t get too burnt out (like reading straight through Leviticus), and it has been SUCH a blessing!

The second blessing came along at the end of January. It was unexpected, but I am SO thankful that it happened! James’ wife, Michelle, works with a company that she had told me about and I knew some of the very basic information, but she invited me to a home show and I went out to support her. I wanted to learn what she was doing so that I could support her and encourage her along the way. I had NO idea how my life would change that night. On Thursday, Jan. 21, I signed up as a coach for Beachbody and my life (and mind!!) have yet to slow down!

These two things challenge me in a way that I simply can’t explain. I know DAILY time in the word will strengthen my relationship with Christ. I also know that we are supposed to follow His examples, and one that CONTINUALLY comes up in the first 4 books of the New Testament is that Jesus rose EARLY in the morning and spent time with His Father.

Beachbody challenges me to be a better person as well. Being someone that struggled with anorexia, I always worried that taking control of my diet and fitness would lead back down the same route…but boy was I wrong! I have learned that owning my health doesn’t mean I have to starve myself or have a super-model image to be happy. I have also learned that striving for HEALTH is far different that striving for SKINNY. The relationships I have made and the life lessons I have learned are immeasurable.

Health is something I think a lot about now (and considering my husband is now on the kick with me – I couldn’t get it OFF my mind today). And not just, did I lose weight? Do I fit in to my old jeans? I look at health in other areas of our life – like with our finances. We have goals of where we would like to be, and that is what we call our financial health.

But today, the area of health I couldn’t stop thinking about was my spiritual life. I wondered what a person would look like based on their spiritual health. Think about someone who is anorexic. It is obvious from the outside that they are sick. You can see their collar bones protruding, their shoulder blades look like they could cut through the skin, and the dark circles under their eyes make it appear as if they’d been in a serious fist-fight the night before. I wonder what someone who is starving their spiritual life would look like? Would we be able to recognize that they needed help? And what would we do to help them?

And what would a spiritual six-pack look like? My calendar is scheduled from now until the end of the year with workouts (for many different reasons! The main one being the fact that I’m totally out of shape) and I’m hoping that the abs I had as a freshman in high school will finally make their appearance again. But I think about all the hard work that goes into getting them. I think about all the different things you need to do to build those muscles – So building a six-pack in our spiritual life would take the same type of work. You can’t simply go to church on Sunday, sing a little praise and worship, listen to a message and expect to be in-tune with the Holy Spirit anymore than you can expect to get a six-pack from doing 50 crunches once a week.

I have read the Bible my whole life, been involved in bible studies, and all that comes with growing up in a church – but the discipline of a daily, personal relationship with Christ is something I’ve never followed through on. I’ve always WANTED to read the Bible through, but there are a lot of things I’ve wanted to do and never get around to – so far, it is March 30th, and I’m on March 30th in the reading plan. There have been some times that I have had to “catch up,” and I have yet to set my alarm, wake up early and spend time with Him in the morning. But I know that it takes time. I don’t expect to start P90X tomorrow and be able to complete a whole workout without breaking a sweat (and breaking down!). It takes time to get your body in shape…and it takes time to get spiritually in shape. So I’ll set my alarm and try my very hardest to start each day for the rest of this week in prayer with my Heavenly Father.

My goal for 2010 has been physical health, but I’m switching up my priorities and putting God where He belongs. My new goal for 2010 is SPIRITUAL health – You can expect more on this later, my wheels are still turning!