"My poor eating habits and sedentary lifestyle were taking a toll onmy health and I wasn’t my optimistic happygo-lucky self anymore."

In the past, I never really struggled with my weight and I’ve always worked out. However, a stressful career with extensive travel, took time away from workouts and I ended up putting on around 30 pounds. When I got pregnant 4 years ago, I gained 80lbs and at delivery, I weighed more than my husband – who is a big guy! While nursing my daughter, I lost 20 pounds without any dietary changes. Two years after her birth, I was still very overweight. My poor eating habits and sedentary lifestyle were taking a toll on my health and I wasn’t my optimistic happy-go-lucky self anymore.

It was two years ago, when I sadly realized that unless I made some drastic changes, my daughter’s memories were going to be of a mom who was tired, miserable, and very overweight. I tried to join a gym but my daughter cried hysterically in the childcare and, truthfully, I hated seeing my overweight body in all those mirrors. I found “Mommy Bootcamp” and was able to get a challenging workout 4 times a week with my daughter happily in tow (and no mirrors!). Months later, I started researching online to determine how many calories I should eat to lose weight at a reasonable rate, and I started honestly documenting the calories I was eating with the help of websites like www.calorieking.com and www.dwlz.com. I bought a heart rate monitor to track the calories I was burning during workouts, and I stopped eating out as much. I slowly started losing weight. And whenever I would plateau or gain a pound, I would look back in my food journal to figure out any missteps. When my daughter turned 3 and started preschool, I joined a gym and increased the duration and intensity of my workouts. That really seemed to help speed up my weight loss. STATS:
How much did you weigh at your heaviest? My highest non-pregnant weight was about 235 pounds.
How much weight have you lost? About 75 pounds and still counting.
How long have you kept it off? I’m still continuing to lose but most of my weight has been off for about a year.
What size were you and what size are you now? I was a size 18. As I type this, I’m wearing my size 8 jeans.
How often do you work out? 60-90 minutes a day, 4-5 times a week.

QUESTIONS:
When did your moment of truth come? When I ran a 5k race and saw the pictures of myself crossing the finish line at over 200 pounds. I realized that all of my working out was a waste, if I didn’t start eating right.

How did you do it? Basically by tracking calories consumed vs. calories burned.

Any secrets or crazy things that worked for you? I swear by my Polar Heart Rate Monitor.It’s the best $110 I’ve ever spent. I tell everyone who is trying to lose weight that they must buy one ASAP.

How did you stay motivated? By making sure that I enjoy my workouts. I won’t do it, if it’s not fun. I also make sure to download motivating music onto my iPod regularly. Good music motivates me more than anything else.

Did you ever give up? If yes, what made you get back on the wagon? Thankfully, I haven’t ever given up or “fallen off the wagon.” If I ever get a little bored or start to dread going to the gym, I do whatever it takes to keep me interested. This can range from buying new workout clothes to even changing gyms. It’s that important!

How do you maintain the loss? I weighed myself weekly and I still journal my food intake and workouts. This way if the scale creeps up a pound or two, I can make changes quickly before it gets out of hand.

Your favorite eating tips. Write it down and be honest with yourself! Figure out what will fill you up for the least amount of calories (make it healthy, though). Avoid “dangerous” situations where you know you’ll overeat.

Your favorite exercises. I love high-intensity cardio classes at the gym with great music. I also like body sculpting classes using free weights. Good music is key.

What does your family think? My husband is amazingly supportive and complimentary. He’s been very open about our new way of eating and he’s even lost 40 pounds!

How do you make time for exercise? I couldn’t do it without my husband. I workout while my daughter is in preschool and on the other days, my husband takes care of the dinner/ bath/bedtime routine so that I can go to the gym at night.

A few of her favorite things:
Favorite NoVA restaurant – Currently it’s Pei Wei Asian Diner. They have many delicious items that are surprisingly low in calories.

Favorite NoVa hangout for outdoor fitness. WO&D trail. My neighborhood is right on the trail and it’s super convenient. Favorite gym. LA Fitness in Dulles. Lina’s cardio classes are the best calorie burners in Loudoun County!

(if you have one) Personal trainer. I don’t have a personal trainer but Kathy and the gals at Mommy Bootcamp are the next best thing.

Favorite summer getaway. Hilton Head Island. You can ride bikes for miles and miles both on trails and on the beach.

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