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TIME

Now that you know what to do, how about doing it??  Where do we find the time to do all of this? As I have stated in some of my videos, you just have to MAKE THE TIME.  Think about all of the hours wasted, doing nothing?  Think of the countless minutes, just sitting with babies on the floor?  Times when you are on the phone doing nothing.  Utilize all of your extra minutes and do something with your body.  If you will sit at night for hours or in the morning while checking internet things, you can surely spend 30 of those minutes improving your health.

We all make the time for the things that matter the most to us.

You need to decide that your health IS important to you.  Do you want to be strong and healthy for your children?  How about for your grandchildren?  Here is a stretch–how about those great-grandchildren?  Do you want to spend the second half of your life unable to move in a chair, or being an active participant in life?    What type of lifestyle do you want for your future?  Do you want to be dependent upon medication to help “regulate” your bodies?  Do you want to be a “slave” to medical doctors and the drug industry?  Or do you want to be able to enjoy  a sugar filled snack occasionally in your old age without worrying if it will put you in a sugar induced coma?  We should worry about being moderate in what we eat now, so that in the future we can still enjoy the occasional treats.

DIET

I believe in eating foods as close to their natural state as possible.  We don’t completely eat that way, we do enjoy some great homemade foods and treats.  But while I am attempting to lose some extra pounds, I limit my intake of certain foods.  I have to say to myself, in order for me to enjoy those foods later on without feeling guilty for eating them, right now I am going to deny myself them so that I can get control of my eating habits.

When I am losing weight, I like to eat only whole foods.  What I mean by “whole foods’ is —foods as close to the way that God intended.  What I like to do is get my cravings under control.  For the first day, I like to do a water fast.  It is a great thing to do and if you have been indulging yourself, it isn’t that hard physically to do as your body has much excess food to use up.  But mentally it can be challenging until you get over that hump of okay only a few more hours until bedtime.  The next day I like to begin eating simply.

If you want to try one of those expensive cleansing tonics. You can spend an arm and a leg on them or make your own.  It is a different mentality that I didn’t think much about before, but when I experienced it, I was amazed at how much better I felt.  It basically cleans your body from the inside out.  Our bodies put up with a lot of toxins from what we eat to our environment and there are natural, healthy ways to eliminate them especially as a way to kick start our bodies into a healthy state. Foods with artificial colors and flavors and preservatives contain toxins that build up in your body over time and can cause ill health effects on our health.  This is a great way to get your body on the right track.  As you are trying to lose the weight, your body is still fighting with how to burn off and eliminate all of the toxins that you are constantly throwing in it.  This body cleanse is great for getting rid of and then being able to start fresh on your healthy eating.  Why would you trust anyone else with what your are going to cleanse your system with?  They may take some getting used to but a great way to flush out the toxins from your body.

Cleanse #1

This is a famous “Master cleanse”  drink that says if you drink it for 10 days you will lose weight.  Yes I agree if you drank only this you would lose weight. I wouldn’t recommend days, but I would recommend one day.  Keep a water container full of this all day and sip continually to cleanse your body of toxins.  You can do an individual internet study of the health benefits of all of the ingredients.  Become informed learn what they all do.

• 2 T lemon juice
• 2 T maple syrup
• 1 t cayenne pepper
• Mix in 24 ounces of water

Cleanse #2

Another cleanse you can do is a Water cleanse.  You choose to eat and drink all things that are filled with basically water:)  Any fruit or vegetables may be eaten.  Steamed or raw.  I would recommend mostly raw for the roughage in helping clean out your colon.  Drink plenty of water as well.

Cleanse #3

This is a pretty intense tasting one.  Definitely one to get used to, I would recommend doing the other 2 first and then for the bolder ones, try this concoction.  Again do some research and learn about all the health benefits from each ingredient.

I like to fill up my water bottle which is 24 ounces and then add the following:

• 2 T Apple cider vinegar.  A powerful digestive aid and is an old timey cure for heart burn and indigestion. It is a powerful detox tool and improves bowel function.
• 1 T Ginger powder.  It is up at the top of the list with the most potent anti-inflammatory supplements on God’s green earth and can relieve common aches and pains and even help with more serious arthritic conditions.
• 2 T lemon juice–another great flushing out toxins from your body.  Aids in digestion, helping regulate the functions.
• 2 T pure maple syrup or honey–2 great natural sweeteners with great digestive properties
• 1 T sea salt.   It helps the body to create digestive juices so that the foods you eat are digested faster, and it helps to prevent buildup in the digestive tract, which eventually can lead to constipation and weight gain.

This is a typically stronger cleanse and myself I can only handle about 1 water bottle of this per day.  The other times, I drink pure water.

These cleanses are great to use for your “kick off” to lose some weight.  Try one of them for at least 1 day.  If you can do 1-3 days that would be awesome!  But we are looking at doing something rather than nothing right now.  Gotta start somewhere.

FOODS

Here are the foods that I generally eat on my weight loss.  I like something that doesn’t take time because I do not have much.  I need things that I can easily make without requiring a lot of prep work.

**note I have removed my videos from here so that I can make updated versions of them.

Here is a typical breakfast scenerio:

I keep it simple oatmeal.

Here is a typical lunch scenerio:

I again, keep it simple spinach salad.

Here are my “filler foods”  cabbage vegetable soup and if I feel the need to snack on anything, I pop some air popped popcorn and lightly spray with butter spray and use sea salt for flavoring.  You can eat a HUGE bowl of that and it is almost nothing in calories.

Here is a dinner meal:

Brown rice, vegetables, soy sauce, and sesame oil

Now I don’t eat like this for the whole time I am losing weight.  This is just a typical sample menu.  If you need more variety in your diet, then search out and make it.  I need simple and easy and that is why I choose this one.  If I am needing more protein and iron, I will hard boil some eggs and grab one to eat during the day. I will take some of the beans, red meat, or chicken from our family dinner and add some to my rice and vegetables.   Just a simple way to eat that doesn’t require a lot of extra preparation, because I do not have the time for that.

My drinks are simple—–Water.  No fancy drinks, just water with a peppermint teabag in it.  I constantly fill it up and sip most all of the day.  Keeping fluids handy is a good habit when it is water or something equally healthy or light in calories.  The problem is that most Americans guzzle sugar or other carb sweetened beverages all day long.  How many need an energy pick me up, or sweetened flavored water, or a can of Coke, I mean Diet Coke?  Glucose is flushed into the blood stream on a constant basis. Liquid carbs are the most dangerous of all high glycemic, insulin spiking, fat flooding, health enemies that we face.  Keep it simple—-Water.

Some thoughts….How easy is it for us to look at someone else and think that they need better “self -control” in their life.  Maybe its an alcoholic or a drug addict and you think, “Just put down the drugs and you will be better.”  Sounds easy right?  Did you know that putting down the drugs might even be easier than putting down that donut and getting off the couch??

How easy is it to assume that the drug addict has a worse addiction then us who are being gluttonous and lazy.  I feel like I can only say that because that was me.  It was easy to look at someone who I felt needed to change their lifestyle in order to “honor God”  but for myself I didn’t think it was a big deal that I was overweight and shoving “junk” into my mouth.  My life was no different.  Change starts with us.

We all need self-control.  Especially in the things that we put into our bodies.

It begins with our willingness to want more out of life.  Our diet and lifestyle choices has a huge impact on how we will feel for the rest of our lives.  You have to decide what it is you want out of life.  Do you want to honor God by taking care of your temple?  Or giving excuses the rest of your life?

You can read my original post about how I lost 70 lbs twice in 2 years and 12 dress sizes.

For years past, I was only able to do my work out at night time before bed.  I would take all the little ones down in the basement, put the baby in the playpen or swing and do my elliptical.  With 5 under 5 I can guarantee that for the most part toddlers cried and whined.  There wasn’t as much play going on as they do now.  But it was okay, I just endured the crying and smiled and kept on doing the elliptical.  I knew that for 30 minutes it was not going to hurt them to be unhappy.  There were plenty of toys to play with if they so chose, but for the most part they just cried.  But I made it, and they did too.  Look into headphones:)

That is all I would recommend doing until you have gotten down to a manageable weight.  I didn’t even think about crunchers, pushups, or leg lifts until I had most of my “fat” off my body.  Concentrate on just moving, get off the couch, stand and hold the baby.  Get outside and take a brisk walk. March up and down your stairs.  Anything to get your body moving.

You need to get your heart rate pumping for a minimal of 20 minutes for it to be effective.  If you aren’t sweating, then you are probably not doing a hard enough work out.

Remember sweat is a natural way for toxins to leave your body.  So it is good to sweat. Even though it is gross:)

Plan to work out either in the early morning before your children wake up, so that it ensures you shower and get ready for your day. Or do it at night time close to bed so that you can shower and then hop into bed.  If none of these options works then plan on staying in your pajamas until you can work out and then shower and get ready for your day.  Or get ready for your day and then take a short shower again after you work out.

Whatever works for you, I always like to  get ready in the morning but since I have adopted the workout plan I have now, I have to stay in my pajamas until I work out and that is hard for me.  But I know it is a temporary thing, I am just working on the weight loss and when it is done, I can just  maintain and it won’t have to be so intensive.

Let’s say you have lost most of the weight, now it is time for floor exercises.

 You can do these pretty much anytime you want, like I said before, I would recommend trying to get off most of the excess weight then toning it up.

Here are some simple exercises that I do to help tone.  I do these in my living room while my little ones are climbing around me or playing nearby on the floor.  It is all about utilizing your time.

Crunchers

Okay, I know that after having 10 babies, I wondered if I would ever have a stomach muscle left inside of me.  I am here to say that yes, I do!  They are buried under that belly fat, but I am starting to feel them.  It took a long time to notice anything really but I am slowly making progress.

I DO NOT RECOMMEND SIT UPS.  Those are extremely hard on your back, do crunchers.  Bring your knees up and hands behind your head and slightly lift your head off of the ground, using your stomach muscles.  

 

 

Another variety of crunchers is to extend your legs upwards and lift your head off the ground towards your feet.  You can also alternate reaching to the sides of your legs with your elbows.

How many can you do?  I like to say—-“until your stomach hurts.”  If you need a number do 50.

Push ups

When I first started doing push ups, I could barely  make 5.  My arms would be shaking!  Now I am up to 15 and I usually do that 4 times throughout my floor time.

Do them on your knees to make them easier.

Planking

This is something new that my dear friend told me about.  I looked it up on youtube and it looked super easy, but then I tried it.  Definitely  not easy!!  This is a great core strengthener.  Try it, you will be surprised at how difficult it is.  I hold the position for 10 seconds and try and do that as many times as my stomach muscles allow.  I would aim for 4-5 sets.  It is basically a push up position on your toes not knees and on your forearms.  It is tough.

Leg lifts lying down

These are great do to work on the inner and outer thighs.  I do these until my legs hurt too much:)

Bend your leg on the bottom and extend your outer leg and do lifts toward the ceiling.

Take the knee down to the floor and push it back outwards.  This is great for those outer thighs.

Bend both legs at 90 degree angles and continue doing leg lifts.

 

I would recommend doing 15-20 lifts at a time.  See how many sets you can do

Leg lifts standing up

This is a great stretcher for you legs, it elongates them and helps tighten your rear- behind muscles.

Hold onto a tabletop and then lift your leg upwards.  Your child will still want to be picked up, keep lifting:)

 

Turn to the side and lift your legs outwards.  You can also do a scissor cross in front of your body as you swing your leg in front of you.  These are great for outer and inner thighs.  Again however many you can do.  For me it is however my children allow me to do:)  25 each leg.

Dog lifts

These probably aren’t called dog lifts, I just call them that because my children say it.   This was extremely hard for me to do after I had my babies.  It really does a work on your stomach muscles as well as your rear behind muscles.  If you are feeling any type of pain, stop and do not continue this exercise.  Slowly work up at it.  I would do maybe 5 and now I can do 25 of them at a time, I just needed to heal.

Get on all 4s and extend your leg out and lift your leg to the ceiling.  Stay up on your arms for an easier workout.

Bend the knee and lift your heel to the ceiling.  You can also point your toe and lift that to the ceiling.  Get down on your forearms for a harder workout.  Do 25 of each kind.  As many sets as you can.

STRETCHING

After I am all finished and the children are still playing I like to stretch.

Stretching, this is something I have neglected to do over the years and have only recently realized the importance of it.

When I think of stretching, I like to take all my body parts and give them a great stretch.  Here are some areas I like to elongate:

• Start with your head and  neck  do slow rolls with it.
• Then move to your shoulders and arms and do small circles and large ones. Go forward and backward.
• Take your waistline, and do some twists.
• Sit on the floor and stretch your leg out to the side and reach for your toes.
• Sit butterfly style and try and bring your face down to the floor.
• You can get on all 4s and do a cat stretch.  Raise your lower back up and arch like a cat.
• Don’t forget those Kegel exercises, especially after having babies, we gotta keep everything in shape!!

How about finding the TIME for exercise?  And what do you eat while trying to lose weight that doesn’t require a lot of prep work because you still have to make meals for 10 other people?  Continue topart 3 to see how it is done.