It’s officially been a month since I bid good-bye to all my post-baby weight, and I’m so happy to offer you a fresh round of tips! Before I do, though—how about a little update? Several times in recent weeks, friends have asked me the same question I’ve also asked myself: “You lost all the weight. What now?!”
While I know for certain that some people stick with Weight Watchers for a whole lifetime—no, really, there’s an actual WW Lifetime Membership—I have only ever used the program to lose my weight, not maintain. As soon as I’ve returned to my norm, I have always called it my finish line. I honestly don’t know how I could have lost my pounds all three times without tracking! But at the same time, I don’t want to count every bite that enters my mouth forever. I know some people find real freedom and community in the ongoing Weight Watchers (or other program) resources, and I don’t want to discount that. I just, personally, have always been ready to stop the logging and app-tapping, and move forward into my own style of balance and maintenance!
So, I tracked for a short while after reaching my goal this time, but now I am no longer counting! Do I still know the points in just about everything?! Yes! Will I continue to share in my Instagram stories when something helpful pops into my mind or my mouth? Absolutely! Also, I loved this past round of WW so much that it truly formed lasting habits for me—I mean, it’s been a whole month, you guys!!!—but I really do feel so great with all the lean proteins, veggies, fruits, eggs, healthy grains, very little processed sugars or white carbohydrates. I am still eating this way! Maybe I’ll follow up with some maintenance tips at some point, but in general, I find the best ways to stay healthy physically and emotionally, while rockin’ the same ole jeans size, include: staying active, eating healthy most of the time, splurging some of the time, and remaining centered, mind, body and spirit. I know. Ugh. Easier said than done, right? Loving ourselves is a lifelong journey, returning again and again to ourselves and the Lord. There is struggle; there is grace. And I will keep this dialogue open always!
For now, though, back to my weight loss tips! Here you are, beautiful friends. These remaining 15 tidbits proved huge for me every time in shedding my baby weight. I share them from a proactive weight loss perspective, but some of them absolutely apply to everyday living!
11. Treat Yourself—I have the sweetest sweet tooth there ever was. Gimme the treats! All of em! I have always made it a point to fit goodies into my eating habits, no matter what. I absolutely love just about every dessert available on Skinnytaste.com, especially these Best-Ever Low-Fat Chocolate Chip Cookies, which also freeze deliciously as cookie dough balls! Another favorite treasure is Halo Top ice cream, extremely light, yummy and protein-packed. Even better with some dark chocolate chips. Berries and whipped cream is another go-to of mine! If I end up feeling too deprived, it backfires every time. Regular treats have always helped me stay the course!
12. But Then, Like, Really Treat Yourself—I just knowthat some of you read that last paragraph and couldn’t roll your eyes high enough. Berries?! As dessert?! I know, guys. I’m sorry! Don’t make me tell you about my avocado-chocolate pudding! But, in addition to enjoying treats of the lighter variety, I also believe strongly in just letting GO sometimes! If you’re familiar with Weight Watchers, you know that they build in Weekly Points for this—points you can use however and whenever you want. It’s a similar concept to the “cheat meal,” or one day per week when you eat whatever you want. Basically, indulge here and there along the way! Have some chips and salsa, the homemade pizza. I choose to believe the urban legend that this not only “shocks” your metabolism… but also that it keeps you sane! And social. Charcuterie boards, you know?!
13. Enlist a Buddy or Five—For the first time, this time, I had some very close friends alongside me in my weight loss journey. Right in my stride, struggling to lose their pounds, too. And I am unexpectedly emotional just typing that out, because I never had this before! At least not in a close-up, day-to-day weight-loss way. Our group text of recipes, frustrations, plateaus, progress, suggestions, milestones, mom jokes? It honestly kept me going. Not to mention my friend who unexpectedly joined me when I had 10 pounds to go and felt ready to ramp up the fitness. She has been my get-strong sidekick and fellow warrior. She meets me at 5:45 a.m. spin class and we complain when hot yoga is just so hard, why’s it so hard today?! for the thousandth time. We were not meant to do life alone, and I’m convinced this extends to weight loss.
14. Involve the Babes—More times than I can count, I have pressed on through workouts with a kiddo either watching me, joining me, or adding some weight to my shoulders. You know what? It’s OK for your kids to see you care for your body! To see you moving, smiling, growing in strength and stamina! Roll out a yoga mat for them, too. Of course it’s ideal to break your sweat sans the audience of curious monkeys, but I know all too well that this is not always practical. Get moving anyway!
15. Join a Gym with Childcare—Break out the broken record alert because I’m about to sound off about another of my most-mentioned loves! My local YMCA. They offer incredible childcare and thus make my workouts possible. What a gift. I cried when I gave the workers their Christmas presents this past year, compiled by all us mamas who call them our literal angels. They breathe life into our weary bones, simply by giving us a minute. Or an hour. Plenty of quality gyms offer childcare, and finding one has played a pivotal role in my physical and mental health journey. I truly feel this is worth every investment of a precious mom’s time and dollars.
16. Find a Studio Class that Sets You on Fire—As one of my New Year’s resolutions, I wanted to find a specialty fitness class that reached deeply into a certain part of me and kept me coming back, again and again. I heard people talk about how they “were just so addicted to Orange Theory” or whatever, and I was intrigued! Addicted to… like… exercise?? Well, ok! I don’t quite understand, but that would be pretty cool to want to work out that badly! Guys, I found it. I love GritCycle in Costa Mesa so much that I never miss my once-a-week Thursday 5:45 a.m. class—not for anything. And by that I mean not for “sleep” because let’s be honest, nothing else is happening at that hour! I am hooked. It’s a dance party/power race/sort-of-sauna experience on a bike. The endorphins are truly unparalleled. I guess the point of this tip is to say that you, too, can become an exercise weirdo like I have somehow become! Your true love is out there. I know it!
17. It’s All About the Playlists—I am 100% one of those people who cannot do cardio without a life-changing playlist. I want to be taken on a comprehensive emotional journey for the duration of my elliptical sesh. And this simply can’t be done without an Academy Award-winning score, duh! I really love making playlists, so check out my public Spotify ones anytime! My profile name is “stephanie.n.mack.” I love it all—pop, rap, 90s, rock, worship, country. And I promise not to judge you for judging the names of my playlists, or the diversity of true artists, like DC Talk and Britney Spears.
18. Embrace the At-Home Workout—When I was pregnant with Emerson, we purchased a floor-model elliptical machine from a local fitness equipment store for $900. I can’t even tell you how many times over that thing has PAID for itself! In sanity, joy, endorphins, heart health, and certainly weight loss! It is my cardio go-to. What a blessing. I use it all of the time. I also have two sets of dumbbells—5 and 8 pounders—and a yoga mat. I love doing basic circuits, and they are something you can always do, no matter what! If you have 20 minutes and you have a floor, you can work out at home. The Internet is full of YouTube videos, apps and ideas. I just recently starting trying the SWEAT app with my get-strong buddy—adore it already!—and I always love this circuit from my friend and personal trainer:
Cardio & Strength Circuit:
Squats 30
Jumping jacks 20
Push ups 20
Tricep dips 20
Lunges 20 each leg
Plank hold 30 sec
Side plank 30 sec
Side plank 30 sec
Repeat 3x
19. Drink More Water than Seems Sane—This was the year I became the obnoxious girl touting the values of drinking a million ounces of water per day and never leaving the house without my personal bottle. Canteen? Bullet-proof war-time water vessel, definitely. Really, though; I’m obsessed with my Hydro Flask lately, below! It keeps ice cubes frozen for so very long that it actually scares me a little. But it’s also cute, and it keeps me oh-so hydrated! I did notice how much better I felt and how my body seemed to digest all-the-things more efficiently when I sustained proper hydration. I really think it helps with weight loss. I try to drink three full helpings of this bad boy per day, which totals 96 oz.
20. Don’t Give Up After Bad Days/Weeks/Months!—This one is so hard, and close to my heart. Because don’t we all know the shame? We went to that dinner or brunch or celebration, or that entire vacation, and we just messed upand ate too much. But NO. I’m stopping you right there! No shame. No guilt. Really, you were probably having the time of your life and enjoying the food filling your body. You didn’t mess up. But: Even if you did. You are a human being. Losing weight is daunting. It’s overwhelming. It’s nothing if not a road. And you know what? Roads have speedbumps and dips, last I checked! So if you took a little detour and feel upset about it: you go ahead and let yourself feel upset. Cry because you’re frustrated. Cry because you’re angry that you have weight to lose in the first place. Text the friend on your journey with you; tell her you’re discouraged and frustrated. Then pray for new strength tomorrow. Pick yourself up, and restart, again. His mercies are new every morning.
21. Push Through the Plateaus—UGH. Plateaus. All I have to say about plateaus is that they are REAL! I hit so many this last time! In fact, it took me almost three whole months to lose my last 10 pounds, and that is a pretty slow pace. My biggest tip on this topic is to keep pushing through. Don’t feel like you have to change anything drastic, and don’t you even think about giving up! They happen. They just do. Keep up the exercise, drink lots of water, maybe try cutting back on sugar and sodium. Unless you have already reached your optimal weight, the scale will eventually budge again.
22. Communicate with Your Partner—In the season of very small children, it feels more important than ever to communicate clearly with Doug. We even joke about over-communicating. There’s such real VOLUME in our house on a given day, that we are not above emailing each other when needed or leaving post-it reminders. This also goes for my fitness, as well as Doug’s. We talk about it a lot and convey clearly our expectations. In weight loss mode, he especially knew how important my workouts were to me. And he supported me so steadfastly in making them happen. Many workouts for me still look like “escaping” for an hour, to the garage or the YMCA, while he watches our girls. This is reality! I’m so thankful for him. Definitely engage your partner on the path to your goals.
23. Celebrate Small Victories—Every time I cracked into a new “decade” on the scale, I called it—from the 190s into the 180s, 180s into the 170s, and so on—I would celebrate in some small way. Is this silly? No doubt! Also effective? You bet. Sometimes I would buy myself a new cute transitional piece of clothing; other times we’d go on a date; other times, I’d just bow my head and have a holy moment over it, to bless and release. But I always acknowledged it. Honor yourself along the way, beautiful soul. You are working so hard.
24. Reward Yourself at the End—About mid-way through my journey, I needed a little incentive. Not something enormous, but something enormous enough to make me excited about returning once again to all the cute clothes in my closet. And you know what I decided on? I decided that when I had lost all of my baby weight, I wanted to get a Gucci belt. I did that, guys! I set my intention on a designer belt because I’m just, you know, that spiritually evolved and good at priorities. But also?! It’s something beautiful that was within possibility (mind you, possibility for something extremely significant to me, like losing all of my baby weight for the third and last time, after so much fight for freedom and really hard work)! I had done all the deep soul work womanly possible by this point and I really just wanted something pretty and tangible to look forward to. So, I reached my goal! And I was trying on the belts with my mom, to see which one I liked best—black or brown?! thick or thin?!—when she told me she wanted to buy it for me. Mother to daughter, as a blessing for the end of this journey. My heart! I’ll cherish the belt forever, not because of its label but because of its meaning. And also a little because of its chic factor. I went with the thick brown beauty. This is such an extravagant example, I KNOW, but you know I will never hold back on you! Reward yourself. Unless your mom beats you to it.
25. Pray Every Step of the Way—You know where this entire subject, this entire undertaking, these entire bodies of ours begin? In the hands of God. Which is also where, they in fact, return. He’s holding you. He really is. He cares. Commit your journey to someone far higher and stronger and more powerful than you. Let go even as you forge on. Pray that the priorities of your innermost heart will align with His being. I pray these things every day. I will forever be fighting to choose love and freedom for my body, instead of all that opposes those things. And I’m saying a prayer for you, too.
Amen!
Fight on, my beautiful loves! I’m here. I’m your biggest cheerleader!
