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Hi Everyone! My name is Victoria (also known as Handbag on Weddingbee) and I am so excited to be stealing a spot on this fantastic blog!
Growing up I was always super thin and petite (don’t smack me!) and I used to always try to gain weight. Then I graduated high school and continued to eat like a truck driver; pizza, pastas, sweets of any kind, you name it, I ate it. I moved out into my own place and found my love of cooking. Growing up Italian, pasta was an every Sunday kind of thing. You can’t eat pasta without bread and you can’t have those two, without wine. Before I knew it I was at 140lbs on my little 5’ frame. You may be thinking, that is not fat, and your right. But it is way too much weight on such a small person.
What did it for me was my best friend’s wedding. She posted the pictures on Facebook and I cried. I had no idea that I looked that big, even though I felt it. I was the MOH in her wedding and I couldn’t even save the pictures. After sulking for a while, I joined Weight Watchers; went to a few meetings, felt uncomfortable but learned a lot about food. I was eating a ridiculous amount of calories and not burning any of it (I hate to work out).
I dropped about 15lbs on Weight Watchers but had a hard time sticking with it. It was so hard to not eat the foods that I loved on a regular basis. So I gave myself the “treat” system. Stay on track all week and then eat a “treat” meal on Sunday. Of course, this was pasta, bread and wine. But I noticed that after eating so well all week, I was becoming sick on Sundays. The food was just too heavy for my stomach that had been trained to eat healthy.
So then I started to alter the pastas, Smart Taste Ronzoni Pasta (half the calories and fat but the same taste), homemade sauce with less parmesan cheese, 94% lean meat, and reduced fat mozzarella cheese on the bread. One glass of wine instead of 3. This worked.
Then a coworker told me about this gym that she went too that included all fitness classes with the membership; Zumba, hip hob abs, body pump, spin, etc. I am the type of person who despises working out. I hate the gym, but I love to dance (even though I am so not coordinated). I signed up with her and started going to Zumba and I.was.hooked. It is 50 minutes of a high cardio dancing routine. Our gym has a Zumba room where they turn down the lights, turn on the strobe light and blast the music. It feels like a club. I.love.it. and the best part about that, they offer it 6 days a week.
I started going twice a week. Just to give myself a start. I continued to eat healthy and on days that I worked out, ate more protein (chicken, eggs, etc). Then I started to love it so much, I upped my times to four times a week (3 during the week and on Sunday).
Now you are probably thinking to yourself “I don’t have time to go to the gym 4 days a week!” you’re right, I don’t either. I work full time and go to college full time. 40hrs a week + 17 credits a semester and it makes for a very tired girl. But I always say to myself “You won’t regret going, but you will regret not going” and when I get frustrated with not seeing results right away (I am an instant gratification kind of girl!) I always say to myself “It took time to put it on; it will take time to get it off.”
I have drastically changed the way that I cook/eat as well. Days that I don’t go to the gym, I fill myself on fruit, yogurt (Chobani strawberry!) and salads. If I want a snack throughout the week, I like to eat Weight Watchers Ice Cream. It is really good and I don’t feel guilty about it. Also, I love to bake. Flour is not so great on the hips. So I switched to Wheat flour and also only use Splenda. You can’t taste the difference.
Being fit doesn’t always mean being “skinny” (I hate that word). It is about finding that balance between eating healthy and living your life. You can still enjoy the foods you love, but just alter the ingredients. Exercise is something that none of us like to do, but it is great for our bodies and it will thank us for it. You will have more energy, more confidence, better self esteem and you will feel great.
We only have 1 body, let’s take care of it!
My go to recipe guide for healthy foods that I love is Skinny Taste! What is yours?
For more inspiration, please stop by Victoria’s blog Five Feet of Spice! Be sure to tell her you found her though this post :)
* If you’re interested in guest blogging here on His Birdies’s Nest, please feel free to email me :)
