Tuesday, April 3, 2012

The Toughest Post I've Ever Posted

The theme of today: Don't judge me!  I'm bearing it all on the blog today!
(well, okay not bearing it all per se, but talking about weight is tough)

The last year or so I've been reluctant to post any pictures of me.  Well crap, I've been reluctant to even have any pictures taken at all!  The fact of the matter is I was overweight.  I know I had a baby and having babies generally has an adverse affect on a waistline, but I started my pregnancy about 15 lbs. overweight so I can't blame it all on pregnancy.

When I got married in 2009 I weighed 145 lbs. and wore a size 6 (I'm 5'5").  Within a year I was pushing a size 10 and averaged 155 lbs (forget the freshman 15, marriage is the real killer of waistlines!)

So this brings us to September 2011.  Avery was 2 months old and I weighed 167 lbs.  I had 1 pair of size 12 jeans that kind of fit, but mostly I still wore maternity clothes.  And I was sad.  Adjusting to life with a baby was a challenge for sure, but adjusting to 30 lbs. of extra weight made it even harder.  I loathed my closet and even got rid of all of my size 6 clothes because I figured I'd never fit into them ever again and I felt they were hiding in my closet, mocking me.

And then my mom started a wellness program called Take Shape For Life and started losing a lot of weight.  By December both of my parents and my oldest sister were losing weight on the program and I was so stinking jealous.

So the first week of January 2012, I started the program too.

Look! This is ME!
January 7th, 2011 when I started the Take Shape For Life program and weighed 160 lbs.  I will admit that smiling for this picture was not easy.

It's now been almost 13 weeks since I started and I'm now 138 lbs!
I haven't been officially "dieting" for 7 weeks and I've kept the weight off and even lost a few more pounds.  The program helped me to change my habits so I feel a lot healthier too.


Look that's ME!  Now!  138 lbs. and size 6 jeans!
And really, I haven't weighed under 140 lbs. since high school.
(Not bad considering my 10 year reunion is this year!)

I'd still like to lose another 8 lbs. but for now I'm really happy with where I'm at and I'm focusing more on toning up my flabby muscles.


And now for some obligatory before and afters:




Ok... now for the really tough one!


AHH!
That's MY butt!
I can't believe I'm putting this out there on the internet.

People ask me all the time what I did to lose weight and I feel like there's a lot to tell about it, but it's also very simple.  Here's some main points of the Take Shape For Life Program as told by me:
* Eat 6 small, low calorie, balanced meals every 2-3 hours.
* Eat your first meal within 1 hour of waking up.
* Drink a buttload of water.
* Be active!  This doesn't necessarily mean exercise 2 hours every day.
* High fructose corn syrup is the devil.
* Veggies are your friend.

In doing the program, I also ordered meals.  The meals are nutritionally balanced and about 100 calories each.  To lose weight, I ate 5 of the meals a day (every 2-3 hours) and then 1 meal of lean protein (fish, chicken, turkey...) and up to 3 cups of vegetables.  There were meals I liked and meals I didn't like, but I pretty much ate exclusively meal bars and protein shakes because I liked those best.  I also liked the pancakes, brownies and hot chocolate.  But whatever I ate, I was getting the same balanced nutrition so if I was having a chocolate craving, I could have some hot chocolate and know that I was getting protein, vitamins, etc.

The meals were great for me because they were convenient and I didn't have to think about what to eat.  They also got me in the habit of eating small, frequent meals.  I spent less time at the grocery store and when I did, I was only buying meat and veggies.  I got tired of the usual veggies I'd eat so I started getting creative about what I would eat and how I'd prepare it and learned a lot of valuable cooking skills in the process.

Well that's probably way more than I ever needed to share about my weight, but I do get asked a lot about what I did to lose weight, so I decided it was time I shared my "secret."  I promise I am not in any way being compensated for writing about Take Shape For Life.  Although if the company would like to send me free meals for writing such a nice post about their program... I wouldn't object ;)

If you do want to know more about the program, you can email me at kourtneypost{at}gmail.com.  I'm by no means a diet/health expert, but I can share what worked for me.  You can also check out this website  to contact my mom who was inspired to become a free health coach after having so much success losing weight and getting healthy.


The End!



7 comments:

Jamie said...

You are a hot mama either way, but dang girl your size 6 booty is great!! :o) hahaha. Keep up the good work. I'm so proud of you! Now me on the other hand, I diet and train for a 1/2 marathon and gain 7 lbs. Now that takes talent. Still don't know how that happened...

Anna said...

You look FAB!!!! I want to get there...trying, just need to do more.

HeidiC said...

You seriously look amazing. Congratulations!

Anonymous said...

Awesome!!! You inspired me today to exercise. Just so you know. Baby weight is awful. I also had a realization... since you considered yourself overweight (and I think you look good in your before pictures), then I am definitely overweight and need to get my butt in gear. After 2 babies, and never really losing weight after the first, somehow I managed to hit 190 lbs.... aaaahhh!!! I was 145 in highschool also. :( Now I'm down to 178 after about 6 weeks, but I know I can try soooo much harder. It sounds like a great, healthy program, I may have to look into it, but it sounds pretty basic if I can exercise a little self control. I may also go take some before pictures now so I can be proud of my changes when I do succeed. I stay behind the camera usually. And thanks for being brave enough to talk about it, it really does inspire people, like me! Thank you!

vickyj said...

You are a Rock Star, Kourtney! I think you should be a certified health coach with TSFL because you get it! Losing 2-5 pounds a week without hours of strenuous exercise is motivating AND rewarding. You look fabulous! I am so proud of you. And you've gotten the habits of health concept that will help you keep that weight off. Even better, you've made some healthy choices for our Easter dinner that will keep us on track. And at Kelli's wedding, we will be seeing who's the thinnest instead of who's the fattest! Good job! Can I steal your before and after pics?

Megan B said...

You are looking seriously hot, Kourtney!! Way to go!! Be-gone, Jigglypuffs ;)

Kellie said...

You look amazing! You've totally inspired me to eat better.