When I was pregnant with my first I gained about 40 or so pounds. I was on what I like to refer to as the “pregnancy diet”. To me this meant, I could eat anything because you know, I was feeding for two.

I remember how hard it was to lose the weight once he was born, and in fact it took me a long time. Actually, I don’t think I ever got down to my pre-pregnancy weight, though I was close.

Fast forward three years and I was pregnant again. This time I was more diligent with how I ate, but still put on about 30 pounds. Little did I know that it would be harder this time around to lose it all. And I never did. I never got it below, or even back to what I was before baby #1.

From then on, I never really ate “properly”. And by properly I mean, well or overly healthy. I wasn’t UNHEALTHY, but I didn’t care. I would eat salads and chicken, and “the good stuff”, but f I wanted a burger and fries, I’d eat it. If I wanted an extra slice of cake, I’d take it. I just didn’t really pay attention. Until now.

In August of 2015, at what likely was my highest weight ever (while not being pregnant), a colleague invited me to an event at a new workout studio called Orangetheory Fitness. It was that night that my life was changed. I wrote not too long ago about how I got hooked after only one hour to something I didn’t even know my body was capable of doing. I signed up immediately, and started going to the studio twice a week. I was doing that for about 8 months before I realized that I needed more.

In May of 2016, I upped my workouts to 3-4 times a week. And it was also when one of my best friends (who also happens to be a certified personal trainer so she KNOWS the body) became a nutrition coach. She had success with her own coach & flexible dieting lifestyle called WAG that she decided to venture out on her own. I watched in awe how she changed some of her eating habits, how she worked out, and how her body changed in what seemed like such a short period of time.

She explained to me everything that she was doing; a flexible diet, meaning you can eat ANYTHING you want (yes that includes chocolate!), as long as it fit within your macros. With a little calculation of your age, weight, height, activity level, you are given a certain amount of proteins, carbs and fats per day. A little meal planning everyday and a little game of tetris (as she liked to call it) to fit everything in.

I knew this was something I wanted to try. I could see changes coming to my body from my workouts at OTF, but my nutrition hadn’t changed. And I thought that if I could marry the two together, I’d get the results that I wanted.

I started with Kerry, my nutrition coach in June 2016. She taught me what to look for, what foods I should eat and with what meal. She showed me measurements and what food portions should look like. I bought a food scale, a weight scale, and a body tape measure, and off I went.

In 5 months, I lost 4 inches off my chest, 4 inches off my waist, 4.5 inches off my hips and a total of 15 pounds. In 5 months, my entire body changed; I was leaner, fitter, stronger, and below my first pregnancy weight.

Now to some 15 pounds in 5 months doesn’t seem like a lot…but slow and steady wins the race in my books. I was also gaining muscle so I knew it wasn’t all about the number on the scale. Something else she taught me too 🙂

Do you know how good it feels to take in 8 pairs of pants?! To buy smaller sizes and fit into clothes that were once too tight? Well I’ll tell you. It feels DAMN good!

I am so conscious of my eating habits now and my overall nutrition and health. And while I still snack and over indulge sometimes, I know what I can and cannot do.

Not only is having the right person with you to coach and mentor you, but knowing what types of foods to eat is so important.

I needed to have protein with each meal or snack. So I piled up my pantry with protein bars, and my fridge with eggs, chicken, turkey, ground beef, fish and shrimp. It was great having all of these options.

After a while though, there was only so much chicken or ground beef I could eat in a day and found I was eating alot of the same things day in and day out. I wanted to find another means of protein that was also good for you.

Kerry introduced me to meatless protein, a brand called  Yves Veggie Cuisine (Vegetarians everywhere, rejoice!)

 

It is so nice to be able to have options when you’re meal planning. Having another form of protein that actually tastes good is so helpful. Not to mention, it’s half the fat!

A few options to consider are:

Yves Veggie Original Ground Round

 

 

 

 

 

Yves Falafel Balls

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yves Kale & Quinoa Bites 

 

 

 

 

 

These meal and appetizer options are limitless and they all offer nutritional benefits – protein, iron, fiber, and have no added preservatives. And, all you need to do is just heat and serve! Easy peasy. Just like we need it after a long day at work!

I’ll share some recipes my nutrition coach and I have tried in another post but Yves has a great list of recipes for all of their products! So check them out and tell me what you love the most!

Health, working out, nutrition…it really can be easy if you put your mind to it. I’ll tell you that I have a whole new outlook on foods and proper nutrition.

If you have any questions let me know and I would be happy to hook you up with my nutrition coach for some answers! And please, share your journey with us!

xo

D

You can find Yves Veggie Cuisine products at all major grocery retailers including Loblaws, Real Canadian Superstore, Metro, Sobeys, Safeway and Overwaitea Foods. For more information visit www.yvesveggie.ca, and on social: Facebook and Instagram

Disclosure: While I have been eating Yves for a number of months now, they did supply me product for the purpose of this post. All opinions as always are my own…