Now that I’m a mother; Will I feel Sexy Again?

Now that I’m a mother; Will I feel Sexy Again?

A word from Mike: “The author of this post is my sister-in-law, a girl I have lots of fun with, a caring godmother for my children as well as a devoted wife and mother for her own family. Just like a big bro would do it, I thought she might want to try this program I’ve heard of a few times. She was willing to take down the test and I decided to share this true testimonial with you. Can’t wait to read your thoughts about it! Did you ever go through such a challenge? How did you do it?”

During 2011, my whole world changed. Nice classy high heels became flip flops, professional skirts were thrown away for comfy elastic pants and many shirts couldn’t stand those big boobies anymore! As if my whole body wanted to shout out to the world: “Careful, baby on its way!” I went from a healthy 140 pounds to the whale size (195 pounds) as I call it myself!! Being a happy mom didn’t blow away those 55 pounds (note to self: fairy tales don’t exist!). Weeks and months passed by, baby boy grew up and almost a year after, I still had 20 pounds or so to lose.

And because fairy tales really don’t exist, I had a knee injury (that is still not done with). My training plan got destroyed in a day. I had to stop running. Needless to say I was very discouraged by this challenge and did not know how to handle it (read I cried a river!). I wanted my silhouette, my confidence, my femininity back. This is when I discovered the Urban Girl Wellness 14 day Program. I had nothing to lose and gave it a try (until I die, just joking!).

Biggest Challenge: Shakes, shakes, shakes!

It started hard and painful with the 5 days detox (alright, not as hard as birth delivery, but still!). You may not know it, but a detox – also called reset – basically works the same as a drugs detoxification, where you eliminate nasty things from your organism as well as your physical dependence to it. In food regards, it means only necessary nutriments and vitamins to keep your body functional. In my own words: Shakes, shakes, shakes! Called Nutrimeals, you have them in the morning, for lunch and for dinner. Trust me; no matter how tasteful were they, I never dreamt so much about food! I’m not a fast food fan, I eat chips a couple times a YEAR, I drink no sodas and even if I sometimes have a hard time declining a desert or some chocolate cookies, I didn’t consider myself as addicted to it. Still, I’ve experienced some physical reaction to the detox. Headaches, humour changes, aggressiveness, lack of concentration and a desperate urge to eat (pregnancy symptoms back, yippee!) were sneaking into my day. Even with the vanilla, strawberry and chocolate shakes, supplements, bars, water and unlimited raw vegetables, I had trouble dealing with physical side effects. I even cheated twice the first 2 days. Two bites of homemade pasta never made me so happy! Other than that, I can say I did stick to it, but that really was the biggest challenge.

Lifestyle VS Lifetime Diets

The 9 remaining days of the program help you healthily reintroduce food and set your mind into your new lifestyle. You can’t just go back to your old habits if you really want to change (question is, do you really want to change?). That’s why you’ll be proposed to get into action at least 30 minutes a day. I unfortunately could not follow this advice because of my knee injury, but I still found that this side of the program could be amplified (come on, move your booty!). The idea is still there: focus on a new lifestyle rather than going through lifetime diets.

The Bright Side: Knowing How-to!

Was all this negative? Not at all! It made me realized how much my habits were not as healthy as I thought. For example, my portions were too big. Your body doesn’t have enough hours in a day to eliminate too much pasta or bread or creamy cheese. I also (re)discovered that my hungry feelings were often just a sign I was thirsty. Fresh water is predominant in the 14-day program and I’ve seen it is indeed always a good choice (just grabbed some btw!). I feel healthier and less tired since I drink more (and with a hydrate skin you’ll save on make ups!).

I also have to mention that the newsletter received really helped. It provided me with useful nutrition concepts and facts as well as recipes to both keep you eat heartily without watching your scale jumped right to the sky (sky’s the limit… not always!)! Recipes went from drinks and dips to chili, pancakes, salads, meats, vegetables, etc. I sometimes had a hard time catching up, but the info really helped keeping me motivated and well informed on how to make healthy choices in every situation. You also have access to a Facebook Forum but I must admit I didn’t use this resource.

Taste 1, 2; 1, 2!

I’m sure you wonder if the meals taste good. It was one of my biggest concerns as well. Nutrimeals (shakes) do taste good and are still part of my daily menu. Actually, 3 weeks later, I still appreciate my morning Nutrimeal (no kidding!). I sometimes add fruits to it so it makes it a little different. Chocolate bars are the best and make a nice treat, peanut butter ones are not bad too. I ordered more of oatmeal and raisins bars thinking it would taste more “natural”, but they were the less tasteful. Of course, you get tired of all of them during the detox, but I had no trouble eating them after.

The 80/20 Rule

Because we all have to face the reality of parties, business lunches, family reunions and restaurants, there is the 80/20 rule. In order to keep yourself in the right track without becoming a food control freak, you simply have to follow the healthy advices 80% of your time and allow yourself to “treat yourself” 20% of the time. Life would be darn boring without it! This rule really simplifies good what to do when you’re done your 14 days program: combining healthy food and exercise 80% of your time and enjoying nice treats once in a while. For example, I typically “book” one dinner per week where I just have a glass of wine, a nice plate of what I like (that doesn’t mean to eat until you pass out!) and a small tasty desert.

Results Please!

Drum roll!! Efforts and Urban Girl Wellness Program together, I’ve lost 10 pounds (and a couple inches everywhere)! I’m really happy about it and will keep on working on my lifestyle. My final objective is only 8 pounds away and that is very encouraging to me. If I had to give a mark out of ten to this program, it’d be an 8! Do I recommend it to a friend: yes, IF and only IF you’re ready to change! Now time to get on these high heels again, sexy mama is coming! 😉

Complete 30 Days Stats

Here’s my Before/After stats during this 30 days challenge:

I Lost 10 Pounds in 30 Days, Are You Up For The Challenge?

After I’ve completed the program, I asked Paul from the Urban Girl Wellness if she could Fabulously Broke reader some kind of rebate. I have to be honest with you; the cost of this program is not cheap: $299 for the package (14 days). But losing 10 pounds in 30 days (and counting) make it worth it (my husband thinks so anyway! Hahaha!).

Paula was nice enough to give Fabulously Broke readers a $60 rebate on the package. You simply have to go to Urban Girl Wellness and use the following code: VS239. You’ll be able to purchase the $299 package for only $239.

CLICK HERE TO SAVE $60

Remember, you could be losing 10 pounds in 30 days and keep good healthy habits!