Every New Year’s eve one of my resolutions is to lose weight. Every year that passed by instead of losing weight I gained it. Finally, I can say that I’ve lost weight and continue to work out to lose more weight to reach my ideal body figure. My struggle has been too real at times and when I finally committed to it I tried to figure out what would work for me. I know there are plenty of women like me wanting to lose that weight but not knowing where or how to start. My goal was not to reach any ideal weight measurement but rather feel good about myself, how I look and know that I’m on a road to a healthier me. I’ll be sharing my recommended home workout with you but first I’d like to share my weight loss journey so you can see the progress for yourself. Hopefully, it inspires you to have a fitter body and self image.

I’m 5’7 and my build has always been bigger than the normal in my country at least. I’ve always been the tallest and when I was younger I was one of the skinniest. Gradually that changed when I had my first then second then third child. The pounds started adding up and the heaviest I had been was after I had given birth to my youngest.

This is me in 2014. I’d packed on quite a few pounds and mainly I was heavy because I still hadn’t lost the baby weight compounded by the previous baby weight. I wasn’t working out or dieting at all.

When I saw this picture of myself I was really disappointed and sad. Outwardly I didn’t see myself being this big but obviously I was. I was also having a harder time moving around, climbing stairs etc. I seemed to be winded for the most part.

Left: November 2016, Right: November 2017. I used to wear loose fitting tops to try and mask or cover the weight. Now I can wear tighter clothing (though not too tight) and feel comfortable doing so.

When I started to lose weight what was significant to me were the clothes and how I’d noticed they were loose on me. Going down sizes when it came to jeans was another achievement. Take this black skirt for instance. In December 2015 this skirt fit but just hardly. I had the toughest time breathing AND I was wearing a girdle of sorts to keep it all in. Yet, the overweight me is more than obvious. The picture on the right (pink top) was taken in December 2017, same skirt but much better fit. Now it fit like a glove and I could comfortably move around and feel good doing so.

On the left, December 2016 and on the right December 2017. Even my posture has improved with my weight loss. I stand more confidently and my legs and stomach have also trimmed down.

Right: December 2017, Left: December 2016. Same blouse but obvious difference. This was an achievement for me because I could see and feel the change. Being thinner is not just about looking good but feeling good as well. Feeling confident and healthier should be the main goals when you’re trying to get fitter. I was at Kidzooona with my youngest recently and to my surprise I could actually keep up with him. We even bounced around together in one of the bouncy houses. I just felt tremendously good.

I still have a bit of a tummy and I’m working on it through core exercises. The one thing I learned is that you have to pace yourself, find what works for you and just be determined to do it every day if possible. For years I had been telling myself, one day you’ll start exercising. That day finally came when I was inspired after attending an Under Armour event. The event gave me an opportunity to do some workouts and meet my new best friend, my Sanctband.

This is my most recent picture and it has shown me just how much weight I’ve lost. I not only have a fitter body but a fitter mind, attitude and outlook. Nothing is achieved without hard work and I’ve put in hard work to achieve this weight loss. At times, especially in the beginning you may feel discouraged at the thought that there’s so much weight to lose or that nothing’s happening. Remember that it took some time to gain that weight so it’ll take time to lose it as well. I hung in there even when I felt stupid at first working out at home and following these work out videos I found on YouTube. I felt silly trying to achieve something just by watching videos but it worked! When the aches and pains start to lessen you know you’re on the right track.

If you’re wondering, I don’t follow any strict diet. I simply lessened my portions, lessened my rice and only eat when I’m hungry. Food used to be a comfort I turned to. I would stuff my face and gorge myself on all the sweets I could have. Now, I simply eat when I’m hungry. I still eat sweets but instead of having a whole bar of chocolate I’ll take 2 bites and be content with that. I increased my water intake as well.

Now for my recommended workout videos. I needed to find a work out that wouldn’t bore me yet focus on the areas I wanted to improve on. For me it was my tummy, my arms, legs, thighs and butt. I started off with a yoga and core exercise video that I had found years back. I stuck with it for awhile but changed it up when I found myself losing interest. I found the prefect work out routines for me with the Tone It Up series. I stumbled upon it when I was searching for videos to use my Sanctband. Losing weight also meant loose skin and I badly needed to tone my arms and legs. After doing their Band Workout for a week I was so invigorated and inspired that I took a look at their other videos.

The Band workout works for me because it’s an all around toning workout. I work out my arms, legs, thighs, core and more. I’ve put my SanctBand to good use but it’s my goal to be able to purchase Tone It Up’s low and high resistance bands that come with handles. They also have booty bands in another one of their work outs that I do.

You’ll notice that the work outs I follow are short ones. My attention span when it comes to physical activity is shorter so I need quick videos with more activity in them. I love this core exercise. It’s only about 5 minutes long but packs a punch. By the end of it I’m out of breath and my abs are burning.

Since one of my problem areas are my legs and I don’t have much a butt I do this lower body workout. It’s a 10 minute session covering the lower body and really gets your legs and core. What I like about this is the timer, it lets me know how long I have left to endure the pain! Honestly though, when I started out I did modified moves when I couldn’t handle what was on the video. Gradually, I was able to move on to doing all the moves as shown.

My tummy is my biggest problem area so I do 2 core workout videos a day. In fact, I work out daily giving myself a Sunday rest. I set aside an hour a day to complete all the videos here. For Core on the Floor, they use booty bands which I don’t have yet. Hopefully soon I get one so I can follow along. For now, I just mimic without the bands. I’m missing out on the resistance but still putting in the work when it comes to my core.

I end my workouts with stretching. It helps me loosen up after my other workouts and I get a good stretch all over. Working at home I spend most of the day in my chair so this is a big help.

Additional workout for work at home moms: Chair exercises are a great way to get in a workout during the work day.

I hope this has helped and inspired you to lose the weight you want to lose. It’s possible and achievable. I would love to see your progress when you’ve committed to a healthier you. Feel free to share your weight loss journey with me or comment below for any suggestions or questions. Cheers to a healthier you!

 

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