No More Yo-Yo dieting for me

Before I became pregnant I would say I was at 115lbs about a size 6. I was never skinny but always had some extra love. I used to be a yo yo dieter for about 15 yrs. I knew that damaged my metabolism but I would alwasy get into a slump and get lazy and eat cheetos and other unhealthy snacks. I ate huge plates as well.

After my 2nd child I went into Lane Bryant (1st time in that store) and I over heard these 2 women discussing what there favorite fast food restaurant is. I was in awe to say the least. I felt like I didn't belong in there and took off. I told my husband we need to get a gym member ship asap! We moved from Hawaii to Oregon. We were pretty active in Hi and when we moved to Oregon we became a little lazy in our exercising and eating habits.

I wanted to get back into spinning classes so I did and stuck with it 4 times a week for a year. I dropped 30lbs in 3.5 months. Went down to a size 4!! I was happy and felt comfortable. Well, we moved again to a different smaller town that didn't have spinning classes. So I gained all my weight back. I went up to a size 10 and just felt frumpy.

The day that the local gym revamped their facility and added spinning classes I quickly joined and started spinning again. The owner saw that I knew how to spin and my form was good even though I was overweight he asked me if I wanted to become an instructor. Of course I said yes! Once you become an instructor you are forced to exercise on the days you teach!

After a few months I dropped the weight and went down to a size 8. I stayed a size 8 for 2 years even though I exercised my butt off. I knew it was my diet that was keeping me from losing any more weight. So I decided I would plan my own diet and I was determined to be lean. Who wants to be taught by a chunky instructor?

SO here was my plan:

I knew I had to cut back on my portions so instead of using the big plate I would eat from a small plate. Instead of eating 3 meals a day I started eating 5 small meals so that way I was never hungry during the day. For lunch I would always have a veggie salad w/ chicken pieces. I knew I had to eat more veggies so by doing that it cut down on my calories during lunch. For dinner I used to eat a lot of butter and mayo on my foods so I totally cut that out. Instead of using butter I would add a little salt and seasonings for taste. For the rest of my mini meals I would snack on raw almonds, blueberries, mini carrots, black beans, etc ...

Once I started eating healthier and smaller I dropped the fat within a couple of months. I also started running again which I knew helped. I took a power class twice a month as well. Everyone in class would tell me how great I looked. My muscles popped out since the fat was disappearing and I looked great.

That then led me to enter in a figure competition for my 1st time. I didn't have a trainer. Just worked hard in the weight roomm. Doing heavier weights w/ less reps and developed nice lean muscle. I love how I look and I have a lot more confidence now. I don't have to feel bad about how I look anymore and I can wear all those cute clothes that they have in stores now. I'm a much happier person!!!