Weight loss tips I had to learn the hard way

When I was in my early twenties I decided it was time to lose weight so what I did was a little Tabo and instead of a Whopper I ordered a Whopper Jr combo and guess what I lost a TON of weight. I looked better than I had in my life. But then then life took over, I got married , got a full time job, and had five children.

For some reason when I had children and a husband for a split second i thought it really didn't matter what i looked like as long as my family was happy. Not to mention I LOVE to eat and had little or no time to exercise. So I gained a little weight and that was fine for a few years until I a little turned into a LOT of weight. Then i started to be unhappy with myself.  When mom's unhappy everybody in the house is unhappy, right?

So I decided it was time to do something about it. So I wanted to share  a few tips I learned a long the way. I know you will hear a million tips and probably a lot of the same things but these really worked for me.

1:     First of all there is NO such thing as I don't have time to exercise. That's right I said it... I don't have time is really just an excuse not to get up and do it.  I know you are sitting there thinking that I have no idea what your hectic life if like but I do, I have a blog, a full time job and five kids remember?

And I PROMISE you can make 10 minutes for yourself here and there.  It's a proven fact 30 minutes a day of exercise is really good for you. Not only physically but mentally  as well.  But what you were probably never told is you don't have to do all 30 minutes at one time. I know, I know it's been said if you raise your heart rate for 30 minutes straight. But trust me I have lost weight two separate times and I've done my workouts in 5 or 10 minute intervals. I just made sure to do at least 30 minutes a day. Trust me once you start and see how easy it is to fit in your schedule, you'll more likely do more than 30 minutes.

2:     You don't need to go to a gym to lose weight. You really don't!!! Do you have the internet? My guess is yes if you are reading this post. YouTube has the most amazing selection of workouts, short or long depending on what you are looking for.   The good thing is YouTube is available 24 hours a day and sometimes you can watch it on your TV so you can workout in the room you want.

With YouTube workouts you can work the part of the body that needs the most attention or you can work out your entire body. Some of my favorite YouTube workout come from Tiffany Rothe and PopSugar Fitness but there million out there so look for the ones that work for you.  All available with the click of a button, in your home, in your PJs if you want! Now I will say a gym helps get a different workout but it's not a necessity.

3:   One that really used to get me is you have to diet. I'm here to tell that is NOT true. You do have to watch what you eat. But you don't have to deprive yourself of anything. Do you have a Smartphone or computer? Download My Fitness Pal or go to the website and it will count calories for you!

Now that does mean you have to do some sacrificing on you part. I LOVE to eat and I love chocolate, cookies, and every other junk food you can think of just like the next person. But once I started reading calories it made me very aware of what I was putting in my mouth.  Once you are more aware of what you are putting in your mouth, it makes you less likely to do mindless snacking.  That brings me to the next thing I learned.

4:    If you want a brownie, eat a brownie but don't eat the pan or 1/2 the pan. No judgement, I love them too!  But don't stop yourself from having that little treat. Let yourself have one cheat day where you are more laxed on the calorie counting. I try not to go crazy but sometimes I just can't help myself.

But if you don't feel deprived you won't want to cheat. That makes sense right? I mean logically can you live your entire life and never eat junk again? I know I can't that is why most diets don't work. I'm not a squirrel so I can't live off of lettuce, no matter how much I like it

5:   Drink MORE water. Yeah I got tired of hearing this too. I couldn't bring myself to drink a lot of bland water. But I had to because water really has so many benefits. So I started icing it and then I was drinking more and I felt much better.

Better yet, treat yourself to a water infusion bottle. That will make it so easy to drink water. You will drink more water than you ever thought and it will taste great.

and last but most important

6:  Cut yourself some slack!!   Okay so you cheated, you went over on your calories or you didn't feel like working out today. That's OKAY start over again tomorrow.  Nobody is perfect and that one day is not going to mess up all the work you did before. If it's hard to get started, that's okay too just keep trying. 

The weights not coming off fast enough? It never does. Guess what happened to me? I GAINED weight first. Yes imagine my surprise. 

Just know Once you figure out what works for you, you will be so happy you took that time for yourself! 

If you are trying to loose weight ~~~ Good luck!! It's not an easy road but you can do it.  

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy!

Amber