Glad to be a part of the 2015 Beauty of a Woman Blogfest.
Most days I love my body and the curves that I have. However, there is a part of me that still wants 6-pack abs or at least a flat stomach. In the past, I lacked the self-discipline to be consistent about doing crunches and sit-ups every day. Plus, my diet is white potato, bread, and white rice heavy. Preferably fried. Did you just groan? I know I am not doing myself or my body any favors with less-than-healthy choices.
Last year, I began to follow GuruOfAbs on Instagram for tips to getting a flatter stomach. This February, I did his Stomach Sculpting No Bread 7-day challenge. Sign up was easy using www.trainersvault.com .
This was a strict regimen of daily exercises and diet. Each day, videos of the day’s exercises were available through the website. Certain exercises were to be done first thing in the morning. Another set of exercises were done at night. The diet consisted of the following: No bread. No pasta. No white sugar.
The Stomach Sculpting No Bread 7-day challenge was hard for me to attempt since
- I do not usually exercise in the morning
- I love all things bread
- I have never done a diet
- I do not like to deny my cravings
Nevertheless, I jumped in wholeheartedly and full of determination – 2015 is about challenging myself
Day 1 was easy because I was hyped up and optimistic about facing this challenge. I had steel-cut oatmeal with walnuts for breakfast, salad for lunch and salad for dinner.
Day 4 was a low point. I wanted bread, pasta, rice, cookies, and ice cream. All together. I did not want another salad. Oatmeal with no maple syrup sucks. Plain Greek yogurt sucks.
And then a wonderful thing happened.
A lady I know asked me if I was trying to lose weight because she could tell it in my face.
Yes, I am trying and thank you for noticing!
That was the boost I needed to keep me going. I ate grilled chicken with a side of broccoli for dinner.
By the end of the week, I lost a couple of pounds and I have some new ideas of ways to replace some of my comfort foods with healthier veggie options (e.g. Zucchini pasta AKA zoodles).
My stomach is not flat yet (it was only one week after all) but I think I have a better chance of working towards that with new routine of exercises and changes I have made to my diet. For example, I am doing crunches and other ab exercises learned from challenge daily.
This does not mean I will not indulge in the occasional milkshake or fried chicken.
While 7 days does not seem like a long time to some people, I feel it was a huge accomplishment for me to be able to stick to the diet for that length of time. The Stomach Sculpting No Bread 7-day challenge forced me to critically examine my current dietary choices. What I found, I did not like. Do not get me wrong, I still love all my curves. Nonetheless, it is better for me to make dietary adjustments myself before I am required to change because of adult diabetes or other illness.
Will I get my six-pack abs? I might. I might not. But at least I am striving to be healthy and happy. That is all that really matters ❤
Click http://www.augustmclaughlin.com/boaw15/ to check out the other bloggers participating in this year’s blogfest. You might potentially win awesome prizes! There is a digital raffle on the fest page.
The Opinionated Woman's Musings 
Hi, found you via #BOAW2015 Well done and never underestimate the little changes, they all add to something much bigger!
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I love that you adore your curves and body as it is most days! I hope you find ways to maintain and strengthen that as you shift toward healthier eating habits. I’ve personally found that the more I listen to my body, rather than restrict or focus on rules, the healthier and happier I am in all ways. 🙂 If you’re looking for support in that area, I highly recommend Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Tribole, RD. Excellent resource!
Wishing you wellness! Thanks so much for participating in the fest.
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I think the most important thing I learned throughout the whole process was that I needed to be more conscientious when it came to my eating habits. I thought I was pretty healthy but in actuality not really. I will check out the book you suggested. Thanks!
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Kudos to you for realizing that losing weight is about being healthy rather than conforming (or attempting to conform) to some media-driven image. Curves ARE beautiful! Rock ’em sister! ❤
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Oh, how I love to hear a woman say she loves her curves! We were, after all, designed to be curvy. Glad you are exploring healthy eating options that still satisfy your tastes and cravings. I am definitely a bread girl myself. I love whole grain breads, which are so much more filling and healthier than white bread.
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I guess I did not realize how carb heavy my diet was until I removed it and forced myself to eat other things. I love fruits and veggies but was not eating enough of them in the past.
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Good health and a strong body are more priceless than diamonds in my opinion. Good for you for assessing and making goals. And curves are BEAUTIFUL.
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Female curves are needed for effective “body language”!
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Exactly!!
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Wow you’re doing the diet as well! I hardly eat potatoes anymore, going for brown rice, cous cous and occasionally pasta. I’d struggle to ditch bread though. Good luck!
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Wow! Good for you *applause* *applause*
As a curvy woman in her 60’s, I promise what you are doing now will improve your health for the rest of your life. Yeah, I am that woman who did not learn this until 57. I know what it is to give up grains, sugar, and starches; those cravings are worse than giving up smoking (which I did much earlier). I am with August on the book she recommends for it will get you communicating with your body.
I have maintained a 60+ weight loss for three years now because my body and I communicate on what is its best fuel. Diet, traditional Chinese medicine, meditation and yoga are helping me reverse a lifelong autoimmune illness. Your body and mind are what you eat and how you meet the moments of your life. All of us are cheering you. Best of luck!
Karen
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Thanks for the applause 😊😊😊
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A wonderful post, and GO GIRL! I love that you shared your progress, your enthusiasm, your struggles AND the links! I know you’ll be successful, and the most important thing is, as you said, you’re striving to be HEALTHY and HAPPY. 🙂
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Thanks! Everyday is a struggle. I blame cheap fast food grrrr
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I love that you love your curves, but I get the wanting to make some healthier choices too. And I have to try Zoodles!
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I was surprised how good zoodles were! I thought that I would be able to tell a major difference, but with the sauce it was hard to tell that I was eating real pasta.
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Congrats! It sounds like it worked for you and you learned something! 🙂
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I think 7 days is pretty fantastic. As soon as I think about dieting I just want to eat all of the chocolate. I love bread too so I feel your pain. I think it’s good to love where we are and to keep working on improving in anyway we can.
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And croissant with chocolate on top… Mmm only in moderation 🙂
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7 days of radical change is huge! And it gave you so much insight. Now you can tailor your workout and eating to allow indulgences but be on a healthier track. Bravo!
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The radical change is what worried me the most but I knew if I didn’t try I would always wonder if I could have done it.
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I would never want to give up my comfort food completely. Reaching a milestone like seven days is a huge deal. It shows you what you’re capable of – and encourages you to see if you can make it to 8, 9 and 10. I admire the pluck it took for you to start this!
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You should be so proud of sticking with your commitment. The only time I ever dieted was extremely unhealthily in my early teens, which I know now was part of a disordered eating pattern. It took me many years to grow into a healthy relationship with food. No relationship based on self-denial can ever be healthy! Good luck to you in finding your own balance.
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Healthy and happy is so much more important than size zero and guaranteed 6 pack abs. I, too, have learned that lifestyle changes that I can actually handle are so much more effective for getting healthier than diets and fads. Go you! I’ll be cheering you on!
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Beautiful post. I’m with you – not appropriately appreciating my curves and good health. small changes will help lots. I’m going to check out that site. thanks.
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Reblogged this on quirkywritingcorner and commented:
Personally, I think I’ll blame all the additives they’ve polluted my food with as the cause of fatness. 🙂
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I struggle with food too. Feel like I spend a lot of time obsessing over it. Either I’m eating too much of it or trying to avoid it. Sigh.
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