Weight Loss Explained

Okay, I have had many people come up to me and ask about the weight I have been able to loose this year.  I decided I would explain how this came about and exactly what I did to loose weight.

Lets begin  with a bit of explanation about my genetic history.  I do not come from a family that could be described at "skinny."  We are, as a collective, a "healthy" group of women in my family.  On one side, our ancestors were very hardy farmers who survived the rural Montana countryside farming sugar beats.  The other side were also ranchers and farmers who helped pioneer the Pamona Valley.  The women of our family have always been solidly built and very strong.  We are not obese or necessarily flabby people but no one will break us easily of we're handled in a rough fashion.  Given our physical structure (bubble butts and strong hips), child bearing is not a challenge.  I am, of course, speaking in generalities since we do have the occasional women who is either very thin or very tall (most of us top out below 5'4" and many below 5'2" - myself included in that group).  However, as a whole we tend to the sturdy built variety of female.  

This is me on the far right in October 2009 and 23 pounds heavier then now.  In fairness, I had given birth in May of 2009. Also, really bad dress choice.

Since this is the case, we all do have a tendency to carry some extra weight if we are not careful.  I tend to carry it distributed all over and have never had that lovely flat stomach we see so often in our models and TV stars.  Add on having given birth twice and this tummy is decidedly not firm.  Although I am not about to publish how much I weigh, I will say that I have always waffled between a size 8 and a size 12 in clothes. 

Many years ago I was told by a colleague that people can survive on a lot less food then they think they need.  This has always been in the back of my mind so at the beginning of this school year, I decided to change a few simple eating habits since I knew I could be thinner.

Here I am in July 2011, 10 pounds heavier then I am now. Side note, this is also the Teton National Park.

First let me tell you what I didn't do.  I did not cut out deserts or cheese or carbs or anything at all really.  I still eat exactly what I want.  I do not count calories or weigh food. What I did do was cut down on how much I am eating.  For breakfast (yes, I ALWAYS eat breakfast) I usually have a piece of whole wheat toast with peanut butter and a glass of non fat milk.  I eat a cheese stick or similar for snack and then leftover dinner for lunch.  Between lunch and dinner, I have a small snack of crackers or even a piece of chocolate (or two).  For dinner, I almost always cook from scratch so I know exactly how much of what food is in our meal.  I cook simple meals that can be done in about 20-30 minutes and I do use a few short cuts but I am proud of my ability to put a balanced meal together most nights.  The trick to eating dinner is only have one helping of dinner.  I used to go back for seconds, not anymore.  Notice I do eat 5 times each day but the portions are small.  Also, when I do go out to eat, I try to order al a carte or split a meal with someone.

So, combine this eating method with the fact that I have to chase after 12 special education kindergartners each day at work and then my own two ruffians at home, I exert a fair amount of energy each day.  If I was sitting more, I would eat a little less at each meal.  So, all in all I lost about 10 pounds between August and November.  Since then I have been stable but I am fine with that.  I am a nice size 10 and I think its a manageable size and weight for me.

This is in November 2011 and I had lost the 10 pounds. My husband and I are always upstaged by our cute kids.