Justine's Weightless Journey

Good Morning!
Today I wanted to talk a bit about my weightloss over the past year and a half. I'm sure I will mention little plugs about it here and there and I wanted to share more here. In 2011 I decided It was time to lose weight. I was topping the scale at 230 and started to really notice how much I hated my body. Up to a certain point you see yourself as normal looking into the mirror, as if it's totally fine. For me there was a distinct time that I realized what I had grown into. I was at the Mcdonalds on Harbor, (across from Disneyland) going to the bathroom. When I sat in the stall I thought to myself, "Wow, they sure are making these stalls smaller..." but then it hit me... No... they were not making the stalls smaller. I was just getting WAY bigger. That was one of the defining moments that made me start thinking before I ate something.

(thats little Campfire Kam to my left in that top left photo)

The first thing I did was try the HCG diet. I know I know, its crazy dangerous and was a bad idea probably. But..  I was desperate. I wanted fast results. On this diet you take drops under your tongue and you eat 500 calories a day. Thinking about it now I want to slap myself, but something good happened! I lost 10 lbs in the first week and got inspired! I didn't last the 21 days and gave up an gained it all back, but I saw how fast I could lose weight if I tried.
I really recommend the GM diet. I have done it a few times to clean my system and kickstart me, and it's worked WONDERS. You will love your results.

Next step: Treadmill. I was housesitting a house that had a treadmill and I decided to get on it. Everyday I did 10-12 minutes. That's it. I paired that with eating lean cuisines and no sweets. What happened? I lost 20 lbs in my first month. My body was so shocked at the exercise that it dropped crazy fast. If you are over 200 lbs and you are reading this, YOU CAN DO IT. That is, if you want to.

Now: Now I am around 165 lbs give or take a couple in either direction. My body has stayed here for awhile and doesn't want that second number to be a 5. I know it's my eating because I work out way too much to not be losing. I am part of a small gym in our city Riverside that provides you with as much personal training as you'd like. You can go 3 times a day or stay for 5 hours at a time. Since your weight is really determined by what you put into your body I need to really hone in my calorie intake. I am by no means eating terrible, but I am eating enough calories to maintain my weight and not lose it.

Next: I am trying to run. I have tried for so long to be good and I am not. Running outside makes me want to fall on the ground and I know its so much better for you than the treadmill but on the treadmill I can run 30-40 minutes where outside I want to die after 5! Tips please anyone?!
-I also have fallen in love with Climbing at our local rock climbing gym!! It's so fun and challenging but in a way that you don't realize you are working out! It's so important to find a workout that doesn't make you hate your life, (read:burpees and kettle-bell swings)

Paleo Diet- Rebecca and I are going to try out the Paleo diet and record it here. I have read so many things about it helping your mood (even when your PMSing! I need this), sleep and general happiness. Let alone it's a great diet. Have you ever tried the Paleo Diet? Any good results?


My goal weight is to be in my 140's by August. So, I'd like to lose  around 25 lbs in 4.5 months, seems reasonable right?! I need to get cracking!

I will post more on this subject with some specific things that changed my habits/life that hopefully change yours!

Yoga For: Sleep

Doing Yoga before bed is one of the best ways to make sure you are relaxed and ready for a good nights sleep. Today we will go through a few poses that will help you relieve stress and tightness after a long day.

Our first pose is Downward facing Dog. You want to have you feet about hip distance apart and hands shoulder width apart. Reach your tailbone upward in a diagonal and hold the position for at least 5 long breaths.

Next we are going to go through Cat and Cow positions. The position above is Cat pose. Arch your back and look up and take an inhale.

After you inhale in Cat pose you exhale and round your spine to come into Cow pose. Then move through Cat and Cow pose 5 times inhaling into Cat and exhaling into Cow. These poses will stretch out your spine and shoulders.

The next pose is Cobra. Start by lowering your hips to the floor and lifting your chest off the ground. You want to keep your elbows slightly bent and keep your shoulder blades on your back. Hold for 5 breaths.

Next come to a seated position and bring the soles of your feet together. Unlike a normal Butterfly pose you will want to bring your feet about an arms length away from your hips.

Take an inhale and exhale your body forward over your legs. This is a great way to open up your hips, hold the pose for 5 long breaths.

After Butterfly, go ahead and lengthen your legs out in front of you for a Seated Twist. Bend your right knee into your chest and inhale your left arm up in the air, exhale and cross it over your right knee. Hold the pose for 5 breaths.

Repeat the Seated Twist on the left side. Sometimes its helpful to use the opposite hand to press into the ground to lengthen out your spine.

Our final pose will be a variation of an inversion. Bring your hands under your lower back for support and bring your legs up into the air and hold for 15 long breaths. It doesn't matter if your legs are straight or not. You can also do this pose with your legs up against the wall. This is a great pose to do for sleep because it lets all the blood flow out of your feet, so if you are on your feet all day this is a great pose to help with circulation.

Let us know if you have any yoga night routines or if you try this out!! <3
Rebecca