The Struggles Of Losing The Baby Fat After Five Years

It was a struggle losing the post pregnancy weight. It was a struggle overcoming the chocolate cravings - three to four bars in the morning and two bars at night. It was a struggle containing the hunger and then preventing the overeating. Getting back to size five pre-pregnancy seemed intangible.

One morning, after eating the third bar and feeling ever so fat, it became apparent that eating so much chocolate added to the post pregnancy pounds. Late one afternoon the light bulb came on that the constant hunger is a form of nutritious deficiency. In the wee hours of the evening the realization that changes and adjustments must take place circulated the brain until a strategy emerged. The first step is research, because downing many liquid and powdered diets had ad hockery result.

In the library section of diets and foods, one detox book leaped out and consequently, checked out and incorporated to fix a not so good eating habit. It was a difficult diet, with no starch, or sugar. Fruits of different types were consumed, fruits for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Yummy, not. But there was a determination to eat better and ultimately get the weight off. Five years after baby’s birth the size 12 was wearing the spirit down. For a week, fruits were consumed. There was this one chocolate lapse that demanded a 20 minute visit to the bathroom. After that lesson, fruits all the way baby! The week was complete and the body felt good, 5 pounds fell off. The detoxification marked the beginning of change.

Life happens, you get distracted and yes the same bad habits resurfaced. The detox did not last because food substitutes did not occur. Consequently, the same frustration popped up with every vision in the mirror. The chocolate craving came back as well as excessive starch consumption. Another light bulb switched on, the idea to exercise regularly turned on a new excitement, a new sense of hope for the desired weight loss. Standing tall at 5 feet one inch was not a good match for a size twelve. Therefore, after work, sneakers were garnished on feet and a long walk from work to home pursued. At first, oh what joy! The second week not so much. The walks home triggered a lupus like symptom of aching feet and from then on, walks were too painful and to this day standing for too long a period causes feet discomfort.

Jogging was out of the question, too hard on the joints, not to mention too boring for an ADHD personality. The year gym membership did not get used. Oh yeah, towards the last three months there were some visits. To renew the membership seem futile since being a single parent did not give much time for the gym. The exercise videos did work, especially with the flexibility of late night or early morning workouts. The videos were a hit however the weight loss did not ensue. The size 10-12 clothes stuck their tongues out at every official visit. But, the at-home video exercises became a daily event; they resulted in high energy, agility and less stress. The chocolate craving subsided however the constant hunger and overeating persisted. It was a feeling of oink, oink that would not go away and left a bad taste on all physiological levels.

Then one day, years later, as new research began to help my daughter with her diagnosis, the juicer was donated. Its introduction to the household revolutionized our eating habits. Exposure to the juicer and its culture began a series of medicinal habits. There were juicing of everything under the sun, if possible the sun would have been juice, to accomplish the desired weight loss. The weight began to drop, it began with inches then an enormous decrease of body fat. However, it was not just juicing that made the decrease possible. A combination of exercise, juicing and a radical change of eating habits must get the credit. In depth research was done on what fruits and vegetables to juice to stop cravings, to reduce weight, to cleanse internal organs such as the liver, kidney and the colon. In the course of this research information on herbs prevailed and ultimately regular drinking of green or white tea. It was unfortunate, but green tea caused blemishes and was eliminate from the diet not before causing some grave facial blotches. White tea replaced green and juicing to help acne began. With constant tweaking the life style result was 5 a.m. workouts, 20 minutes only, a juiced mixture in the morning, morning and evening tea, snack every 2 hours, a meal for lunch and a juiced drink for dinner. At night if hunger kicked in, an apple with peanut butter was the snack of choice. The size 10 pants hung on my hips. The weight dissipated. The cravings disappeared and overeating was a thing of the past.

Juicing consist of a lot of trail and errors. The best juice for good health consist of celery, spinach and carrots. But if you ever drank that combination you would know it tasted ghastly. If however you add an apple to it, the taste was not so bad. The error came with thinking that you can juice anything. You can but then no juice will come out of the juicer. When you juice bananas no liquid will come out unless you juice it with, you guessed it, an apple. Cranberry a small fruit that give much liquid but a heck of a tang. The success in juicing begins in appreciating your taste bud. During conversations about juicing many said they loved the celery, spinach and carrot combination and no apple was needed. However, the old adage an apple a day keeps the doctor away helped to make all juiced vegetable palatable. By the way, as a side bar, you can juice cabbage - beware the taste.

Exercising was the best part of the entire eat healthy be healthy and lose weight regiment. Every morning at 5 a.m., a 20 minute workout and then a short nap, resulted in much energy. The rejuvenation from such a routine meant conquering the world took no time. But most importantly the body was in outstanding shape. The weight flew off and the figure looked a lot like the pre-pregnancy shape. Life was good. Later on it was uncovered the quick weight loss had to do with exercising on an empty stomach. Be clear, you exercise on an empty stomach not when you are hungry there is a huge difference. When you exercise on an empty stomach the body places a great demand on the metabolism and hence burns more fat.

It was a struggle but not impossible. The loss of excess fat begins and ends with knowing the body. It starts with observing how foods impact the internal system as well as the external appearance. For instance, citric fruits caused blotting and broccoli excess gas. Or grapes help raise sugar levels and too much salt results in high blood pressure. It ends with respecting the body by not eating foods that will have adverse effects. For more than a year the body was in shape, posture and energy was at pinnacle point. Life was encouraging. Then, all that changed two years later and a new weight gain struggle began. But that’s a story for another time.