Weight Loss Journey Update: Week 8 - Clean Eating

I have successfully completed 8 weeks of eating right and exercising on a regular basis.
I have lost 14 pounds and only have 9 more to go to reach my pre-pregnancy weight!
It is coming off slow and steady and I am proud of myself for sticking with it and making progress!

Since my diet plays a HUGE role in losing weight, I have started eating "clean." This means that I am focusing on eating more natural foods and sticking with fruits, vegetables, and protein. It has been a gradual (and hard) transition and it's a big change from anything I've ever done before. I researched it for almost a month before I even began buying new ingredients to make meals.

I am learning to cook with spices now and it's been interesting to say the least. I have messed up some meals while others have been edible. Poor Dan doesn't really look forward to dinner time anymore! I actually think he's scared sometimes! (Sorry, Dear!) Making healthy food taste as good as bad food is a challenge since we're so used to the bad food. Hopefully it'll get better as I learn more and try more things out! :)

With this new clean eating concept, I am eating 5-6 small meals a day (every 2-3 hours) that include a protein and a healthy carb like fruits and vegetables. I was very skeptical that eating more often would help me lose weight, but it's actually working! I am enjoying a lot of the foods I am trying out too!

I don't have anyone guiding me or giving me advice on what works best, so I have gotten most of my information online. I am still trying to figure out all the "in's" and "out's." My first day was a trip! I was checking everything I ate and trying to do everything perfect but I honestly had no clue what I was doing. In reality, I just did the best I could.

I have been keeping a food journal and I'm going to list my first day's attempt here. Don't laugh! :) I have been doing this for 2 weeks now so I have figured out to rotate snack and meal type meals so I don't get hungry. The first day I didn't really think of that...I was just trying to get in the proteins and carbs at each meal.

Day 1:

1) 9:45am - 2 scrambled eggs, banana, milk

(I get up earlier than this, but I don't eat right away. I have started eating only 1 egg since this.)

2) 12:00pm - apple, almonds

3) 2:00pm - broccoli, carrots, and green peppers with hummus

4) 4:00pm - rotisserie chicken, steamed mixed vegetables

5) 6:00pm - chicken breast, steamed carrots, mashed potatoes 

6) 8:00pm - plain oatmeal with strawberries and kiwi

If anyone follows a clean eating lifestyle and can share what you do, I'd love to hear about it!

I'd also LOVE to have any good "clean" recipes you enjoy!!!!

Enough of my diet plan! :)

As far as exercising, I am thrilled to say that I finished my 8 week "Couch to 5K" program over the weekend!!!! This is such a big step for me!!!!

I am still really slow but I can actually run for 35 minutes without stopping now! I have no clue if it's equivalent to 3.1 miles, but in my book that is a success!

I have about 3 weeks before the 5K run so I'm planning to keep practicing and try to improve my time. This program is no joke and took a lot of work! I am so glad that I started and finished it though because it really did help me get to where I wanted to be.

I am still doing Zumba and Kickboxing 3 days a week also. I really enjoy these classes and it's nice that we do weight training and work our abs in each class too. Last week I actually saw a muscle in the back of my arm! :)

That's my 8 week weight loss progress. How's your weight loss going?