Want to share my story, And HOPEFULLY INSPIRE

My name is Tiffany King and I am married to my awesome husband Dominique, who has been in the Marine Corps for almost 8 years. Most of my time is spent working, spending time with Dominique, going to school for accounting, and eating healthy and trying to reach my fitness goals. I started my weight loss journey at 5'4 and 194 pounds, I now weigh 132, YES I lost 62 pounds SO FAR, but I lost weight the wrong way, I ate at a low calorie deficit for almost 8 months to lose my weight, but come to find out it was way too low eating at below 1100, sometimes below 950 calories a day. That is how I did it, but if I had it to do over again I would do it a more healthy way.

But now my plans have changed. I learned why starving your self is so unhealthy and how eating too low for too long can mess up your metabolism, and in some cases force a person to gain weight because of "starvation mode". Not to mention, If you eat too low and not enough protein, you lose both fat and muscle. In my case, I lost ALOT of weight, but alot of muscle too, left with a "skinny fat" type of weight loss. I am small, but still have excess skin due to lack of muscle, and I am not near as strong as I used to be.

So, first off, in order to fix this, I have started eating clean, and eating the proper amount of calories. In other words, I found out what it takes for my body to run with light activity, which is around 1860, and in order to lose 1 pounds per week you are only supposed to subtract, i think 250 a day, and to lose 2 lbs per week you are supposed to subtract 500 a day. So I am trying to make sure and stay below 1500, but above 1300 per day, and I usually eat back half or all of my exercise calories, sometimes eatting almost 1600 calories, YES 1600 and still lose!!!! and I ALWAYS (now after being educated) ensure that I DO NOT DIP BELOW 1250, because I know how unhealthy it is to have too large a deficit.

Also, I have incorporated in eating clean and strength training. LADIES, I HAVE LEARNED YOU WILL NOT BULK UP FROM WEIGHT TRAINING, As a matter of a fact, that is how you get the toned look, and get rid of the stubborn fat areas. Incorporate weight training and the rest will fall into place, eventually if you have enough muscle, the metabolism from that alone will help you BURN the fat, so you can actually see your muscles, ie six pack and lean muscular legs.

So, I had to throw that out there, because i have learned so much, and I am hoping that others will learn it too. NOW, I will be honest, I have not seen the long term results YET, so I am by no means a pro, but I have seen and noticed a change in my stomach, butt, and from eating clean, my digestive system is on track. I have noticed these changes(even though small changes) in about a month. And I will stick with it.

So why am I eating clean? And what does it mean to me?
I am eating clean, #1 for health, and treating my body with what it NEEDS to work right, to be strong and feel good.
#2 because I have learned that this is what it takes to "put things where they are supposed to be, and to eliminate cravings. The thing is, if we eat processed food then we are getting calories, but they are empty calories, so our body still craves nutrients and energy, ie. causing us to crave things... give in... and fall off the wagon. and I am not sure about all of you, but I AM TIRED of falling off the wagon. I have been eating clean for about 3 weeks, and before eating clean I would have a cheat meal/day every sunday, but now I don't even want a cheat day because I feel GREAT, SPECTACULAR, AND FULFILLED from eatting clean, and my body has all the nutrients it needs so I don't "crave" the bad stuff.

What does eating clean mean to me?
NO PROCESSED FOODS, and organic if possible(but it is a bit more expensive so I usually get from the grocery store. BUT I do make sure my milk is organic because I found out that they add sugar to milk in the stores, YES SUGAR!!! So I switched to organic on that. Also, no more sugar in my coffee or added to my oatmeal, (I only use 1 tsp of light brown sugar to my oatmeal now, and that is my limit for added sugar for the day).

So in conclusion
~No saturated fat, only healthy fats from clean foods
~No processed foods, ensuring that the ingredient that I am buying is the only ingredient on the nutrition label, like rice, oats, chicken(with no extra preservatives), peanut butter (only ingredients is peanuts), all natural grape jelly (no sugar added, only ingredients are natural ingredients)
~LOW SODIUM, my biggest problem WAS water weight and it would discourage me, making me feel puffy, so I am now always below 1800mg of sodium per day, sometimes i will go higher on accidentlily, but always below 2500 no matter what.
~No pre-made foods, I cook one day enough for three days so I am the one making my food and I know whats in it. Tupperware is my best friend here, and I have taken over a shelf in the fridge, lol
~ No extra medicines, I try to fix issues with nutrition, for instance, I had some issues with my stomach and I fixed it with ginger, cilantro, chia seeds, and prunes, and it helps things move naturally, avoiding a dependency on medications, ie healthier
~ Not necessarily for eatting clean, but for metabolism, I ALWAYS eat every 2-3 hours, and once you get used to it, you actually want to eat that often, and it prevents your body from going into starvation mode, because it knows that you will keep giving it fuel, so it won't store fat. Your body will burn food faster, ie metabolism, if you feed it more often. Wierd how that works, your body needs food to burn food.
~ Stay focused and realize that it is not only good for weight loss and strength, but for good health and metabolism. If I take care of my body it will work the way it is supposed to, ie avoiding weight gain and other issues.
~ So what do my meals consist of?
-vegetables
-fruits
-nuts
-pb&j ALL NATURAL,
-only whole grains, ingredients must say whole, complex carbs keep you energized all day because your body takes longer to digest them and it keeps your blood glucose stable through the day, instead of processed carbs that make you spike and then make you tired, I am no longer afraid of carbs as long as they are the right kind
-fish, wonderful for healthy fats
-LOTS OF WATER 150 oz a day is my goal(you will get used to drinking that much over time, NO SODAS, NO PROCESSED JUICES sodium is horrible for water weight, especially with women who are smaller framed and water weight makes a huge difference
-chicken
-tuna
-homemade tomato soup
-lots of homemade omlets with fresh onions and baby bella mushrooms
- SO BASICALLY- Fruits Vegetables, lean proteins, and complex carbs, and a crap load of water
AND I FEEL GREAT AND MY BODY IS HAPPY, and not to mention, I ACTUALLY BROKE MY PLATEAU, by eatting more, yes more, and feeding my body what it needs. Forget the word diet, I have made a lifestyle change.

Alot of my motivation for this comes from www.muffin-topless.com, this chick lifts weights and eats clean and looks freakin amazing. I always wondered why I was skinny, but things were still "not where they were meant to be" Thats because I didn't keep the muscles when I lost, leaving "saggy skin", and a "flat butt" It is great to be smaller now, BUT I want to see my true potential so I have cracked down on myself and I spend most of my down time reading forums, and looking at motivational images on google. I highly recommend for all of you ladies, type into "google", "motivation for eatting clean" and click on images, the quotes and the photos are amazing and truely motivating. ALSO: I highly recommend watching, "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead" and "hungry for change", AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME

I have heard, if you want something bad enough, you should think about it every day, so I do, I have decided that any time I have down time, to be more active in MFP forums, get more friends, and always read articles about motivation and health.

So my goal, to lose about 5-10lbs more, while eatting clean and lifting weights to "get things where they are meant to be"

I will measure not only by the scale, but with a tape measure as well. I am a month in, but on month 6 I will be getting a professional check on my Body Fat percentage, I have never had this done before, but would like to know how much eatting clean and strength chaining can lower that number. They always say the last 10 lbs is the hardest, and it is no joke, I have plateaued, lost a bit, plateaued again, gained a bit, got back down, and a little further, only by like .4 pounds a week am I making a difference, and some weeks no difference at all. But I have decided not to stop and that I can BE THAT GIRL, and I deserve to BE THAT GIRL, that everyone wants to be. I am 25 and I want to be young, sexy and youthful while I am supposed to be young sexy and youthful.

Why I want to get in shape
I want to be able to be healthy, fit and go to a dressing room and have clothes "just fit right". And I want to feel good in my own skin, and I want to WANT to undress for my husband, and truely be confident in my own skin no matter what. I want to heal my skin from the inside out with nutrition, and possibly try juicing to rid my body of toxins.

I JUST WANT TO BE YOUNG, HEALTHY AND SEXY!!!

And by golly, I won't stop until I'm done and I will then fight to keep it

My Inspirations
www.muffin-topless.com
bikini season
being confident
being healthy

If you are on a similar journey or want motivation, or are willing to give me motivation as well, please add me, I need more friends!!! I will be posting progress pics every few weeks