Mommy lost 50lbs---now pass the bacon! =)

jehavin

I, like others, didn't think I would ever post my own story b/c I didn't think I would have a story. Yet, after baby #3, I ballooned from my new normal 145-150lbs to about 178 at my biggest, which I didn't even realize was that big. After a traumatic knee injury, I had no choice but to do physical therapy and start using a stationary bicycle, which felt great. Then entered pregnancy #4, which I did continue to bike through and watch what I ate, only going from 175ish to 205ish. After that baby, though, I knew I had work to do. I started lifting heavy, joined MFP, continued biking/spinning and got all the way down to 146lbs. Enter baby #5---argh! That pregnancy was my fittest ever, only getting up to 170lbs and back down to 145 within 2 weeks.
My "ultimate goal" though was 135 and a size 6 jeans. I hit that about 4 months postpartum, September 2013. I kept going, hitting some stalls, cycling my carbs, doing a cut in December-January. I just started keto 7 weeks ago and am now at 127(my lowest since junior high!) and a size 2/4 jeans! My new goal is to hit 120 (so that I will only go up to about 125 when I am no longer in deficit) by eating half a pound of bacon every day I seriously love keto!
Here are my pics!
5'5,5 Before: 178lbs, size 12/14, measurements 38-34-42? After: 127lbs, size 2/4, measurements 36-25.5-35.5




Thanks for reading and good luck on your own "story!"

Happymom83

Awesome awesome job!

jaynepickle

Great job! You look absolutely amazing! So inspiring!

ChristineinMA

I see a Fitbit Zip, don't I?

jehavin

Yup! Got it for Christmas and love it! Try to hit 8,000-10,000 a day (I clip it on my sock for my ride on the spin bike 5 days a week) and, I'll tell you that my house has been way CLEANER and more organized----I run the laundry upstairs in a dozen batches and tell my husband to take a break b/c "I'm trying to get my steps in."

P.S. Feel free to friend me---I log daily (on my 410th day!!!!) and try to be supportive to help other mommies/women to reach their goals. I couldn't have done all this without the cheerleaders on my friend list!!!

Edensienna

Great job! You look so slim, you deserve the bacon

PinkNinjaLaura

Great transformation! Thanks for sharing your story. (I have the Flex!)

jehavin

P.S.S. I did do the unthinkable (!) and posted pics of my tummy transformation---not where I want to be yet b/c I'm still nursing so my love handles are holding on for dear life!---on the "mummy tummy" thread if any of you are interested in what 50lb difference looks like under the shirt, lol. Thank you all so much for the feedback!!!!

happysummerrunner

Awesome and amazing! Good job!

lizc0616

Amazing!!!!!!

jehavin

Thank you ALL! I had to muster up a lot of courage to post this story but I'm glad I did b/c so many of you have requested to be friends I did have one more pic, perhaps the most important one, which is how much my legs changed. I had always had HUGE tree trunks that seemed to get even bigger (more muscular under all the fat) as I lifted, but this summer, through more lifting and careful diet control, I totally changed the shape of my saddlebags/knees, which were a life-long embarassment for me. There is hope for those of you who have saddlebags and extra leg fat!!!

mariahmilan

Super awesome - what motivation! Great job!

Virgodoll30

wow, that is inspiring, may I ask, is it possible to get pre pregnancy flat tummy back?

Emi1974

You look fantastic :flowerforyou:

pkw58

great work! thanks for the inspiration on the exercise as well!

elghee123

oh wow.. motivated mommy!

katz6910

You are awesome well done. I'm still on my journey and it seems to be taking forever. I've fallen off the horse a few times but I keep getting back on so I hope I'll get there eventually. You are very inspiring! :drinker: :flowerforyou:

jehavin

Thank you all again----so glad to be able to inspire others when I had a lot of trouble inspiring myself at times! In regard to the tummy, I did post a pic on the other thread so I guess I should be brave here, too.

I'm not to my six pack yet, lol, but this is the difference between about 2 years, pregnancy with baby #5, 48lbs, heavy lifting, cardio 4-5 times a week and staying in a calorie deficit I'm still nursing a 10 month old, so hopefully the part around my lower tattoo will whittle more when I am done. I will obviously never wear a bikini---my tattoo is a memorial tattoo I don't wish to put on display plus my stretch marks/loose skin---but I did hear a great saying, though, yesterday that comforted me: "A young woman said to her mom, "Mom, you should get a tattoo of each of your kids names." The mom relied, "I already have those; they're called stretch marks." (giggle)


I AM actively doing the ketogenic diet (that is actually the difference between the black and white photo and the one on the far right----7 weeks!!---to lose bodyfat on my middle. I WILL get a 4 pack by summer!!!!

Keep going, ladies---you can reach your goals, too, and will even pass them like I did and *have* to set new ones!

Nottryingjustdoing

Lookin good

loriq41

I am going to further congratulate you on five pregnancies..whoa mama!

Bekah_Davis

You look amazing! Id love to friend you and follow your journey : )

ChristinaOrtiz23

awesome loss!!!

bostonwolf

Well done. I'd say it's time to put the scale away and start slinging more heavy weights.

You look great as you are, why bother losing more just to make a number?

jehavin

Thanks again, all! I do lift 2-3 times a week with compound lifts to failure and I am very happy with the progress! I definitely say lifting is what made the biggest difference for me, especially when it came to slimming my arms/legs I am just overwhelmed by all the compliments and I truly look forward to hearing/commenting on all your stories to come!

Othelie157

You look great!

itzehoe

WOW - AMAZING!!

amyrllin1

You look amazing! Great job. I imagine it was not easy to get out of the house to lift weights with 5 little ones.

Can you tell me what the "ketogenic" diet is?

jehavin

Thank you! I guess I should clarify that I am on keto now (in my 7th week of a 12 week cycle) but I did NOT lose all 50 lbs through keto or any other method except calorie deficit. In the last 2 years, I have done the following to lose the weight:
-I started like everyone else on MFP's recommended 1200 calories (I ate oatmeal and 2 lean cuisine meals a day---not a happy mama so I upped it to 1400-1600 pretty fast!)
-Intermittent Fasting (love it---still try to get a 12 hour fast in and will up it to 16 after I'm done nursing, I used this in conjunction with whatever my cal goal is)
-Carb Cycling (alternating high cal/carb (1850 cal/200g carb for me) with low(er) cal/carb (1450cal/100-125g carb) also love this method b/c it gives me more fuel for my lifting/biking and I can hit big carb numbers on work days)
-IIFYM (this is my preferred method to use with IF and carb cycling)
-Keto (high fat, low carb, mod protein, still using 1650 every day just to give my body a break from the carb cycling it's used to)

My exercise consisted of the following:
-started with wimpy weights, high reps and spin classes---lost about 10lbs but got burnt out fast due to my Lean Cuisine/1200 madness
-switched to heavy lifting with deadlifts, squats, benches, overhead presses. 2-3x week.----saw MUSCLE but still covered by fat
-got pregnant, focused more on my stationary biking and leg press/lateral pulldowns/chest press machines
-after the last pregnancy, got back into heavy lifting, only I would term it moderate lifting (I bench/OHP about 45-50 b/c anymore makes my wrists hurt) and I only squat about 60lbs due to knee issues but I do about 15-20 reps.
-I have maintained my biking (cardio) throughout, always switching from 30 min, 45 min, 60 min, 90 min and now I do 3 hour bike rides, at least 4 rides a week. I switch it up depending on if I feel my body has gotten too comfortable and how I feel that day
-I got that fitbit zip for Christmas and I LOVE it! I love having the goal of 10,000 steps and it has increased my TDEE a ton just by making me move my *kitten* more. Plus I clip it on my sock for bike rides so those count as steps If a person didn't want to count calories, THAT is the number one change I would recommend.

TL;DR: I am not a person who thinks that any way is the RIGHT way. Calorie deficit with equal amounts of strength training/cardio wins every time. How your tummy (mine is sensitive to wheat/dairy) and your energy feel may vary, but your weight loss won't. I also subscribe to something that I read here once (maybe from ninersbuff?) that, if you hit a weight loss stall, there are 7 methods to break it and they are all contrary to one another. I have probably done all of them via switching up exercise/diet to get me to the next 5 lbs. I would have never lost all 50 (and not gained it back) if I wasn't afraid of trying new things, listening to my body and being open to the various methods of my hero, Lyle McDonald

Like I said, I am open to friend requests and messages about specific questions----hopefully I don't disappoint with my answers

jehavin

P.S. I lift out of my own house. I got on craigslist, bought a barbell and plates, bought some Reebok adjustable dumbbells (don't recommend those, mine just broke, damnit!!!!) and watched youtube videos to learn form, checked by 1 session with a personal trainer. I also bought a spin bike off of craigslist (for $100---score!) and I do my biking in front of the TV, with outdoor rides with the weather is nice and I'm not pregnant, lol.

No gym necessary, although I have been a member of one for about 1 out of the 2 years

HanamiDango

Thank you so much for sharing your story! It is truly inspiring and helpful! :flowerforyou:

Patty1015A

You have done an awesome job! So impressed!