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So to follow on from last week’s entry, I was encouraged to give the Lose Baby Weight shakes a go. I had seen these advertised and was rather skeptical. There are so many weight loss programs out there. How do you know what’s any good? Plus I’ve always been wary of any sort of shake diet. I’ve never tried one before but I have worked with people who have. I have watched them make up their shake and have it for lunch every day at work. “Does it taste good?” I would ask. “Not too bad,” they would shrug. It wasn’t exactly an overwhelming response and more importantly it didn’t appear to be sustainable long term. But I was pretty desperate and I think I had proven that I couldn’t do this only by my own efforts.

So after looking into the shakes I decided it was worth a try. I chatted to hubby about it. He was not keen at all. “Shakes? Really? Do you really think you need to do that? How much is this going to cost? You don’t need shakes. You just need to stop eating crap.” His response gave me reason to pause and think about it some more. But it wasn’t long before I heard my own sister’s words ringing in my ears. Shortly after I had a baby she was talking to me about how to handle different situations. I was saying that hubby didn’t always get it. “And he can’t get it. A lot of this journey you’re on is unfortunately something that hubby isn’t going to understand. It’s a very personal journey for you and you need to decide what is and isn’t ok for you. He can’t make a lot of these decisions or even have much input because he’s a guy and they just don’t and can’t understand the journey we women are on.” I decided I was going to get the shakes. I’m the one whose body had been trashed, I’m the one who is working her guts out to lose weight, I’m the one who looks in the mirror every day frustrated that I’m not losing weight, I’m the one that’s struggling with this. He’s a great encourager but I’m the one doing the work so I need to decide what I feel will help me reach my goal.

So I ordered the chocolate smoothie mix and got started on my new weight loss journey. “If you’re going to do this,” hubby said sternly, “then I better not catch you eating crap. Take this seriously and don’t waste what these shakes are supposed to be for you.” No problem! I was super motivated now because I felt like I had some help.

At this point I turned up the heat on my exercise. I went further, faster and more often. Even though I had taken a break from exercising, I was impressed with how fit I was compared to when I had initially started this journey. I decided to use the shakes to replace my lunch only. This was a meal I often struggled with because I wanted a sandwich or burger for lunch. I was trying to avoid the heaviness of bread and wheat so this was a great substitute. I was also using the shakes to help satisfy my chocolate craving and therefore help me to cut it out, or at least have it less.

When my starter pack arrived in the mail I was very excited! I went through the 28 day meal plan. I’ve never been very good at following a meal plan in detail. I knew that was not for me. But I had a look through it so that I could get a rough idea of what my meals should look like nutritionally. First up I noticed that the portion sizes were significantly less than what I had been eating. When you’re pregnant and breastfeeding, people tell you to eat as much as you want. So I would eat whenever I felt the desire to eat. Not necessarily when I was hungry though. This whole thing forced me to take a closer look at what I was eating. I realised I was snacking a lot and not because I was hungry, but because I was bored. I also got a good idea of what types of foods to avoid and the portion size a snack should be – only 15 seaweed Sakatas. Normally I would eat the whole packet. Oops! I implemented this new knowledge straight away.

I was pretty excited when I made my first shake. I looked through all the smoothie recipes and got a good idea as to what I could do with my shake in a way that I could change it up frequently and depending on what I had in the cupboard. The first shake I made was the Chocolate Coconut Surprise. Yummo! It was great and it did help to satisfy my chocolate craving. What I love about these smoothies is how it’s not just the protein powder and milk or water, like I have seen with others. You add varying combinations of fruit, some almond/oatmeal or LSA etc, yoghurt, shredded coconut or cinnamon and mix it all up. I don’t think I ever have the exact same shake. I love the variety because I get sick of something very quickly no matter how delicious it is, if I have it all the time. I was also quite impressed with how full I felt. When I finished slurping down my first shake, I thought “That was yummy. I could go another one right now.” But because of my recent education on portion sizes I of course did not indulge. I was a little skeptical about it filling me up though. But 10 minutes later I noticed that I did not feel hungry. Impressive!

Another great thing about the shakes is that on those days when I can’t think of something to eat or am too tired to make something healthy (where I would usually make something quick and unhealthy), a shake is my backup and it’s better for me than a quick, greasy and unhealthy meal. I also love the flexibility with this diet as I don’t feel like I have to be super strict with it. If I go out with friends for lunch I can skip the shake and not feel bad about doing that every now and then.

Within the first two weeks of having the shakes once a day and watching more closely what and how much I ate, I lost two kilos. I couldn’t believe it. The scales were finally starting to move!

I do have to say that I don’t think any shake alone will help anyone lose weight. It does have to be a combination of diet and exercise. I think I had the exercise part down, it was my diet that was holding me back. Sometimes it’s also a matter of being educated. In this instance for me, learning portion control, being mindful of what I was eating, the shakes and exercise, all contributed to my weight loss. Having said that, I am a little worried about reaching the ‘maintaining’ stage. It’s one thing to lose weight but to maintain it is a different thing. But I can’t tackle that problem until I get there. In the meantime I’m just trying to remind myself that this is a lifestyle change.

I’m now down to the final five kilos. I hear the final five are the hardest for people to lose. But with summer just around the corner, I’m more motivated than ever. Motivation plays such a huge role. The times I stopped exercising and watching what I ate were the times I felt most unmotivated. I also needed support outside of myself and that’s where the Lose Baby Weight stuff came into play. There’s a whole community of people out there just like me, trying to lose weight while balancing the duties of motherhood.

So here’s to the final five. Hope I can knock it over before summer hits! And more importantly – keep it off! Stayed tuned :)




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