Get the best tips on post baby weight loss! Something I haven't written about much in the last two years is my weight loss journey. For the longest time, I was embarrassed about my "before" pictures. Even though I no longer look like that, I was ashamed of the way I looked and didn't want anyone to know (even though I obviously looked like this to everyone all day every day, I didn't have this visual image of myself until I looked at photos). Now that I am 2 years out from starting my weight loss journey, and 1.5 years past hitting the big 50 lb mark, I feel comfortable Keep Reading
Apple Watch Challenge! Close All Your Activity Rings!
As a busy mom, exercise somehow never seems to make it to the top of my priority list... But I realize I NEED it to be near the top, for my own health! A few months ago I started personally challenging myself to a STEP goal. I tried to hit a certain number of steps per day and would go on two walks if I had to in order to achieve my goal. I started with 10K steps then went to 12K and then up to 13K. But I found after a while I was super bored and unmotivated on some days because I was doing this alone. And going on enough walks to get 13,000 steps takes over an Keep Reading
The One Thing I Do Every Day to Maintain My 35+ Lb Weight Loss
You may not know this about me, but 3 years ago, I embarked on a fitness journey that led me to lose 50 lbs after having my third baby. Since I lost that weight, I have been on an unending journey to keep the weight off. Honestly, I thought it was a bit easier to lose it initially than keep it off. Once you give yourself permission to eat like a normal person again, it's easy to go a little too far. I’ve slipped here and there, ending overall about 15 lbs above my lowest weight. So I guess you could say I lost 35 net pounds after having my third baby. Thirty-five pounds is still Keep Reading
Bladder Leakage After Pregnancy & Childbirth
I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for Depend. I received product samples to facilitate my review and a promotional item to thank me for my participation. Today I have something personal in nature to talk to you about, mom to mom. As many of you know, I have three little kids, ages 3, 5, and 7. I had them practically back to back (or at least it seems that way!). There are many things I didn’t know about having children 8 years ago. One thing I was particularly surprised at was the bladder issues I would find myself experiencing. I remember Keep Reading
3 Tips for Sticking to a Budget While Eating Healthy
Everyone who knows me knows that I love to save money. In fact, I used to have a slight coupon addiction. I can’t stand paying full price for anything, knowing that I will eventually come into contact with coupons or discounts for the same exact item if I can only time my purchase properly. Enter healthy eating. Do you know how hard it is to stick to a budget when you’re trying to eat healthy? It’s nearly impossible! It’s a constant battle between what’s good for my body and what’s good for my wallet. And there aren’t really many coupons for fresh items. You just have to Keep Reading
3 Free Weight Loss Programs with Apps
Discover the best Free Weight Loss Programs with apps! When I embarked on my post-baby weight loss journey in January 2013, I knew I couldn't do it on my own. I signed up for Weight Watchers and used it to successfully shed the initial 50 lbs in 6 months. But once I reached a good weight, I knew I needed to change it up. I no longer wanted to pay a monthly fee for access to a weight loss program especially since I had begun to get good at estimating my own daily dietary needs. I went on a mission to find a free weight loss website that would help me stay on track without having to Keep Reading
Exercise Routine To Do With Kids
I don't know about you, but I don't always love to exercise at home. Especially when I'm caught up in something I love (like blogging) or perhaps it's just a dreary day and I can't find my motivation. So I came up with a fun trick to get myself up and moving. I call it the "Surprise Exercise Bucket." All I did was grab a handful of plastic spoons, and on each one I wrote down an exercise. Something tough, but doable. Something that I could see myself doing two sets of. I tried to think of exercises that we could all do together (me and my two girls - ages 7 and 4 - Keep Reading
Free Printable Daily Water Tracker
Every day of the week, I make a point to drink 10-14 glasses of water per day. I know when I'm dehydrated, I get headaches and just feel plain sluggish. That's why I need this free water tracker printable! We've all heard the standard "drink at least 8 oz of water per day" advice. But I truly believe that's a baseline. Ask any fitness expert and they'll quote 100 oz as a guideline. When I was on my way to losing 50 lbs, I found that 100 oz was just about right. Much less than that, and I felt a bit dehydrated. Only 8 glasses, and I felt downright bad! How Much Water is in 14 Keep Reading
7 Healthy Green Smoothie Recipes for Weight Loss
This week I visited a friend and she made me a smoothie. Not just any smoothie, but a healthy GREEN smoothie designed to promote weight loss. It took some convincing because I’m not usually the type to eat something that doesn’t look appetizing, but I trusted her, so I did it. And guess what? Now I’m totally hooked! I was quite surprised that the smoothie didn’t taste as “green” as it looked. Her recipe include spinach, avocado, and apples. I decided to find a good mix of healthy smoothie recipes to try, and here’s what I came up with! Healthy Green Smoothie Recipes for Weight Keep Reading
5 Nutrition Books That Fueled My 50lb Weight Loss Journey
When I started on my journey in January 2013 to lose an extra 50 lbs I’d been carrying around for years, I knew I had a lot of learning to do on the topic of nutrition. I had just had my third child in May 2012, and you could say I was carrying some baby weight, but honestly I was overweight before I had kids, so this was a much deeper issue for me. I had read the fun book Eat This Not That a few months prior, and I’ll have to be honest – I was truly surprised by most of the recommendations. I didn’t know if I should eat a hamburger or a BLT. I didn’t know the caloric impact of a sundae Keep Reading
Shazzy Fitness Dance Challenge – Dance 10 Minutes/Day for 7 Days!
Good morning party people!! :) I'm pretty to excited to announce my very own giveaway on WhatMommyDoes. If you've been a reader since last year, you will know that I spent all of 2013 focused on my health. As of today, I'm maintaining at 55 lbs down. On the Way to Losing 75 Lbs Total After getting to this point about 5 months ago and maintaining it (with some ups and downs on the scale along the way), I've determined that my ultimate goal is another 20 lbs to lose if I want to get to a fat percentage level I will feel comfortable with (i.e. no belly fat hanging around when I wear a Keep Reading
Cute Workout Tops for Strength Training
When I was in the midst of my year long weight loss journey in 2013, I went through workout clothes like nobody's business! I loved when I found cute workout tops that were comfortable and my taste. I always gravitated toward the same style top each time - tightly fitting racerback styles. Because I did primarily strength training workouts, these styles allowed my arms to move freely. They were never in the way, like tops with sleeves or baggy sides often are. This allowed me to lift any weights I wanted without restriction. Not to mention, this style is almost universally flattering. Keep Reading
Mommy’s Meal Plan Philosophy – Low Sugar, Low Sodium, Good Fats & Water!
I just had the pleasure of introducing two friends to the weight room floor this morning. They are not new to working out, but they are new to weights. They've seen the results I've achieved to date primarily weight lifting, so now they're on board with the Live Fit Trainer! I couldn't be happier to have workout partners. Made my time at the gym go by so fast! And I'm honored that they would ask my opinion. Both ladies wanted to know all about my eating plan, so I shared a sample day. They had tons of questions for me at that point! So I explained my choices with the eating Keep Reading
What a Day of Clean Eating Looks Like
As requested, I am working on a long post about what I've been eating on a daily basis to lose 50 lbs over the last 7 months. It's turning out to be a much bigger feature than I originally expected. At 1500 words, I need to start cutting down the post so it's readable. In the meantime, I wanted to share this excellent example of what eating clean looks like. Jen Senecal is apparently my new hero. She's a mom of 3 like myself and a writer and blogger. And she still has time to exercise and eat right! That's what I'm talking about!! Here's her explanation about what eating clean is Keep Reading
