Guest post from Nagina - How I Kept 40 pounds off

Here is a motivational article from Nagina about getting healthy and regaining your strength and losing weight after having a baby.

Her story does strike a cord with me too since I am also in the process of trying to lose my post-baby  weight, so I am also sharing my weight-loss story here.  I recently started working out with a fitness instructor who has been teaching me cardio and weight training exercises and she has also been monitoring my diet and giving me good tips about portion control and healthy eating ideas. The main thing she asked me to focus on is that to eat small portion meals every 3-4 hours and try to skip the carbs every alternate days. We are still working on that and I hope that eventually I will be where I want to be in terms of body weight and fitness level.  The main thing is not to lose focus and keep doing the exercises on a daily basis and stick on to the diet plan.

 Thanks Nagina for the wonderful post. You are an inspiration to everyone especially new moms :)  Do check out her blog for healthy recipes and inspirational posts.

How I Kept 40 pounds off

 

Nagina lost 40 pounds without changing her life and feels so much more energy today. She wrote a guest post for Gita’s Kitchen to share why eating food is so important to losing and keeping unwanted weight off.

 

Over 40 pounds more and 3 years ago, I never would have believed I would have as much energy and feel as good as I do today.

After I gave birth to my daughter Aliyah 3 years ago from last Saturday, my back ached with the extra weight from pregnancy, I was sluggish and tired, and I didn't feel like myself. I was scared I would never lose the weight and I would keep hurting. 3 months after I gave birth to her, I started on a hopeful path to lose weight and gain back energy and strength.

I changed my eating and got to the lowest weight in my life, beyond my wildest dreams. I went 20 pounds BELOW my pre-pregnancy weight. I saw results FAST. And I felt better than I ever had felt.

Why you MUST eat food you love for long-term results

With my Indian background, eating flavorful food is almost mandatory. At our family dinner table, everyone adds hot peppers to pizza and loves all of my mom’s spicy sabzis and curries.

In the past when I was younger, I tried to lose weight and eat the healthy food I knew of, but my love of spicy and flavorful food really didn’t translate too well. I would lose a little weight, but it would come back on because I couldn’t truly make the sacrifice to eat boring and bland food.

Many of us do our best to eat healthy, but after a long day, we want food that tastes good and comforts us. And we can only force ourselves to eat food that’s cold, bland but "healthy" for so long before we give in and just order a delicious gooey pizza.

And then we regret it and feel guilty for not being able to control ourselves.

Eating food you love is the secret to making weight loss realistic - and fun! No more forcing yourself to eat what you are “supposed to eat.” No more feeling hungry and being consumed with thinking about when you can eat again. Instead, you are full, satisfied, and fulfilled from the delicious meal you ate.

I lost 40 pounds in less than a year and kept it off, largely because I was eating the right foods, I loved how they tasted and I wanted to eat them.

Good food makes weight loss enjoyable – not painful. It's so important to enjoy what you eat.

My favorite way to love what I eat and still be healthy is to infuse incredible flavor through spices. Meals will be flavorful, comforting, and healthy.

 

Nagina encourages eating tasty low-glycemic meals to look and feel great. She shares her recipes and tips on her blog  www.masalabody.com.