All You Need are Rock Hard Abs

Have you ever seen anyone with rock hard abs that didn’t look great everywhere else? I haven’t. I think once you have fantastic abs you can take a look at the rest of your body and you’ll see that everything else is right too. Abs are the icing on the cake! The cherry on top. Once you have the abs you have it ALL! Go forth and be skinny!

Cardio is King (and Counts for Lower Body)

Okay, so, this is where it gets tough. My previous advice is directed toward lifestyle choices, but here is where the hard work comes in. Cardiovascular workout is absolutely the most important advice I can give for losing weight. I recommend fitting in a good cardio work out 3-5 times a week depending on how much weight you want to lose and how quickly. The cardio options that I prefer are:

1. Eliptical Rider – 30 minute on this machine on 10 resistance is a fantastic workout. It’s easy on your knees and kind to the rest of your body.

2. Jogging – 5 minute warm up. 20 minute jog. 5 minute cool down. Not so kind on your knees, but great for preventing osteoporosis! I like jogging because with 3 kids it can be super hard to get out the door and all the way to the gym. I can take off out the door when Chad gets home. I’ll already have dinner cooking. I’ll watch my watch and get back in time to get dinner on the plates. No time lost in transit! And it’s FREE!

3. Walking – 2 miles. This is a very good way to loose LOTS of weight. It’s free and kind on the body, but can get very dull if done alone. I like to meet up with my mom to walk. I have every stroller and stroller combination on the market and can manage to get all kids in strollers being pushed by someone so I can get walking done. It’s fun to chat and walk.

I’m sure there are other great cardio options out there, these are my cardio selections of choice! Oh yes, and if you do these cardio options you are already working out every muscle in you legs sooooooo Lower Body Workout? CHECK!

Do Not Buy In-Between Clothes

Don’t do it, just don’t do it. I know you want to, but just avoid the temptation. If you are comfy you won’t be motivated!
I go straight from my normal skinny clothes into maternity clothes and then I am forced to either get skinny and get into my normal clothes or go around in maternity when I’m not pregnant (which I am WAY to proud to do.)
I wore the same pair of stretchy spandex polyester pants for 9 WHOLE months after my first baby. But each day I promise you I got more hatred built up for those pants, and I swore I would get back into my jeans just so I wouldn’t have to put those black polyester spandex pants back on. I did get back into my jeans!
A mistake that I made after my second child was going jean shopping to reward myself on my skinniest day and I have never been back to that weight again. Nor can I fit in those jeans!
Not buying in between clothes saves money too! I’m all about saving money. Some people say, that they have to buy one or two things to get them through until they lose the weight. I say NON-SENSE! POPPYCOCK! It only adds a hurdle and is unmotivating.
If you want to lose the weight, do not buy clothes to fit the size you do NOT want to be. BE STRONG!

If You've Got 'Em Milk 'Em

Breastfeeding has got to be the easiest way on Earth to burn a ton of calories (up to 500 with a single birth) just sitting there. If you have a baby and you don’t nurse you are giving yourself a double wammy. Formula costs a fortune AND doesn’t burn any calories. If for whatever wackadoodle reason you decide not to nurse at least pump and feed or pump and donate the milk. Choosing not to breastfeed is a dietary shot in the foot. The body natural removes the weight with the help of breastfeeding. I’m mean really, if you aren’t going to breastfeed give up the diet now, because anyone serious about getting skinny would milk the boobs to all get out.
Breastfeeding mothers have lower rates of certain cancers (breast, ovarian, uterine, and endometrial) as well as a reduced risk of osteoporosis. Also, "Women who were breastfed as infants, even if only for a short time, showed an approximate 25% lower risk of developing premenopausal or postmenopausal breast cancer, compared to women who were bottle-fed as an infant." (Freudenheim, J. "Exposure to breast milk in infancy and the risk of breast cancer." Epidemiology 1994 5:324-331)
Breastfeeding encourages uterine contractions after childbirth, returning the uterus to it's pre-pregnancy size much faster. It has been shown that the uteruses of formula feeding mothers sometimes never return to the pre-pregnancy state.
Breastfeeding also: Boosts prolactin (a hormone that enhances feelings of nurturing and contentment) levels, speeds up post-partum weight loss and helps child spacing.
Breastfeeding is easier and less time consuming. There is no preparation involved, and you don't have to prepare, warm, or transport bottles.
Breastfeeding is your BFF!

I Swear by Carnation Instant Breakfast

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and I wouldn’t miss is for the world. When you don’t eat breakfast your body goes into starvation mode and when you do eat your body turns more of the calories to fat to save up.
I may sound like a commercial. Sorry. I’m don’t mean to. I just have to get kids up and dressed and to school. I don’t have a lot of time to make breakfast, so for the last seven years I have started my morning with a cold glass of Chocolate Carnation Instant Breakfast. I don’t like it just mixed with a 8 oz glass of milk; I take my mini hand mixer whip it in 12 oz. until it’s foamy. Then I like to drink it from a straw as I chase the kids around getting them ready.
The calories are minimal, it has lots of great vitamins and starvation mode is nixed! Hooray for Carnation Instant Breakfast!

Pop is only for Football Games

Water, juice and milk are the only drinks I keep in my house. Pop is the absolute worst. When was the last time you saw a skinny girl order a Diet Coke? It doesn’t happen. Pop (This also includes beer and what not) is full of calories but fill you up no more than a glass of water from the tap. There is no such thing as a free lunch, ie I don’t know what it is about diet pop that makes people fat, but it DOES! Diet Pop=Fat People.
That doesn’t mean that there is not a time and a place to drink pop. It’s okay to drink it at football games or birthday parties. If you were trying to get skinny you wouldn’t bake a cake and leave it on your counter, so don’t allow pop in your home and indulge only at special functions (never more than one can, half a can would be better).
This is one of the easiest ways to keep calories down without affecting your level of hunger.
Water is a wonderful thing! Drink it all day long. I drink it all day long, unfiltered, practically free from the tap. At first it will taste strange because we are so used to bottled water, but soon you will forget and the water will taste just perfect. Plus it has fluoride that will help strengthen your teeth as a free bonus. Fill your old water bottles with tap water and go forth and be skinny!

Embrace Chocolate

Okay so we want to get skinny again, but we want chocolate too! So we don’t eat it right? WRONG! Think of someone craving a cigarette that is trying to quit. They stuff everything in their mouth from chips to cupcakes to try to fight the craving, and they often get super fat in the process.
Don’t fight the craving and cut out the middleman (filler-food). If you want chocolate just eat it. Not Reece’s Butter cups or truffles, just some plain milk chocolate like Hershey Kisses or M&Ms. Don’t completely gorge yourself, but keep chocolate around and eat a piece or two when you crave it. Don’t fight the craving and eat two full sheet cakes and a bag of chips to stave off your longing for chocolate!
“Chocolate and cocoa powder are derived from beans that contain hefty quantities of natural antioxidants called flavonoids. The researchers found natural cocoa contains the highest capacity of the antioxidant procyanidin. Antioxidants are thought to be effective in helping to prevent cancer, heart disease, and stroke.” -ScienceDaily.com
So it’s official. Eating chocolate, in moderation of course, is GOOD for you!
I’m not a nutritionist or a doctor, just a skinny housewife who has lost the baby weight 3 times. I wish you the best of luck and home that my strategies are helpful to you.

Skinny Housewife Diet

The question I am asked more than any other is how I have lost the baby weight after each baby. I have a specific method that I use that has effectively worked for me three times after 3 babies. This being a new year and so many of my fellow housewives are struggling with weight I have decided to share my secret method. I will share my 6 step method (One Blog at a Time) to skinny housewifeness! : )