Beauty & Grooming  Discussion Forum

I´ ve been reading a lot of posts here and thought i´ d share some that have worked wonders for me.

I´ am a mother of 2 (4 and 2yrs old) and was 185 lbs on the day of my delivery with my 2nd kid. After 2 yrs of following my own program, i´ am 118 lbs as of today and still counting down. Here´ s how i did it. There is no miracle cure and i´ am a veg, so all of you non-veg´ s have a distinct advantage over me in the dept of protein consumption. Anyway, here goes:

1. To lose weight, you need to burn calories. simple. 3500 cal makes a pound. Walking briskly for 20 mints/2 miles burns 200 cal. If you spread the 3500 cal over a week and burn 500 everyday, you lose a pound. I started with this premise.

2. I eat all day long and before and during pregnancy most of it was junk. so, i needed to cut down on that. What i do now, is eat lot of nuts and dry fruits for snacks....takes a long time to chew and very good for your health. Also, i eat lot of raw vegetables like spinach, carrots, cauliflower, salad tomatoes, grapes etc..(without any dressing)..mixing the veg and fruits makes it easier for you eat them without dressing and they are very-very good for your health.

3. so, start your morning with a glass of milk..for breakfast eat nuts and dry fruits..followed by the huge salad. By the time you finish, it is 12:00PM....eat your lunch. Now i get my lunch everyday from home, so i know exactly what i´ am eating. I also cook everyday while my hubby takes care of the kids. Healthier living needs cooperation from the family, so remember that.

4. If you still have cravings before dinner time then grab a whole wheat bread with some peanut butter(protien and fiber).

5. chew on dry cereal or green sowmph(healthy for your breath too)...

6. Skip rice and processed flour as much as you can. We use 100 whole wheat flour for rotis and while i was losing weight, i switched one meal to cracked wheat instead of rice...adds loads of fiber(helps in cleansing the body of toxins) and keeps your tummy feel full for longer periods of time.

7. Now i used to work out 5 days, burning 800 cal everyday...thereby making 4000 cal/week. Spread it over the last 18 months and here i´ am...voila!!...never missed one single day...if i was sick and couldn´ t go to the gym...then i covered up by going one day on the weekend.

I still eat loads of food...but only better..and on weekend i totally freak out...i eat whatever i want...candy, ice-cream...you name it...i eat it..

This way i lost a lot of weight..diet and exercise together...no shortcuts to success..the more you work hard, the more you lose in the weight dept...remember.

I used to wear a size 16 or 18 in the last stages of my pregnancy...and now i fit into a size 4 very easily. size 2 with a little difficulty :):). Nimita replied. HEY SANDYA! ...omg! m so happppy and i reallly feel encouraged after i read ur post. because guess wat, am 18 yrs old but i weigh the same as u weighed when u were pregnant- 185 pounds. and right now am so depressed coz i wear a size 16 or 18 too and its soo hard to find clothes for me because most of the shops have small sizes and plus i hate being fat myself!! i reallly feel very lazy to exercise, but after i read ur post, i feel pumped! i mean, i jus feel like workin out now by going for regular walks. thankyou so much for sharing ur experience and i hope i loose weight too. thanku once again! fd replied. nice article and very motivating.....i need to loose 5 kgs weight....and i go for walk- 2 miles in the morning....can u tell me is that enought or i need to do some more excersice too,,,,, sandya replied. And Oh! i forgot to mention that on my above mentioned tips, i breastfed my baby for a year. So, it is not really diet but just eating healthy. Just a reminder for new mothers.