Vilma's weight loss through balanced food habits and exercise

August 26 2007

-City & country:  El Paso, Texas, USA
-Age: 27
-Weight before diet: 212 lbs
-Weight now: 188 lbs
-Target weight: 140 lbs

Losing weight isn't a picnic for many people, and Vilma's no exception. But with her unwavering determination to change to a healthier lifestyle, she's losing the pounds she can do without. Vilma discusses her favorite physical fitness activities, the mental and emotional issues she encounters on her journey, and the things that keep her motivated.

-What finally made you decide to start with a weight loss program?
When the scale went past the 200 mark and when my BMI number put me in the obese category.  I knew that I had to make a change… but how?!  A 60 lb. weight loss seemed overwhelming.  To make the journey even worse, I ended up gaining 12 more pounds before I really started trying.  Now the journey had turned to 72 lbs!!!  This was a real eye opener for me and I knew that I had to do something before it got worse.  How are we (hubby & I) going to have baby #1 when I was this overweight!!!  I knew that if I want to have a healthy pregnancy & a fast recovery, I was going to have to this weight… and FAST!

-What type of weight loss program are you following?
Currently I’m participating in a Civilian Fitness Program that my employer is giving, where I take a one-hour class 3 times a week.  The classes vary on different days, and they range from Circuit Training, Spinning, Step Aerobics, Swimming, GTS (Total Gym) & Yoga.  I’ve also included my own workout times consisting of 3 days a week of weight training (Turbulence Training) and 3 extra hours a week of cardio or HIIT (high intensity interval training) tennis, and home videos (P90X & Turbo Jam). 

For my nutrition, I’ve never followed a particular “diet” program – just principles that are well balanced.  Three of the most important program principles that I truly believe in are BFFM (burn the fat, feed the muscle), YOU on a Diet, and currently - Precision Nutrition.  I eat every 2-3 hours, I make sure every single meal contains a serving of lean protein, veggies & healthy fats.  I reserve my “other” carbs (rice, pasta, potatoes, bread, etc…) for ONLY after workouts.  I only drink water.  And, most importantly, I follow the 90/10 rule meaning that, I eat healthy 90% of the time & I “cheat” 10% of the time.  For example, I average about 6 meals a day which equal to about 42 meals per week.  10% of that would be about 4 meals.  So I have 4 meals that week where I can go off my plan and have whatever I want (in moderation of course). 

-Why did you choose this weight loss program?
Because it’s balanced & it can be maintained for life.

-How long have you been on your weight loss program?
Since February 2007. About 6 months and counting. 

-What kinds of physical activities do you like doing to help you lose weight and stay fit?
I really enjoy lifting weights & doing HIIT (high intensity interval training).  I also like doing home workout videos.  Some of my favorites are P90X & Turbo Jam.  I also play tennis with my husband.

-What were the most difficult obstacles you had to overcome or are still overcoming?
I think the most difficult obstacle I’m STILL trying to overcome is my nutritional habits.  I’m a BIG emotional eater & will eat out of boredom sometimes.  I’m working my way up to 90% compliance.  Currently I’m about 80%. I find myself “cheating” too much and that’s why I don’t see much progress on the scale at times.  Another obstacle that I’m hoping to improve on is planning out my meals.  If I plan out my meals more often, I wouldn’t be stuck in this predicament of not being compliant.

-How do you keep yourself motivated?
I read my blog daily & look at my progress pictures.  I can’t stress enough how important it is to keep up your stats, measurements & pictures.  You will really see a change in numbers, and pictures – well, they speak a thousand words.  They will REALLY tell you the truth about how far you’ve come along.  Another thing that keeps me motivated is that I want to have a healthy & fit body when I get pregnant with baby #1. 

-Do you have any weight loss tips for our readers?
The key for me was not trying any diet. Those are meant to be temporary by their very nature. Instead, I gradually changed my lifestyle to be healthier. 

Here a couple off the top of my head:  Eat "normally" while you're losing the weight so that maintenance is nothing more than a continuation of that process. The more you can eat while losing weight, the more you'll be able to eat when you reach your goal.  Journal your food intake, your feelings, your goals & your setbacks so you can go back and see where you need to make changes, if any.

-Do you think it will be easy to fall back into your old lifestyle pattern? How do you prevent this from happening?
Honestly, yes – because I’ve just started on my journey.  But my mentality is changing and this time around I am doing a lifestyle change instead of something temporary.  I want to keep this up once I’ve reached my body fat goal & weight.  I want to keep this up after I have baby #1 and #2. And, I want to keep this up until the day I am not longer here on this earth.

The way I will prevent this from happening is to look at my before picture & stats.  I know that I NEVER want to be there again.

-Do you have a favorite Web site or blog that helps or inspires you to lose weight?
Oh gosh… there are soooo many websites that have taught me a lot about health, nutrition & fitness and that have helped me along the way.  If I had to sum them up to my top 5 I would include the following:

Sparkpeople.com – I don’t know why these people don’t charge for all this information!! This is PREMIUM content completely FREE!  I’ve been a member since 2006 and has really helped me build my knowledge, get support & track my progress. 

WAHM Fitness boards – this is where I get my daily inspiration and support!

Precision Nutrition Forums – becoming one of my favorite forums to visit.  A lot of awesome information on every nutrition-related topic under the sun. If you’ve got a question about nutrition, they’ve answered it - and you can definitely find it on this site. A lot of people with the same goals as I have — fat loss the right way!  

Stumptuous.com Women’s Weight Training - Are you a woman? Do you want to lift weights? Check out Krista’s site!

And of course, my own blog: http://vphealthandfitness.com. I started this blog back when I decided that I was going to lose this fat & haven’t looked back.  It has my thoughts & struggles on my fat loss journey, and many, many resources (diet reviews, tracker & calculators, recipes, exercise programs, etc.) that have helped me get to where I am today & will continue to help me in the future.  Please come by and visit!