Hey there mom friends, my name is Kate Rockland and I am on a mission to lose 15 pounds in 8 weeks, just in time for bikini season! (OK, the bikini part is a lie. I am totally wearing a one-piece.) The point is, I woke up one morning truly missing my size 8 clothes, all hung up neatly in my closet since I gave birth to two boys in two years. I am determined, with the help of Heidi Klum's personal trainer David Kirsch__, to drop the baby weight once and for all through healthy recipes, new workouts, and a hell of a lot of moxie. I hope you'll join me on my journey, and feel free to try this at home!
Current Weight: 142 Pounds
I don't want to sound fancy, but losing 3 pounds has gone to my head. I did a Jacques Cousteau-worthy dive into the back of my closet and tried on a few size 8 pants. While I still can't button them, it's amazing how losing just a tiny bit of weight allowed me to wiggle them past my thighs. I even felt a little boost of confidence in the bedroom to the delight of my husband (nudge nudge, wink wink!). However, there was a weak moment Wednesday night. I found myself at 10 p.m., hovered over the stove, shoveling pasta primavera into my mouth. The old me would have thrown in the towel. The new me? I got up the next morning and ran 2 miles with the nifty jogging stroller you saw last week. I also stopped eating my lunch halfway through when I realized I was full. The "clink" of the fork hitting porcelain signaled the first time I'd ever not finished everything in front of me, or even listened to my body enough to know when to stop. For that, I forgive the pasta party.
Motivational quote I used to get me through: "To be hopeful, to embrace one possibility after another—that is surely the basic instinct. … Crying out: High tide! Time to move out into the glorious debris. Time to take this life for what it is." –Barbara Kingsolver
Workout song: "I Love It," by Icona Pop
Snacks: Avocados; steamed carrots with honey drizzled on top
MORE: Back to Week 2 of My Weight Loss Mission
Meals: Oprah recently listed sweet potato as one of the 25 super foods, and given my lack of ability in la cocina, I have been using my Beaba baby cooker to steam one a week for myself. An added bonus? It makes a great snack in cube shapes for the kids! In order to get my recommended eight glasses of water a day I set my phone alarm to alert me every hour. The noise got tiresome, so I came up with a "mom method" of drinking a glass of water with every diaper change, which is an impressive 10 glasses a day! I swapped out traditional cream in my morning coffee for vanilla soy. David suggests taking baby steps, and eventually to move to almond cream. I read about country crooner Trisha Yearwood's 30-pound weight loss and like her suggestion of 90 percent healthy eating, 10 percent indulging. I've started changing the way I snack, even on healthy foods like nuts: I take out a handful, and then put the rest of the bag away. I tried egg whites this week for the first time and added scallions and green peppers with a side of fresh cantaloupe. It was delish!
Exercises: David's two moves of the week are plank, and plank with hip extension. If you get tired at home, try resting in child's pose in between, as I did! These were a little tricky for me, so I emailed David for simple descriptions:
MORE: Back to Week One of My Weight Loss Mission
Plank:
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Place your hands on the floor, shoulder-width apart and positioned directly beneath your shoulders. Place your feet on the floor, keeping your body as flat as a board.
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Keep your body straight—resist the urge to stick your butt in the air.
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Hold! Start with 15 seconds at a time and work your way up to a full minute. Repeat 3 times.
Plank With Hip Extensions:
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Start in plank position.
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Slowly raise your right leg 4 to 8 inches off the floor without arching your back. Hold for 5 to 10 seconds. Drop your leg.
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Repeat on the left side.
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Continue for 15 to 20 repetitions on each side.
Stay tuned next week to see how far along Kate has come!
