Losing twenty pounds was number six on my 30 Before Thirty list. Following through with number five (stop drinking soda) certainly helped, so that’s two more off the list!
My BMI now officially puts me in the normal weight category, which is fantastic considering that I had edged into obese territory after pregnancy. I certainly didn’t feel obese, but medically, there I was. I gained 40 pounds while I was pregnant with Eleanor, and I’ve since lost 60, making me twenty pounds lighter than my pre-baby weight.
I did it very sensibly, losing two pounds per week. I followed the Steve Ward diet, which is not actually a diet but rather a way to keep yourself on track. You just draw a line on graph paper from your current weight to your goal, eat normally when you’re below the line and watch your meals when you’re above. I’m a visual person, so the graph was immensely helpful to me. It kept me motivated when I felt like nothing was happening because I could see my progress (even before I could see a difference in my waistline). I also liked being able to look ahead and see where I’d be by a certain date, assuming I kept on track.
* Edit: I didn’t do the broccoli only thing that the Steve Ward diet calls for — that’s too extreme. I just ate a little lighter overall when I went over the line.
I never followed a strict exercise plan or diet. I went on more walks and for longer distances, and I often used a baby carrier for Eleanor instead of a stroller. I had been reading a lot about opting not to partake in the Western Diet (all of the crap that Americans typically eat), and so I was mindful about making healthier choices. These are some of the books that helped me:
- In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto and Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual (both by Michael Pollan)
- The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals (Michael Pollan again)
- Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating with More Than 75 Recipes (Mark Bittman)
- How to Cook Everything and How to Cook Everything Vegetarian (cookbooks, both by Bittman)
- Jamie’s Food Revolution (cookbook by Jamie Oliver)
- Food, Inc. (documentary by Eric Schlosser)
It’s hard to change a lifetime of eating habits so I still have some work to do, but I’m making good progress. I have hardly eaten any fast food, and in fact the times that I did revert to it I found that I didn’t like it as much. Still, I’m not one to deny myself an occasional cheeseburger or pizza, so I let myself indulge sometimes. The difference is that I really do think of it as an indulgence rather than a normal weeknight option.
So that’s how I did it. I lost weight the baby weight and then some with diet, exercise, and graph paper.
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You look amazing Nicole. Well done on accomplishing a goal of yours! Chasing after Eleanor will help keep the weight off too.
Congratulations! Losing weight is difficult but I think it’s the life style change that people get stuck on. A healthy life style is important and a wonderful gift to Eleanor. Hooray for you!!
Congratulations! It’s on my before 30 list as well. I really loved Michael Pollan’s book Food Rules and his other books are on my reading list. Thanks!
Thanks for sharing this idea. I have already made my chart and taped it to the bathroom wall. I don’t believe in diets, per se, but I can tell a huge difference in my energy, how well I sleep and how “puffy” I feel around the middle depending on my choices. I recently began eating vegan – it kind of happened accidentally – and it’s been terrific. I’m loving coming up with healthier options when ordering in restaurants. As far as “American” food goes, it’s the hardest! In Asian, Salvadoran or Italian restaurants, I’ve been able to feast! I’m still working at cooking interesting things that my family of 5 will go for. Again, thanks. Watching progress on the chart will be fun!
(I tend to go on and on when I’m excited!)
Great job! I have to look into that Steve Ward strategy!
Congratulations! I have been loving following along with your list progress, and you inspired me to make one too. That is really great about knocking two off at the same time. You must feel so great!
I definitely want to use this method. How fun and visual?! Loves it. And bravo! Slow and Steady always wins the race.
You recently posted a black and white picture of you and Eleanor and the moment I saw it I thought, wow, she looks like she lost a lot of weight. It is not an easy thing to do, this is very inspiring. The graph thing is not something I could do (I might be the only person who is not “visual”) but it’s a very cool idea nonetheless.
Thank you so much for sharing this! This may be the way I need to keep track of things to help me see them better. Congrats!
Congrats! And I love the graph! It’s so perfectly nerdy and awesome.
aww great job, Nicole!! Diets make me nervous, but that plan you found sounds great. Congrats! :)
Congrats Nicole! I appreciate your good examples – on the graph and showing good habits to Eleanor as well.
This makes so much sense! Thanks for sharing this. I’ve drawn my graph, and I have my goal date – my 10 year wedding anniversary! Wish me luck!
BTW, you can print your own graph paper here: http://incompetech.com/graphpaper/plain/
Wow… so impressive – CONGRATS! I’m working towards a much larger weight loss goal, so its inspiring to see someone else with success… someone who doesnt have a live-in chef and personal trainer! ;)
Congratulations! That’s hard work! I need to make it happen myself.
Great job! It’s not easy losing weight and keeping it off, so you have the right idea! Great way to start off the big 3-0!!
Congrats! The Steve Ward diet looks brilliant, thanks for sharing. It’s really inspiring.
Just one question for you… Did your husband diet with you, or prepare alternate food on your lo-cal days? I often cook for my boyfriend at home (or he cooks for me) and he has the opposite problem – he really needs to gain weight! It seems like it would be really tough to cook him a calorie heavy meal and then eat broccoli…
Sometimes we ate the same thing, sometimes not. For example, I really love salmon but Brandon doesn’t like fish so he’d eat something else. I didn’t make him follow along with me, so he has stayed at the same weight.
way to go! v. interesting. :)
VERY inspiring! I just had my second baby and already lost all the weight, but I still need to lose the weight from my first pregnancy! 20 lbs! I think I’ll try this graph to see my progress. My goal is size 6 skinny jeans by September.
A while ago I put together 10 tips for moms to stay skinny
http://momtrends.blogspot.com/2010/05/ten-tips-for-mom-to-lose-weight.html
Like you,I believe in combing tricks and common sense. Congrats on meeting your goal.
way to go!! you are such an inspiration!
Good for you! I love the idea of graphing your weight loss. I’m off to start plotting a 10 pound weight loss for myself.
Nicole, what an accomplishment… Congratulations! I know how hard it can be to lose weight after a baby. I’m still trying.
Congratulations and what an interesting technique. Isn’t In Defense of Food fantastic? It’s just so incredibly logical and simple!!
Hi Nicole,
What an inspiring and brave post. I am a fan of all of the books you mentioned and the movie. Way to go! I also love how you shared your story in such a matter of fact no drama way -you are amazing.
Congrats -I am going to forward your link to a few friends!
Congrats…that is such an awesome goal to have met. Question regarding Eleanor’s carrier. My daughter is days younger and I’m finding the mei tai is begining to hurt my shoulders, neck. How about you? Have you looked at other carriers as she gets older? I’m on the search now.
I still love my mei tai, but I also still like carring Eleanor in the front so maybe that’s the difference?
congrats!!! very impressive- you’ve inspired me!
That is awesome! Go, you!
Ugh; I would love to try this, but I am frustrated that I don’t understand how to lay out the graph. I tend to be mathematically challenged! Wish I wasn’t. Harumph..
Could anyone give me some pointers? I have graph paper!
Thanks! Jenny
Okay, my husband helped me make a graph. Actually seeing reults will be a huge motivater for me, not to mention a great way to stay on track. I was just wondering, Nicole; did you weigh yourself at the same time each day?
Thanks for sharing!
Jenny
Glad you got the graph started! Yes, I weighed myself at the same time each morning.
congratulations! i am 5 months postpartum and trying to lose baby weight myself! this is very inspiring! i love the jamie oliver cookbook- it’s become my new go-to. plus there is so much good food in chicago that is SO bad for you!!
I know. Chicago food is soooooo good (but so bad for you)!
You never cease to amaze! I’m so proud of you, and inspired by your success. However I must say, one thing I’ve always loved about you is that you are NOT stick thin like so many artistic types out there. You are so authentically human, so down to earth in your hipness, so confident in your skin, you just radiate! So if you’re ever having a bad day, just remember that you are loved and admired, no matter what the scale says.
All those books are wonderful! Great choices. And you’re right, it’s more about a making a lifestyle change and then occasionally allowing yourself treats (they are important psychologically). That’s how I roll too. Isn’t it amazing how much better you feel when you eat healthy food and not so much crap? I am amazed. I also started drinking a glass of water first thing in the morning, before consuming anything else, and that’s made a difference too.
Congratulations! Losing that much weight is no small feat, this I know.
Congrats! It’s always nice to accomplish a goal. Even better that it’s one that’s good for your health!
Keep it up girl!
Wow Nicole, that’s amazing. You should be proud :)
Congratulations!!! That is a terrific accomplishment and I think it’s ridiculously cute (and so typical) that you did it with such style!!
I mean, I’d never heard of a visually-appealing weightloss plan!
Way to go, Nicole! It’s always so nice to hear about folks getting healthier. You hit the nail on the head when you said it’s hard to change a lifetime of eating habits – we are products of our environment for sure. And the fact that you already recognize how that will affect Eleanor is key! She will do as you do. We all want to give our children the best leg-up we can in life, and a healthy body and self-esteem is the first place to start.
Good for you!
Congrats!! Wow thats a lot of weight you got rid of!! Now let me go get some of this dr steve ward diet.. thanks for sharing this links! Have a wonderful week :)
Wow! Your experience is so inspirational! My goal is to lose 20 lbs this summer, but I don’t think I’m dedicated enough! I tend to forget my goals in the heat of the moment (aka inhaling some ice cream), so maybe I need to write my goals down and seeing them would help? Did you find yourself often thinking about your weightloss strategies throughout the day or was it just in the back of your mind the whole time? And did it get easier with time to make better choices?
It gets easier. I didn’t obsess about my choices, and if I had been doing well I allowed myself to splurge on things like ice cream too.
Congrats! You are a great inspiration by becoming educated and determined rather than giving into some fad diet. Awesome work!
Congratulations! it’s lots of hard work I know – I too am trying to loose the baby weight. Be sure to buy yourself some new clothes so you can show off the new you!!! :)
Congrats, that is really exciting. I love Michael Pollen, his books changed how we eat too. Right now I am reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingslover. You would enjoy it if you loved Polen’s books.
I’m on my way to losing 50 pounds right now, and any time I read a blog post about someone who’s been successful, it’s SO inspiring. And every time, I learn a new technique or tip. I’m a huge fan of math and visual representations, so this graph thing might be right up my alley! Thanks for sharing, and major congrats on the weightloss!!!
This may seem silly but I had a hard time finding graph paper at the store. I was able to customize and download free graph paper online at
http://incompetech.com/graphpaper/
In pretty colors too!
There are some cute options there, thanks for sharing!
Congratulations!!! I am in the process of trying to shed about 15 – 20 lbs, and this post makes me want to keep going. I like the way you did it sensibly.
Thanks for the encouragement today, and congrats again! I like that graph paper idea…I think I will do that.
If you came across any super stellar recipes, I would love to see a post about them.
Keep up the good work and let us know about future progress; it really is very encouraging.
Wow 20 pounds! This is fantastic.
I discovered the same thing when I stopped drinking soda and eating fast food. All of a sudden I didn’t want them anymore. I still have them occasionally, but it actually felt really great to not WANT them.
I’ve been listening to a podcast called the ‘No Excuses Workout System’. I don’t know if he would be your thing but I love that he focuses on small things you can do in your day to day life to add in a little more exercise. (Like parking a block away from work and walking.) His website is http://www.noexcusesworkouts.com
You are one inspiring lady!
Awesome! Did you notice a change in your energy levels, complexion, or other areas since eating healthier and losing the weight?
Sounds easy! Ha. I wish. Kudos to you though. I’m thinking I shall start this.
Very cool! Congrats!
I’m going to try this way of dieting for a while. Just made up my graph this morning :)