How I lost 36 Pounds – My Weight Loss Journey

Need to lose weight?

I did too! Here’s how I lost 36 pounds!

Enough was Enough

In August of 2015, I found myself heavier than I had ever been. I was frustrated and mad at myself for letting this happen. I’m sure it was a combination of things like getting older, having a miserable marriage, and simply not taking the time to take care of myself, but one thing for sure is it sucked.

I decided to make a change. I had a neighbor that sold Optavia and I knew it was working for her and her clients. I also had several friends that were utilizing the program and they were all happy with it. So, I made the decision to give it a try and ordered the Optavia 5 & 1 plan.

Between the time I placed my order and its arrival, my life imploded. My spouse came home from deployment and within three days announced his departure. Wouldn’t you know, the Optavia order showed up the morning after my cheating spouse told me he was leaving me. Life is so ironic sometimes, I had needed to get rid of him and some weight for a long, long time! With one problem gone, I could focus on the weight loss program.

Lucky for me, it is an extremely easy program to do. It didn’t matter that I was stressed out all the time and running in ten different directions with 3 kids in 3 different schools and doing all different activities, plus working.

Much of the food is “grab and go”. In fact, they sell a bundle that is called the Optavia Essential On-The-Go Kit! It is mostly bars, shakes, and snacks.

They have a lot of other types of food like soups, desserts, pasta, pancakes, cereal, mashed potatoes, and more. I’ve tried almost all of their food and for the most part, it’s been good. But the bars and shakes are my go-to foods. They are easy and they taste the better than the other products in my opinion.

Weight Loss Results: Down 16 Lbs in 60 days

I liked being able to grab a bar as I ran out the door for carpool and know I was eating something healthy. Within two months I was down by about 16 pounds. I had a ways to go before I hit my goal weight, but I was ecstatic to lose that weight.

This is me in July 2015 and me in October 2015.

Dieting Tips & Tricks aka Optavia Tips

There were a handful of other things I did to help the weight loss along.

• I kept a box of bars in my car in case I got hungry. That way instead of stopping for some McDonald French Fries (that I love) I had the bar. I also kept one or two in my purse, cause you just never know when you are going to get hungry.
• I ditched the coffee creamer and instead used half and half with sugar-free Torani syrup.
• I cut alcohol out for a while and then figured out some lower-calorie drinks.
• I went to the gym, a lot.

The Final Results

We’ll fast forward to a few months later (That’s a spin-off an Alanis Morriesette lyric: We’ll fast forward to a few years later. I know super odd reference and what does that have to do with dieting. Nothing. I’m just a fan.) and I found myself down 36 pounds. To say I was pleased with the results would be an understatement. I was hoping to lose around 30, so when I passed up that number and kept going I was thrilled and quite honestly shocked.

Maintaining the Weight Loss

This part is sometimes harder than losing the weight!

For me, maintenance to not gain it all back has been just as important and ongoing. After losing 36 pounds I have continued to use Optavia products. I would love to be one of those people that never had to workout and could eat whatever they wanted, unfortunately, that’s just never going to be the case.

I travel a lot and I find myself eating too much and having high-calorie cocktails on these trips. So, you can imagine how quickly I can gain weight while working. Now when I am traveling I will do the following things to stop myself from packing on the pounds. For me, making a few simple, healthy choices once a day when traveling can really add up.

• Instead of having the hotel breakfast I have an Optavia bar.
• I skip the dessert or only have one bite of it. (This is brutal, I love dessert.)
• Order lower-calorie cocktails, a Mojito has way less calories than a chocolate martini! The last time I went to the beach it took all my will power to pass up a Pina Colada and get a Mojito instead.

Finding a Health Coach

The accountability of checking in with a health coach made a huge difference for me. If you are looking for a health coach I recommend mine, Dawna, you can find her at Optavia Health Coach. If this program is something you would like to try I know she would love to help you with your own weight loss journey.

Weight Loss Printables

Set Fitness Goals with this Fitness Goal-Setter Printable

Track your measurements with this Monthly Health and Fitness Printable

Plan out your weekly meals with this Weekly Meal Planner Printable

Plan our your workouts for the month with this Monthly Workout Calendar Printable