Weight Loss: How to Lose the Last Few Pounds

I have been doing some honest reflection lately and I realize I am in that “last few pounds to goal weight” zone.  I have been at this spot for awhile now and I have to admit it isn’t for lack of knowing what I need to do, but rather lack of changing it up.  If I am being completely honest with myself, I have not been doing as good of job with my workouts and my eating as I would like.  Translation…I have take more rest days then I needed.  I have been drinking my Shakeology every day though and I KNOW that is what’s helping me keep my energy up and snack less between meals.  However, there have been more days than I would like to admit that I have saved the workout until late evening and it just didn’t happen.   I’m not going to sit here and make excuses for myself.  That’s all they would be.  So, I am making a commitment to myself here and now, to refocus and recommit to reaching my fitness goals.  How am I going to do that?  Well, first and foremost I will be re-starting Turbo Fire on Monday.  Yes, re-starting.  I started at the beginning of January, but then I got sick (really sick) and had to stop.  Darn influenza.  Note to self-  get a flu shot next year.  Anyway, I am going to take before pictures this weekend and get the workouts going on Monday.  What else will I be doing?  Here are my tips and my action plan for getting rid of those last few pounds to finally reach “wedding weight” by April 8th.  Why April 8th?  My son will be turning 2 and that means it will have been more than 2 years since I have seen wedding weight I was about 15 pounds OVER wedding weight when I got prego.  I am actually 5 lbs. below pre Noah weight right now…leaving those last pesky 10 pounds (the reason for the post)

My Action Steps:

1.  Increase the intensity of my workout.  If you have been doing the same workout or same style of workout for awhile your body might not be getting enough of a “challenge”.  You need to confuse your muscles.  Mix it up!  So, that’s what I’m going to be doing with Turbo Fire.  I am going to follow the calendar EXACTLY as it is.  This will guarantee I am getting a variety of workouts every week.

2.  Increase water consumption.  I am focusing on drinking my 64 oz of water PER DAY during the month of January.  Some people recommend up to 80 oz of water per day.  All I know is that  I am going to continue this practice of increasing my water intake.  Combine this with less salt consumption and some of the water weight I may be holding on to might just get flushed out of my system!

3.  Change up my diet.  I need to focus on protein and veggies while cutting down on carbs.  This part will be REALLY hard for me.  I LOVE carbs.  I think I was Italian in my last life.  I will also make sure to plan my meals so that I get 5 meals per day (smaller meals with smaller portions more frequently to keep the metabolism running). I will also be doing my best to cut out processed foods.  This may be hard for me, but I’ll do my best!

4.  Keep a food journal.  I plan to write down (or email myself) with everything I eat.  Often I think it is REALLY easy to forget about that cookie my co-worker offered me at work or the banana I shared with my son, but those calories need to be added in to my daily total.  It is just like a bank account.  If I overspend I will get penalized.  In other words if I want to lose the pounds I have to make sure I am creating a deficit (1 lb = 3500 calories) and if I don’t know how many calories I am consuming vs. how many I am burning that is kind of hard to do!

5.  Find accountability!  I have a great group of friends who support me on facebook and in my every day life.  I am going to be doing regular blog posts about my journey with Turbo Fire and check in with my friends regularly.  I don’t want to let others down!

There you have it!  I am admitting I have some improvements to make.  Yes, I am human.  Hey, just because I am into fitness doesn’t mean I want to workout every minute of the day.  Honestly, I spend so much time motivating others I sometimes neglect myself!  I don’t want to let those last 10 pounds hang around anymore though!  They WILL be gone by April 8th!  Will join me on the journey?  Do you have a few more pounds to lose and don’t know how to do it?  Let’s try my tips from above and swap stories!  Better yet, what will you do to lose the last few pounds?  Comment below!