Shedding for the Wedding – How I lost 9 lbs in 3 weeks

Ok, the crunch is on! I’m getting married in less than 3 months! And if you all remember from my last blog post, I told you all that I had gained an unwanted 21 lbs. I’m happy to say that I am down 9 lbs and roughly half way to my weight loss goal. I’ve received so many requests to share the details on exactly how I’ve shed the pounds. So here’s the scoop! (First I want to note that I am not an expert and everyone is different, this is just what specifically works for me. I highly recommend asking a professional nutritionist or weight loss coach for advice). Luckily for me, Adam has studied nutrition and is trained in Fitness.

So what works for me? Eating less and moving more. Pretty plain and simple. I’m 35 years old and have noticed that my metabolism has started to slow down with age. As long as I keep my calorie intake under 1,200 calories per day and workout for a minimum of 20 minutes a day, the weight comes off. I’m telling you I could eat 1,200 calories worth of donuts and still drop weight as long as I’m moving my body more. I don’t recommend this however. I really try to cut down on Sugar and Carbs. I stock up on lean meats and veggies to keep myself from feeling starved! (But more into my meal plan in a second).

The first thing I did was concentrate on moving more. I got a Fitbit and started aiming for those 10k steps daily. Adam bought me a pretty cheap treadmill and set it up for me. I started walking every single day in the comfort of my own home. I normally walk on the treadmill while catching up on all of my favorite reality shows. I watch every season of the Housewives along with the Bachelor. We’re talking hours upon hours of entertainment while getting in my steps. I aim for 20 to 40 minutes a day. By doing this I went from walking a measly 5k steps to over 10k steps EVERY SINGLE DAY. Just doubling my movement caused me to drop 4 lbs in one week.

This boost started to have me feeling motivated. So next, I downloaded the free weight loss app, My Fitness Pal and started logging everything that I was eating. If you haven’t used the app before, it’s super cool and easy to use! You just search for the foods that you are eating during the day and tons of suggestions come up, you scroll through the list and add to your diary accordingly. You can even scan the barcode of grocery store items and the complete nutrition breakdown is added to your log along with the calories consumed. The app can even sync to your Fitbit and add bonus calories depending on how much you burn while working out. At the end of the day when you complete your log, a calculated estimate pops up for a continued weight loss prediction. This definitely keeps me motivated to continue for the next day and stay under my 1,200 calories. By the end of week two I was down another 2 lbs.

During week three I honed in on exactly what I was eating. I decided to try out a three day trial from Herbalife. For $20 I got a personal coach, meal/snack suggestions, 6 shakes, 3 detoxing teas, and 3 Vitamin boosts. The Herbalife plan basically goes like this:

Wake up: Immediately drink detox tea

30 minutes later: Shake One (made with reduced fat milk)

2 – 3 hours later: protein based snack. (I ate 1 scrambled egg with string cheese)

2- 3 hours later: Shake Two (made with reduced fat milk) (take Vitamin boost)

2- 3 hours later: protein based snack. (I had lean turkey and cheese)

2 – 3 hours later: Balanced dinner. (My dinners consisted of Chicken breast OR Turkey Burger (without the bun), Avocado and Tomatoes on the side, green beans OR broccoli, and a small portion of rice OR potatoes.

I was eating/drinking the shakes so often throughout the day that it kept me super full. This was way more frequent than I was used to eating! The shakes are super delicious too. The cookies and cream flavor tasted like a delicious Full Fatty shake. I was shocked when I dropped another 3 lbs! Total weight loss of 9 lbs in only 3 weeks!

Keep in mind that I wasn’t super strict with anything either. Some days I worked out for 20 minutes, and some days I worked out for 60 minutes. Same goes for my diet. Adam and I had date nights where we ate bowls of pasta and breadsticks and other nights where we had margaritas and tacos. I wasn’t depriving myself at all and was still able to lose weight!

As long as you burn off more calories than you consume, you WILL lose weight! Just keep track of everything and the numbers wont lie!

I do want to note that I believe in the power of most protein powders as meal supplements. Herbalife is quite pricey, so I’m currently alternating between Herbalife and my new favorite protein powder from Luxe Fitness. I am currently indulging in the Vanilla Coconut powder. It’s so good! It tastes like a Pina Colada! Luxe Fitness graciously offered me a discount code to share with you. Apply the code: STARR15 for 15% off!

So that’s what works for me! Moving my body MORE and Eating less Sugar and Carbs, and upping my Protein intake. All while counting those calories and steps! I will continue to keep you all posted on my weight loss journey. Please feel free to comment below with your own Fitness goals and stories.

XOXO