How I lost the baby weight

I felt a little silly going outside Sunday morning to take photographs on our street. Truth is, I've been avoiding the camera like the plague while I worked off the 60 pounds I gained during pregnancy. It took seven months, but I finally shed the baby weight and I plan to keep going. And though I don't have any sort of expertise in the way of weight-loss advice, so many of you have emailed me for my diet and exercise plan, so I've decided to share it with you.

Stats:

Pounds lost: 60. {62 if you ask my gym scale. I like that scale.}
Sizes dropped: 1-2-3-4-5!

Diet plan:

I lost 30 pounds within the first three weeks of giving birth, so you can imagine how much water weight I was carrying. My face looked like a circus balloon. The next 15 came off without much effort, simply by cutting out the ice cream and chips I favored during pregnancy. Side note: Do not eat everything you want while pregnant. It is SO not worth it!

I hit a plateau after 45 pounds, and so I signed myself up for the BluePrintCleanse. The five-day juice cleanse helped me shed another four pounds, plus it forced me to eliminate caffeine {albeit temporarily}, sugar, and heavy carbs.

Following the cleanse, I adopted what is now my current meal plan: between 1,200 and 1,500 calories per day, and hardly any whites {pasta, bread, sugar, etc.}. Here's a sample menu...

Breakfast {choose one}:
Banana/Blueberry/Skim milk smoothie; Organic Honey Crunch & Oats Cereal; Two scrambled eggs + two pieces Spelt toast.

Lunch:
Salad of organic mixed greens, baby carrots, cucumber, tomato, avocado, cranberries, and parmesan grated cheese. Balsamic vinegar + one TBSP dijon mustard for dressing. Occasional scoop of tuna on top {no mayo}.

Dinner:
Salad, grilled chicken or fish, and a veggie {we like string beans, okra, and spinach}.

Snacks {at least two per day}:
Apple; green seedless grapes; blueberries. Water + chamomile tea throughout the day.

Once a week, I'll have some sort of a cheat day, where I eat a chicken salad sandwich on focaccia bread {my fave!} for lunch... OR... I'll indulge in pasta, pizza, or sushi {with brown rice} for dinner. And about once every two weeks or so I'll have frozen yogurt or two scoops of coffee ice cream for dessert. I also have 3-5 glasses of wine or beer per week. I think it's important to treat yourself, so that you think of your eating habits as a lifestyle, not a diet.

Exercise routine:

This has been tough. Since I work from home and watch Devon, I can't get to the gym as much as I'd like. And though I tried the Wii Fit and Jenny McCarthy's at-home workout, I've found that I really need to get out of the house in order to be motivated. Here's what I do during a typical workout, 2-4x per week:

Elliptical machine: 25-45 minutes, up to level 12 resistance.

Treadmill: Walk for 20-30 minutes at 3.5 mph while holding 2.5 pound weights; run for 2 minutes every 8 minutes or so.

Shoulder/triceps/biceps/chest/back exercises: Low weight, three sets of 15 reps.

Leg/quad/glute exercises: Squats and lunges {while lifting 2.5 pound weights}; leg press machine at 100 pounds, three sets of 10 reps.

Ab exercises: I balance on my butt while moving a 6-pound ball from my left side to my right, three sets of 45 reps. Then I lie on my back and do 3 sets of 15 leg lifts.

So, there you have it. Jillian Michaels would probably snort with laughter at my routine, as would Gunnar Peterson and all of the other celeb trainers and dieticians. But, it's working for me, and so I feel I must pass along what little knowledge I have onto you.

Kisses and hugs and skinnier asses and jugs,

Bee

UPDATE: BluePrintCleanse would like to offer Lil Bee readers a 10% discount! Please email me for the discount code. The code will be active until July 1. Thanks, BPC!