Ever had a dream where you’re sitting in front of a buffet with all your favourite goodies?
Pick your poison...pizza, chocolate bars, chips -- everything you love!
Well that was essentially my pregnancy...but it wasn’t a dream.
More of a nightmare really when I finally stepped on the scale before pushing Eva out.
I had gained 57 pounds...and really enjoyed myself doing it.
But now it’s payback time.
And by that I mean I need my bum to deflate back to where it was before the pregnancy.  

I’m going to be really frank and lay out the numbers for you.
This way you will see firsthand that I am no Gisele Bundchen (gaining 25 pounds and losing it during the walk from the hospital to her car. Barf.)
I have to work to get weight off.
In fact weight likes me. A lot.

So the day before I had Eva I was, gulp, 201 pounds.
The day I left the hospital (August 17th) I was 190 pounds.
Before I got pregnant I was 144 pounds.
I’m no math genius but I knew the difference between 190 and 144 was not small.
Instead of freaking out though (okay I did freak out a little) I found some solace in the fact that I had a plan of action.

I could see myself expanding by the millisecond on CityLine so I knew I was headed for a weight loss show down after having my sweet pea.
With this in mind I had met with nutritionist Joey Shulman (www.drjoey.com) a few weeks before giving birth to get myself on a sensible eating plan on return from the hospital.
If you’ve had a baby you know that on those first days with a newborn getting a meal in is tough, so I had criteria.
I needed food I could eat with one hand and stuff I could prepare in advance.
Now I don’t want you thinking that you can’t lose weight because you don’t have your own nutritionist. I’m going to tell you everything she told me to eat and you can follow along and get results too.

And by results, let me tell you, her meal plans work.
On the show you are watching today (October 13) I weigh 164 pounds.
To me, this is phenomenal progress.
The point is not to take it off quickly, but to take it off so it stays off.
I have some added pressure (seeing my backside on national television every day) but anyone can follow this plan.
Just make sure you’re somewhat forgiving with yourself.
I mean, you did just have a baby for goshsakes.

FOOD:

Okay so here’s an example of what I eat everyday:

BREAKFAST: Greek yogurt ½ cup, whole grain cereal ½ cup (anything with under 7 or 8 grams of sugar per serving), ground flaxseed 1 tbsn, blueberries ½ cup.

SNACK: tall or short non-fat, no whip mocha from Starbucks.

LUNCH: whole grain wrap, light mayo 1 tsp, lettuce, tomatoes, onions and whatever other veg you love (a handful), chicken/tuna/egg or lean beef 3-4 oz, side of baby carrots.

SNACK: Luna bar, green apple

DINNER: Lots of veggies in the form of a salad or steamed with a 3-4 oz serving of protein (could be chicken, beef, fish or eggs).

Dinner is definitely the meal I look forward to the least.
No grain or carb at all.
Joey is trying to get me to mix it up a bit more but quite frankly I’m a lazy chef.

I pretty much stuck to this meal plan everyday for the first month.
Sounds boring but I’m a big believer in non-variety when you’re trying to get into a new routine. Plus I’m the sort of person who can eat the same thing every day without getting bored for a really long time. After a month though things do get kinda stale so Joey has sent me some other options that I’m trying to incorporate.

You’re probably thinking – she’s disciplined!
To that I add this: I cheat.
Not on my husband, on my meal plan.
I plan one or two cheat meals (meals NOT days) a week because it’s the only way I can eat so well the rest of the time.
Plus real life means there will be dinners out and social functions and sometimes you just want that chocolate bar. Well I say eat it.  Of course I will never be a size 2 – but that’s okay.
The chocolate bar is more important to me.

EXERCISE:

This is where you may start to hate me.
I loooovvveee working out.
It’s my drug and I always fall back into it easily.
Please find something you like to do or else you will not do it.
So my crazy schedule goes something like this:

5:30am Wake up (If I’ve even slept. I have a newborn remember?) and pump a bottle of milk.

5:50-ish Feed Eva

6:15am Drag butt out of bed and put on workout clothes. Tiptoe past Sidney and Lio all the way to the basement with Eva in toe.

6:30-7am Mon. Wed. Fri. I throw in a DVD called Kettleworx: 6 Week Body Transformation (www.kettleworx.com) It’s a 20 minute workout with a kettlebell. Monday I do resistance, Wednesday is cardio and Friday I do core. Tues. and Thurs. I run on the treadmill for 30 minutes. I try and do interval sprints on most days. Yes I’m nuts – but I love it. Saturdays we take long walks (60-90 minutes) as a family.

7am Drink lots of water and watch Breakfast Television in my sweaty clothes.

7:30am Go back upstairs with Eva. Stop to kiss Sidney and Lio. Take shower. Go downstairs topless, feed Eva again while eating breakfast (see above), put on shirt and go to work.

That is my morning folks with or without sleep.
And if I really am up all night with Eva I say to hell with it to the workout.
I’m not going to kill myself with a two-month old baby.

IMPORTANT EXTRA STUFF:

There are two things I do that make a huge difference in losing the weight:

1.Food Journal – You can make your own or print one off of the web but write down everything you eat and drink. It will make you accountable. Also include how many glasses of water you drink. If you’re like me you will feel guilty writing “chocolate covered almonds” every day and that may be just the deterrent you need to NOT eat them.

2. I don’t eat after 7pm. Not even a carrot stick. Joey says you can of course munch on veggies whenever you want but I go to sleep early anyway so I’ve never been a big night eater. If the only thing you do is stop eating at 7pm you will probably see a difference on the scale.

WANNA JOIN IN?

Have you been dying to lose that last 15…or 20…or 100 pounds but can’t find the motivation?
Come along on the journey with me and we’ll do it together.
I’m only human and screw up constantly so I will make this blog my weight diary and Twitter my weight conscience. Follow me on Twitter at twitter.com/@tracycityline
and keep up with my blog weekly.
I’ll soon have an email address where we can correspond with each other and keep each other on track (or at least have someone to confess to when we eat that whole apple pie).

There’s an added bonus for you if you decide to join me in the weight-loss journey.

Chatelaine magazine has just launched a new website and are celebrating with a contest. They are challenging all of us to make a fresh start by improving our health, home, money or love life.
You could win over $10,000 in prizes so don’t wait.
Go to www.chatelaine.com/freshstart and make your own pledge.
My pledge should be up already and you already know what it is.
Work on losing that baby weight one pound at a time!

Are you in?

Tracy