A few things to consider...

I know I told you I was going to post a video about meal preps. I promise I will once I found a REALLY good one. I found a few already but, they were a little complex and those videos I found were for people who have a lot of time on their hands to prep.

I was talking to a few people who worked at the gym. I talked to them about how hard it was to eat healthy and lose weight, because of my busy schedule. Here are some really great advice they gave me:

• Make yourself a priority
• Prepare healthy meals and lunches ahead of time
• Make a list of what you should buy at the grocery store that can last you a week
• Don't be afraid to ask for help
• Carry healthy snacks with you at all times
• Drink lots of water
• DON'T skip breakfast
• Play with your kids at the park instead of sitting on that bench!

Eat more but less...

I don't know about you, but I used to skip breakfast, have a big lunch, eat a lot of junk food and have an even bigger dinner. This is why I gain weight fast, and why my metabolism is so slow!

We should be eating smaller portion meals, and eat every 2-4 hours.
According to Elaine Magee, "this ritualized way of eating increases BMR (baseline metabolic rate".

After reading this website, a few benefits of eating less portions and eating more often:

• It increases energy level
• Decreases appetite

Sometimes I find it hard to eat healthy because I don't know what to eat for the day and I end up buying food somewhere unhealthy :( If you are like me, we need to encourage each other to eat healthier, so stay tuned, I will be posting a blog about meal preps and show you a great video about prepping for the whole week! Don't worry, the link will also have a grocery list so you won't forget what to buy for the week.

Remember, smaller portions and eat more often!

...Maintaining the weight

… Continuation

We began to schedule our workouts..

As much as I was desperate to lose a few inches, we could only workout for an hour each visit since the gym had a 1 hour limit for daycare. We went to the gym 3 times a week, 1 hour a day and I did not make any changes to my eating habit :( after 2 months I only lost 4 pounds (not surprised there!)

I was a little disappointed in myself! I worked so hard at the gym but barely lost anything. (I knew it was the food I was eating. I tried to cut down but it was too hard. No one at home ate healthy so that didn’t help me at all.

I made friends with the staff at the gym and they made an exception to keep my son until I was done working out or when the day care closed (for 2 hours on their break). The staff helped me a lot! I decided to come to the gym 5-6 times a week with my friend Paul (trainer). At first I had a hard time finding time to work out, but I noticed I was more relaxed because (as much as I love my son so much) I needed a break from him for an hour or two.

After another month for working out 5-6 days a week and 2-3 hours at the gym, I lost about 15 pounds in 1 month! Believe it or not, but I felt great! I used to hate working out, but now I

• Feel good
• Feel less stressed
• Have better sleep
• Have more energy to play with my son
• Can breathe better
• And the list goes on…

When school started up again, I couldn’t workout as often as I did, and I definitely do not want to re-gain everything I just lost.

Here are a few tips that you can try to maintain your current weight or to try to lose a few more pounds here and there:

• Make going to work, into a workout!
• Instead of driving or taking the bus; bike, jog or walk to work
• Park further away from the entrance
• Take the stairs instead of the elevator
• Try to sleep earlier and then set your alarm 30 min - an hour earlier for a short workout
• A few sit ups, squats
• Go for a run/jog
• Sneak a short workout during your lunch break at work.
• 30 min break? Before you eat, go for a jog.
• 1 hour? If you have a gym close by workout for 30 min
• Schedule your workouts
• Treat your workout like a meeting that you can't miss. Add it to your calendar
• Workout with others from work
• This way you can encourage each other, not only at the gym, but also at work
• Help each other to eat healthier

Do you have any other tips that can help? Let me know :)

From the beginning...

Hi my name is Fraulaine, but call me Lainey!!

When I first started my family at the age of 17, I gained so much weight (about 40lbs). At first I used the "new mom, baby weight gain" excuse. Honestly I never really cared about how much weight I gained. I was happy and I (thought at the time) was healthy, at that point my family was all that mattered. Then when my son began to walk at 9 months, that's when it hit me; with the walking around, pushing small furniture around, making a huge mess, I got exhausted very fast!

I kept telling myself "I'm going lose weight, I'm going to lose weight". With the attempt of eating healthy and my cheat day (that turned into days and then weeks), I ended up gaining another few pounds on top of the 40.

I needed help! But I didn’t know who to go to, I didn’t have time to go to anyone. On top of being a new teenage mom, I had a full time and a part time job and went to school full time. At that time I barely had time for my son. You're probably wondering "when did you sleep?" The answer to that was, when my baby went to bed. For 4 years I didn’t lose any weight. Instead I gained a few more pounds! I slept for no more than 3 hours a day and a few naps here and there (sometimes I took short naps at school).

My ex (boyfriend at the time) decided we should move with back with my parents, so this way I can keep only my part time instead of my full time job.

The semester ended in April when it was a little warmer, for most it's a time to start their vacation; in my case, it was a time to figure out what I have to do to lose weight and stay healthy. I have a good friend Paul who I met in high school, I heard he went to the gym a lot and he went to boxing class. Long-story short, we talked and I ended up joining the gym he went to. I was glad they had a daycare at the gym, so I was able to bring my son along. Unfortunately there was a 1 hour limit for the daycare therefore I only worked out for 1 hour (which was okay because I wasn't used to the gym and I got tired really fast lol!). I thought I was able to workout on my own, but for a month I didn't see any results! I was too shy to ask my friend to train me because I might be wasting his time. But when we were hanging out I was laughing about something and jokingly asked him to train me (because he's a good friend, he was willing to help me, but his one condition was: to not give up and do as he says. I was kind of nervous and immediately regretted asking him.

Do you think I gave up or I continued to workout?

Did I lose weight or did I gain more weight?

Comment below and let me know

This is me and my 7 years old son