Weight Loss Archives - Life with Gremlins

Fitness Blender Review

When I decided to take a DNA test, the last thing I thought it would help me do was lose weight. I ordered my test from AncestryDNA pretty much for curiosities sake and ran my raw DNA through a medical risk profile just for funsies. One of the hits that report brought up showed, statistically, people with my genes only lose weight on low carb diets with HIT (high intensity interval) workouts. So, I thought, what do I have to lose—besides like 20 lbs—and Googled HIT workout programs. The one I settled on was called, “Fitness Blender.”

If you haven’t heard of them, Fitness Blender offers free full-length workout videos, many of which are HIT combos. They also have full workout calendars available for purchase. I purchased their 8-week Fat Loss program, and liked it enough to do a review here on Life with Gremlins. Please note that I have no affiliation with Fitness Blender. This was not a sponsored review.

What I liked about Fitness Blender:

The workout calendar program has 8 weeks of different videos. Each day you log in, click the date, and are linked a warm up, main workout, and cool down. There are also commonly extra credit videos if you need a little extra burn. The variety keeps things from getting boring, and unlike some programs such as P90X, the videos are all around 30 minutes long. This all made it easy for me, as a mother of four, to actually complete the program, which is a huge bonus.

The instructors are also not super annoying and are easy to relate to. It feels like they are struggling with you, which I suppose is a personal opinion, but if you’ve ever tried to complete a workout program where the instructor drives you nuts, personality counts.

What I don’t like about Fitness Blender:

When I first started Fitness Blender, and wrote this review, there was no way to pause or reschedule a workout in your calendar, so if you missed a day, you just had to either skip it, or remember your calendar is a day behind. I suppose that was a small qualm really, but was sort of obnoxious being the whole point of paying $6-$15 for a program was the ease of just clicking the date and doing the video for that day. However, sometime in late 2017 they revamped their website, and I had to edit this post. Now you can pause and reschedule a workout, which eliminates the only thing I didn’t like about the site.

So now, I don’t have any complaints. Enough so I’ve done all four of their 8-week programs for busy people, some multiple times, and am still using them today over a year after I wrote this review.

Did Fitness Blender work?

I suppose that’s the biggest question. Below is my weight chart from before and after (as you can see I was working on postpartum weight loss). I included a bit before the program to show the weight-loss rate change. You can see I was slowly dropping weight before the program, and went back to a similar rate when I stopped. I lost 7 lbs total in 8 weeks.

I also shed 3 inches off my waist. It was a noticeable difference. I was not dieting, and didn’t do extra workouts.

I think that the reason Fitness Blender works is that it gives you this set time frame—this thing to check off your list each day. Literally, the website has those feel-good “work out complete” check marks you get to check—rather than you trying to fit in exercise and maybe cutting it short some days. For me, I said, “I will do all the required videos every day, start to finish,” and it was easier for me to keep that commitment than to say, “I’ll work out every day.”

Sadly, I hit a wall with my weight loss and while continued Fitness Blender programs seemed to be helping my endurance, flexibility, and toned what wasn’t covered in fat, I stopped losing. Then life happened, I got out of the habit of exercising daily (well, actually a college calculus class happened, and I suck so hard at math that took all of my time). Stress eating and lowered activity caused my weight to jump back up to about 150 lbs. I am currently on the Keto diet (down 17 lbs in 3 months!) and have just added Fitness Blender back into my routine. I will be posting a diet+Fitness Blender comparison for this Fitness Blender only review in about, well, 8 weeks, as well as a Keto diet alone vs Keto diet with exercise comparison.

Postpartum Weight Loss: Tips for the First 2 Weeks

With my fourth pregnancy I gained a whopping 43 lbs. So naturally, once I’d had that wee lass, I was itching to get started with my postpartum weight loss. However, as most new moms know, what you can do in those early weeks safely in a medical sense is pretty limited. I did find a few easy lifestyle changes that were perfectly safe immediately after pregnancy though. Then, thinking about it, I realized I have a parenting website, other moms would likely be interested in what did and didn’t work for me to lose those 43 lbs. I decided to document my weight loss journey from start to finish here on Life with Gremlins with reviews of products I tried, tips, and other fun stuff I learned along the way. So, here it begins, what I did in this first two weeks to lose weight after pregnancy.

Breastfeeding:

Pretty much everyone recommends breastfeeding, but what they don’t tell you is how freakin painful that first week can be. Between engorgement and sore nipples, I can see how lots of women call it quits, but if you needed one more reason to hang in there (it does get easier for most of us), how about sitting on your butt while losing weight? For realsies even, no advertising gimmick? Well, making a single oz of breast milk burns about 20 calories and your average newborn eats around 30 oz a day equating to roughly 600 calories burned every single day. To put that in perspective, running a 10-minute mile burns about the same calories—so just feeding your baby is like running a mile a day, minus the muscle tone and cardiovascular benefits of course.

Hydrate:

Next, I drank ungodly amounts of water. I hung on to that nifty hospital water jug and drank a minimum of three of them a day (which since the jug has measurements marked on it, I knew to be 90 oz.) Proper hydration not only helps you produce all that calorie-killing breast milk, but water does actually help you lose weight. How?

Water actually works in a few ways to aid in weight loss. First, dehydration will slow your metabolism, because nearly all body functions require water—that’s why our body is 70% water in the first place. Proper hydration also keeps your digestive system functioning tip-top to avoid constipation. Next, many people confuse thirst with hunger. A study in 2010 by Virginia Tech found that consuming water before meals helps you eat less—about 75 calories less per meal, which adds up quickly when you consider three meals a day (225 calories! remember how many calories running a mile burns?). Finally, another study in 2003 by the Franz-Volhard Clinical Research Center in Berlin found that drinking cold water actually burns calories in itself despite water having no calories. In their study they estimated increasing your water intake 50 oz. a day (a cup is 8 oz) would equate to 5 lbs. of weight loss a year. So, drink up.

Fiber:

The last thing I did to help aid in weight loss after pregnancy was purchase myself a big container of water-soluble fiber off Amazon and added 2 tsp to each of those water jugs I drank. Fiber not only helps keep your poo soft and prevent constipation—which can literally be a pain if you’ve just had a baby—but it also helps you lose weight. Fiber helps the body maintain more stable blood sugar levels and more effectively eliminate fat rather than storing it.

Just by breastfeeding and drinking three 30 oz. jugs of water with fiber powder I went from 175 lbs to 151 in two weeks. Granted, some of that weight was likely from my 7.9 oz. baby, blood loss, and the placenta, but because I had preeclampsia, I couldn’t tell you how much. I actually weighed 1 oz more the day after my labor than I did when I went into labor from fluid retention. I can say I lost 3 inches off my just-got-home-from-the-hospital waist measurement in that two weeks with the 24 lbs.

I’d be happy to hear any tips other moms may have on losing weight after pregnancy as well, so don’t be afraid to drop us a comment.

Losing Weight After Pregnancy: Breastfeeding Diet

That exercise is necessary to losing weight after pregnancy is no secret, but in general, postpartum diets are discouraged. This is because a large percentage of mothers breastfeed for at least a month, and dieting while breastfeeding can affect the quality of breast milk. However, this advice applies to bad diets, the kind of crash diets that create rapid weight loss and significantly reduced caloric intake. You can diet immediately after having a baby to begin losing weight– you just have to eat the right things.

On the upside, a breastfeeding diet that maintains a healthy nutritional and caloric balance to maintain healthy breast milk will also help on your path to losing weight after pregnancy in a healthy way. Those same bad diets that are frowned upon also result in a loss of muscle mass, not just fat. While many women may not be so concerned about losing muscle, they should be. Muscle plays a big part in determining metabolism. In addition, the less you eat, the more your metabolism slows in the first place. Meaning while other diets may result in faster weight loss, you’ll likely gain the weight you lost right back, but all in fat.

The trick to a healthy breastfeeding diet is to eat foods that boost your metabolism while avoiding excessive unnecessary fat intake. Couple this with a good postpartum exercise routine, and you will lose fat, gain muscle, increase your metabolism, and have your pre-baby body back in no time.

First things first, when losing weight after pregnancy, what sort of breastfeeding diet is healthy?

Nursing mothers need to consume a minimum of 1,800 calories a day, so don’t shoot for a caloric intake goal below this. Keep in mind that breastfeeding also burns extra calories. Many mothers have more energy maintaining close to 2,000 to 2,700 calories a day. You should not expect or try to lose weight any faster than 1.5 pounds a week.

How should I eat to lose weight after pregnancy?

Many people assume they should eat less to lose weight, and eat more to have healthy breast milk. Both are incorrect. The correct answer is the same for both questions. Eating small but frequent meals will help keep your body constantly metabolizing food and in a steady supply of energy to to make breast milk.

What kinds of foods should I include in my breastfeeding diet?

The most important thing is to maintain a balanced diet with plenty of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and lean proteins, but there are some foods that may aid in weight loss while breastfeeding.

Protein:

Your average healthy breastfeeding diet suggests 5 to 7 ounces of protein. Protein requires more energy to digest, which results in a higher metabolic rate. This is why throwing protein into your snacks can help keep your metabolism revved up. Peanut butter can be a great way to add protein to a healthy snack, for example. Fat is also important in a breastfeeding diet in small amounts (which peanut butter has), but be sure to avoid proteins and other foods with trans and saturated fats.

Spices:

Spice up your diet to help lose weight after pregnancy– most notably cinnamon and chili powder. Adding just ¼ to 1 teaspoon of cinnamon to any dish you eat all day will help your body store less fat and regulate blood sugar levels. You can also opt for a pill form of cinnamon. Chili peppers contain a substance called capsaicin, which increases your metabolic rate temporarily. On a breastfeeding diet note, spicy foods are thought to add flavor to breast milk giving your baby a special treat of variety in the every day milk.

Yogurt:

Dairy is essential to a breastfeeding diet as dairy contains both calcium and vitamin D, which are corner stones of your baby’s nutrition. Yogurt makes an excellent dairy choice, because it is low in fat overall and contains probiotics. Probiotics are healthy bacteria that help aid in digestion, when you digest well your body stores less fat. You may also consider adding a fiber powder to your yogurt or in water for this same reason.

Fluids:

Breast feeding a baby requires an increase in fluid intake (closer to 16 cups total a day rather than 8), but this increase in water can also help you lose weight. Water helps your kidneys function properly taking stress off your liver. Your liver is a key player in your metabolic rate, so if it’s busy helping out your dehydrated kidneys, it slacks off when metabolizing fat.

Though caffeine in coffee and green tea has been said to increase metabolic rate, it can also dehydrate you causing the above effect. In addition, caffeine will pass through breast milk to your baby, because of this excess caffeine intake is not recommended.

Remember to maintain a healthy balance of all food groups and not to drop below a caloric intake of 1800. Simply add the above foods into your plan for losing weight after pregnancy, and you’ll help yourself lose pregnancy weight while keeping your baby’s milk as healthy as ever.

When can I expect to be back to my pre-pregnancy weight?

This will vary from woman to woman. Generally, it takes around the time it took to put on to take the weight off (around 10 months) Even if your body does not look exactly like it did before your pregnancy, don’t feel bad. Body changes from pregnancy are normal, and nothing to be ashamed about. If you are maintaining a healthy breastfeeding diet and an exercise regime, but can’t lose weight, there may also be a medical explanation.