A Few Tips For Shedding The Pounds

Well after nine months, I am finally back to my pre-baby weight!!!!  This is a huge milestone for me.  I am not one of those lucky girls that bounce back to my old self right away.  Breastfeeding does not help me shed the pounds and I cannot fit into my old jeans for many months after being pregnant.  
I gained about the same amount of weight with both of my girls pregnancies.  I found the biggest difference between the two was the amount that I worked out.  I didn't step foot in the gym, while being pregnant with P and was super swollen and out of shape.  I had a very uncomfortable and painful pregnancy.  I decided to try things a little bit different with my second pregnancy.  With Lucy, I taught Zumba up until almost the day I gave birth.  While it didn't make a difference in my weight gain, it sure made a difference in my swelling and getting back into my jeans.
With this post I would like to put out a disclaimer, that I am by no means a professional when it comes to dieting and exercise.  I have had a couple of questions since posting this picture and hope to help anyone out there that might be interested.
The number thirty is just around the corner for me and my metabolism is just not what it used to be.  I have had to re-train my self how to eat healthy and what a regular workout routine should consist of.  In the past I was able to workout and eat whatever I wanted.  I'm talking cheeseburger, tons of soda, candy like no other and mounds of ice cream.  If I worked out, I seemed to be able to still eat pretty much anything.  Well after having two babies and getting a little older things have definitely shifted.
With P all of the weight fell right off after I was done breastfeeding.  I didn't even really have to workout much.  However, that wasn't until she was ten months old.  I was not about to wait that long again.  I was determined to make a change.  After a few set backs I am here today.
I had to wait until six months post pregnancy, until I felt comfortable taking Lucy to the gym daycare.  It was difficult to wait, but knew it would be worth it.  As soon as that six month arrived, it was game time.  She does great in there now and I can never get P to come out of the play place. That has been a huge help. 
The first thing that worked for me was finding some motivation.  I knew our Florida trip was soon arriving and I was going to have to slip into a swim suit.  I dreaded getting into a swim suit, but knew if I had a new one that I liked, I would work hard to make it fit.  I had Tyson take some before pictures for me and while it was a bit depressing, it helped motivate me that much more.  I set a time frame and went to work.
I had only been working out two times a week prior to wanting to make the change and knew that wasn't enough.  It's like they say, "If you keep doing the same thing, expect the same results."  My sister-in-law Cara and Tyson have been a great support system.  Cara gets me to the gym and has some killer workouts.  She sets all of my weights up for me before one of our classes and only has positive advice. I am also not very motivated on my own.  I have to go to classes!  Having a teacher up front and the support of other classmates, makes a huge difference to me.  I started working out six days a week and it has made all of the difference.  I teach Zumba two times a week, attend my friend Jen's total body class two days a week, lift legs on Friday's and either ride my bike or lift arms on Saturday.    Another huge motivation was buying new workout clothes.  This may sound silly, but it honestly worked for me.  I have a slight Lululemon addiction, but hey it helped get me to the gym.  Tyson encouraged me every day and was willing to give me massages when I could hardly walk from my workouts!  I also love the run channel on Pandora.  There is nothing like good music to get me pumped.
Once I made the changes in my workouts it was time to make a huge change in my eating habits.  I went through my cupboards and threw out every unhealthy item.  I filled up two huge trash bags.  I felt terrible throwing it all away, but it was mostly junk.  I figured if it wasn't in my cupboards I wouldn't be as tempted to eat it.  I had a horrible ritual of eating a treat before bed, almost every night.  I'm sure this was not helping my weight loss.  I stopped eating my feelings and decided to work on things (more on that later).  I went to the grocery store and purchased tons of fresh produce and healthy snacks.  My shopping cart looked completely different, than it ever had in the past.  Like my sister says, "Abs are made in the kitchen."  I cut out diet coke and stopped eating fast food.  A no brainer, I know!
After completely changing my eating and workout habits, I just assumed I would see results instantly.  Sure enough, I was wrong.  I kept asking Tyson every day if he could see a difference.  I know he got sick of me asking.  But I wanted more than anything for my hard work to start paying off.  After a month I took my progress pictures again and was disappointed.  I started becoming really frustrated because after a month, nothing seemed to be changing.  I decided to stick things out until Florida and reevaluate afterwards.
I can say that after two months of being pretty strict, I finally started seeing results.  The only downfall was my milk started drying up.  I was so sad, but was happy that I got Lucy to nine months regardless.  The best part was once the weight finally started coming off the remainder of the weight soon followed.  It started motivating me even more to get to my end result.
I am still a work in progress, but was proud I got to where I am.  Having a baby is so hard on a women's body, especially after a c-section.  I have a new respect for c-section mama's, especially when it comes to ab workouts.  My abs still hurt sometimes, during a hard workout.  I currently don't eat as strict, but still go to the gym six days a week.  It keeps me wanting to eat better and keep the weight off.  
Below are a couple of things that I incorporated into my diet. 
Breakfast Isagenix Protein Shake with half frozen banana, water, PB2 and a little ice Overnight Oats (Almond milk, 3/4 cups oats, 1 Tbsp peanut butter, cinnamon to taste, one scoop protein stir together and leave in the fridge overnight)
Snacks Quest Bars (my FAVORITE! I really like s'mores, mint chocolate chip, cookie dough and cookies and cream string cheese Greek yogurt with fruit edamame veggies and hummus hard boiled eggs with sriracha apple raw almonds 100 calorie popcorn

Lunch Lean Cuisine (I hear they are not that healthy for you, but they are quick and easy) egg whites on toast, wheat tortilla or english muffin
Dinner Tyson has been amazing and hasn't cared that we have had the same dinner for almost three months now............ Rotisserie chicken from Costco, quinoa and brown rice and a veggie Talapia and veggies turkey burger patty with quinoa and veggie Turkey Taco's Turkey taco salad
I love cooking a combination of broccoli and cauliflower.  Toss them lightly in olive oil, salt and pepper and bake at 425 degrees for 25 minutes.
Dessert Yasso Bars I really like the cookie dough and mint chocolate chip
Another thing that really helped was the My Fitness Pal App.  It's a free app that helps you count your calories.  I had no clue how many calories I was consuming each day and this helped me stay on track. If anything it helped me learn how to eat properly.  I only used it for a couple of weeks and since I was eating pretty much the same things every day I stopped using it.  I didn't want to get to consumed in calorie counting. 
This is what worked for me and hopefully it made sense.  I still have a love for food, but am grateful I have learned balance and have a much healthier relationship with food.
Please feel free to ask my any questions and I would LOVE to know what worked for you!