From "Fat" and Happy to Lean, Clean and Ecstatic

FRENCH FRIES AND CORN DOGS AKA "THE FAT PHASE"

I have been healthy and active my entire life. Well. . . almost my entire life. I participated in sports and danced competitively through high school and was one of the few girls I knew not to gain the freshman fifteen in college. In fact, collegiate cheerleading, running and tae bo (remember that craze?) kept me so fit I graduated college at 110 lbs.

Law school renewed my motivation to run as it was my only form of stress relief. I started running every morning, eventually working my way up to my first half marathon, followed by three more half marathons, a full marathon and a sprint triathlon.

After law school I discovered a new "sport". . . . kickball. For those who aren't familiar kickball isn't really a sport at all but rather an excuse to spend the day drinking excessive amounts of beer. Add to that the fact that I was now living in a trendy Santa Monica neighborhood with bars on every corner, the closest to my apt specializing in "southern food" (fried pickles anyone??) And I now had enough money to eat out occasionally . . . or frequently as the case may be.

By Christmas of 2010 I weighed a whopping 138 lbs. Almost 30 lbs more than when I graduated college! This is when I decided enough was enough and made it my new years resolution to lose 10 lbs.

TONING IT UP WITH KARENA, KATRINA AND MARIO LOPEZ!

I launched my "weight loss plan" the first week of January...only it wasn't much of a plan. I thought once I started working out regularly the weight would fall off. But I was working out every day, including twice a week with a trainer, and losing less than a pound a week! After the first month I had only lost 3 lbs. I was exhausted, frustrated and discouraged.

Then I remembered hearing about Tone It Up. I hadn't thought I needed it at the time. Afterall, Tone It Up focused on nutrition and what I needed was to get my @#$ off the couch and exercise. This was of course before I realized weight loss is 80% nutrition and 20% exercise. 20%?!? No wonder I wasn't losing weight. . . my "plan" was missing the most important component!

Reading through the Tone It Up nutrition plan I realized that, although I had been doing almost everything wrong, the changes I needed to make were actually very simple. Soon I was losing 1-3 lbs a week, was full of energy and felt better than I had in years. I met my goal of losing 10 lbs in less than two months and, although I stopped consciously trying to lose weight, I have continued to live the "Tone It Up" lifestyle (eating clean, staying hydrated, and exercising regularly.) Just recently I weighed myself and was shocked to find I have lost five more pounds bringing the total to 15lbs. What I wouldn't have given to lose weight without trying back in January . . . and now I have:)

HEALTHY AND HAPPY

I hope you enjoy the recipes, advice and personal anecdotes I have provided here. Please don't hesitate to ask any questions you might have about weight loss or "clean" eating. It motivates me as much as it does you! Good luck :)