Unloaded. You want the Truth? Can you handle the truth! This is my experience as a chronic yo-yo dieter. What worked and what didn’t. What was manageable for a full time working mom of 2….and what was not.

The picture above was in 2017 right after having 2 kids back to back. This was possibly my most depressed and unhealthy time. This is also the picture when it clicked for me, I was going to have to put in an effort to get healthy. The weight was not going to just fall off like it did in my 20’s. This picture is still my motivation.

Welcome to my journey…

I have tried every possible play in the weight loss book. I have done every diet, not kidding. If there was a possibility that I could lose weight with a type of diet, I tried it. My goal after having babies was to find a diet that got the weight off SANS working out, it’s hard to find workout time with babies and work.

On my journey I have found only a handful of diets actually work and even fewer of those result in the weight actually staying off. I’m going to talk about every single one that I tried. I’ll give you the pros and cons from the perspective of a busy full time working mother of babies and then toddlers and then school age kids.. I don’t know about you, but I completely disregard a weight loss program written by a twenty something year old social media influencer with no kids.

I HAVE to know that a busy working mom can get through the diet before I am willing to try it myself. Ok let’s dive in.

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Diet #1 Master Cleanse– This is basically a liquid diet with an extremely limited amount of calories, like only enough to sustain cellular metabolism (basic body function on a cellular level). A few years back Beyonce claimed that she did this Master Cleanse to lose weight fast and detox her body before shows. I was sold. After having 2 babies and breastfeeding for literally years I was ready to jump start my weight loss in a big way. I was convinced I could do this. Beyonce is from Houston, so like me she must LOVE FOOD, so if she could get through this diet then I could too! That’s where my head was at…

For 10 days you get all your calories from a lemon, water, cayenne pepper and maple syrup all mixed up in a nasty cocktail. Ugh gag…

Yes, it is disgusting. You also drink a warm salt-water mix or a laxative tea that will have you glued to the toilet for hours, basically salty colon blow. I made it 7 of the 10 days and lost 17 pounds. Of course I was tired, fatigued, bitchy, hungry and channeling demon energy… but hey, I lost 17 pounds.

My family wanted NOTHING to do with me, it was THAT BAD. On day 8, I fell off the Master Cleanse wagon. Well, in truth I didn’t so much “fall” but “threw” myself off that wagon at full speed hitting every rock on my path. I literally downed an entire pot of coffee with full fat french vanilla creamer, went out with some girlfriends for sushi and saki and then proceeded to drink half a bottle of wine at home while binge watching Sons of Anarchy.

I fell off that diet HARD and ended up sick as a dog that night because apparently you’re supposed to EASE back into solid food after a liquid diet. HaHa. I was starving so screw easing, I went straight cave woman style getting off that diet. I gained back the entire 17 pounds within 5 days of stopping the diet. Basically over a week of putting my husband ,kids and myself through emotional hell, headaches, constant diarrhea, missed work days, etc…..just to gain all the weight back in 5 days! So it wasn’t exactly long term weight loss.

PROS

-Fast weight loss (you are basically starving yourself which is NOT good)

-Clean colon (you will be on the toilet ALOT, those saltwater flushes are no joke)

CONS

-You are angry, hungry, dizzy. My family did not want to be around me.

-Pounding Headaches

-Attached to the toilet with uncontrollable diarrhea. I missed 2 days of work due to this and not being able to make the 40 minute commute to my office.

-That lemonade drink is nasty and takes ALOT of willpower to consume multiple times daily for 10 days. I literally got to the point where I would gag and vomit it up.

-This type of diet cannot be sustained. It’s short term weight loss. It is also putting yourself through hell.

My Conclusion

*** Would I do this diet again? Oh goodness no. I’d rather fast for 7 days on only water than drink that lemonade drink again. To this day I cannot put Cayenne pepper on anything, gives me nausea just to smell it. If the sound of this drink doesn’t make you gag and you need to lose a quick 15 pounds VERY FAST, then all power to you, but it is just starving and crapping yourself for 10 days…how could you not lose weight? It’s not a healthy way to diet though. NOT RECOMMENDED.

Diet #2 Vegan

I am just gonna get this out there, I think vegan is a fabulous way to live. I felt wonderful doing it, but it did not fit well into my full time working mom life. It’s not so much as a diet, but a lifestyle change. I was able to stick with this for about 6 months when my daughter was about a year old and my son was 3 and I was taking some time off of work. I think if I was working full time at the time then it would have been more difficult. Washing and preparing the food is pretty time-consuming. The book that got me into the vegan way of life was Kris Carr’s Crazy Sexy Diet. She is a wonderful author and her book is hilarious and REAL. She tells her story of being diagnosed with cancer and her journey into health and wellness. The book is laid out beautifully with alot of scientific facts and medical professionals to back her. Anyways,

I completely went vegan for about half a year. You say ” I went vegan” and not “I tried vegan”…again it’s a way of life and you must be fully committed. I lost about 50 pounds in that time frame and felt amazing…until I didn’t. Apparently supplementing with protein is VERY important when going vegan. Yeah, I didn’t do that. After 6 months I was about 112 pounds and my period stopped and then my hair started falling out. Pic below, smallest I have been in my entire life!

My hormones were nuts and my breastmilk supply was slowing to a crawl. I did try to add in pea protein shakes and vitamin B12, but it was not enough of a change I guess. My hair was dry, brittle and breaking off. I had to cut off ALL my hair. If you knew me you’d understand that was an “oh hell no” moment. My hair is MY THING. I spend alot of money on maintenance cuts, root coloring and Keratin treatments so my hair is thick, long and healthy. Cutting it was a nightmare.

So I decided to add meat back in my diet and then that slowly got out of control to cheeseburgers, chicken nuggets and fast food. After about 8 months, most of the weight piled back on…BUT HEY my hair was growing back so I was fine and off to a new diet.

There are times in the last few years that I have attempted to go vegan again, but with kids busy sports/school, piano etc and my work schedule I just don’t have time to meal prep all the veggies. Which does get expensive because you are going to the store more often with fresh fruit and veggies.

Little Secret…if you do try the Vegan life, get these Debbie Meyer Green bags, they keep fruit and veggies fresh for WAY LONGER.

Pros

• Lifestyle change so the weight stays off longer
• Great for environment
• you feel amazing as long as you supplement with the right protein and vitamins
• Normal bowel movements
• Skin is clear and fabulous. My skin was outstanding when on vegan diet, just glowy. Ahhh I do miss that.
• I do not remember going to the gym at all when going vegan. I maybe went for a brisk stroller walk with my kids once a week…but that’s it

Cons

• Making tasty meals can be time-consuming and you have to get REAL creative if you’re not a veggie lover, think cauliflower pizza…it’s actually not bad.
• Vegan grocery bills were pretty expensive, this is hard when you return to work and put 2 kids in daycare!
• The fresh veggie and fruit groceries go bad faster
• You must supplement with protein and the correct vitamins
• Unsupportive family/friends, my husband is cajun and doesn’t quite grasp not eating meat. Avoiding crawfish boils, gumbo nights, courtbouillons and fish frys tested me.

Conclusion:

Vegan Diet is an awesome lifestyle choice and I truly loved doing it, but it must be done the correct way or your health will suffer. Your body needs protein, so you must give it that macronutrient. In some form. I have learned that my body just does better with an animal form of protein instead of protein from a plant source. We are all different and so are our bodies, you have to figure out what works for you. If you’d like to check out Kris Carr’s Crazy Sexy Diet then I recommend the book HERE. It really is a fantastic read and SO entertaining. Book is very inspirational, someday I will go vegan again…maybe when my kids fly the nest. I am a fan of this diet and I absolutely do recommend it, but research supplements so you don’t go through what I went through! Losing hair and your period is not fun.

Diet # 3 Flat Belly Diet

This was one of my favorite diets and SUPER SIMPLE to stick to as a busy mom. The food is simple and quick. The author breaks down all meals into calories so you’re only taking in a certain amount of calories per meal. All clean eating with a healthy mono-unsaturated fat (MUFA) added into each meal. This diet is basically calorie restriction yes, but the foods are clean and keep you full longer. My hunger was well-controlled during this diet. The calorie consumption for the day was around 1200-1600 calories. I found I did lose some weight with this diet only, maybe a few pounds, but I lost more weight when I combined working out a few times per week with this diet.

Pros

-Simple quick recipes with simple ingredients from the grocery store

-Tasty food

-Incorporates all the macronutrients

Cons

-You do have to workout to see drastic weight loss results, this is not a diet only weight loss program.

Conclusions:

Still to this day one of my favorite diets as all the macronutrients are included and the recipes are quick and easy to make and tasty, so mom-approved! If you already work out a few days/week schedule then this is a great diet to implement for portion control and hitting all your macros. If you do not workout unfortunately you probably won’t see drastic results from this diet alone.

Diet #4 HCG Diet

Ok, I’m going to start by saying I DON’T recommend this diet at all. For one the HCG medication is hard to find and very expensive. Secondly, this diet incorporates a 500 calorie consumption a day. It is a very small amount of calories and NOT enough to sustain your body for the long term.

I have heard many stories of patients trying to stay on this 500 calorie restriction diet for literally MONTHS. OMG that is just dangerous and ILL-ADVISED. Your body and organs need more calories than this amount.

This diet is meant to be utilized for 21 days ONLY, Max 40 Days no more. I did this diet about 2 years ago, I managed to go from 162 pounds to 143 pounds in 40 days. It was hard. The diet calls for no carbs, besides a lousy Grissini breadstick (YUCK). Each meal you can have about 3.5 oz of lean meat, it has to have all the fat cut off. Limitless amounts of approved veggies. 1 Serving of approved fruit. No alcohol. Coffee is permitted, but only a very small amount of milk is allowed, like 2 tablespoons a day total. Losing my creamer was ROUGH. Also, you must take the HCG hormone daily via drops or injections. There is alot to this diet and if you need information on it I suggest you explore this blog, HCG CHICA . That blogger knows her stuff when it comes to HCG, she has alot of helpful information and also where to buy the real HCG (there is alot of fake HCG out there). This diet must be done through a licensed medical provider, do not try to do it on your own.

Pros:

-Diet is done through a licensed medical provider.

-The diet has 3 phases, the last phase is to “reset” your metabolism so the weight stays off, it’s the most important part and unfortunately the most overlooked.

-Exercise is not necessary and in most cases is not recommended during diet, only due to the very low amount of total daily calories you are consuming

Cons:

-The HCG is expensive, like a few hundred dollars

-There is alot of fake HCG out there, so you have to research the place you buy from.

-The calorie restriction is severe at 500 calories per day, it is tough to stick to.

-It takes alot of willpower to make it 21 or 40 days. I pretty much cut off my social life for a month.

All in all, I don’t really recommend this diet. It is expensive and it’s tough to stick to and it’s not the type of diet that changes your relationship with food. So, most of the time the weight comes crashing back shortly after finishing the first round of HCG. To sustain weight loss you must make life and diet changes, 3 weeks limiting calories will not make a permanent life or diet change.

Diet #5 KETO DIET

This diet was EXTREMELY successful for me. This was the last diet I did about a year and a half ago and I have managed to KEEP OFF ALL THE WEIGHT. This diet taught me so much about the way the body processes food. I got down to 129 with this diet. Today I am around 134 pounds, but I do lift weights now and have quite a bit of muscle so the 134 is pretty much my ideal weight.

Now I need to stress this, There is a right way to do Keto and a wrong way. When done correctly and for SHORT -TERM, you will lose weight without needing to exercise. When done the wrong way you won’t lose a pound and could even end up gaining weight. It’s all about balancing your MACROS, which is different for everyone, and keeping total daily carbs below 20g/day to drive your body into ketosis (burning fat for energy as opposed to glucose). You are essentially tricking your body into burning your own stored fat for usable energy. This is not a diet where you eat butter and cheese all day and the weight magically dissolves.

To lose weight on Keto, calculations are involved. Tracking your food and calories are involved. There is a science to it. If you want to try the diet the right way I do have an E-book I am working on. It breaks down the process of keto, tells you exactly how to calculate macros, gives you tools to track your food and calorie/macro count and gives you common symptoms and pitfalls you encounter while on Keto. I also include my favorite recipes that are tried and true for full time working moms! This e-book will be completed in July 2024 and I will put a link to get it HERE. Disclaimer: If you have any co-morbidities then definitely consult your physician or health care provider prior to beginning a new diet, diets are not for everyone and should be started with caution.

PROS:

-Relatively cheap diet to follow

-Allows for filling food

-Cravings and Hunger are controlled

CONS:

-You are essentially creating a deficit so your body feeds on the fat stores, this requires strategic planning and calculation. There is no guessing.

-The beginning of the Diet when you cut carbs out can be tough and will test you. Grab my e-book and I’ll show you how to get through it or prevent it.

-Not controlling fat intake. Alot of people assume they can eat a ton of fat on this diet. That is FAR FROM TRUE. The point of this diet is to get your body to dissolve your stored fat for fuel. You don’t want to just feed your body a bunch of fat, then it won’t use the fat you already have stored (AKA your ass)! Picture below to show my Keto Diet grocery haul (see it’s not all butter and cheese!)

-Most people stay on this diet for too long. It is not meant to be extended beyond a few months. Keto should be used as a tool to teach you the power of balancing macros and the effect it has on your weight. I would not recommend staying on keto diet for longer than 5-6 months max.

Conclusion:

Would I do this diet again? Heck yes. This diet was perfect for me once I figured it out. There is a learning curve. If you’re thinking of doing this diet at all then I highly suggest getting my e-book and learn how to navigate this diet correctly and with ease.

Diet #6: Intermittent Fasting

This is more a weight-loss technique than a diet…in my opinion. It is powerful and can make a HUGE and QUICK change. Of course like most diets, you must do it correctly and be consistent. Currently I do Intermittent fasting on my off days in the gym. I do not like fasting while I’m lifting weights, just personal preference. I fast about twice a week on Mondays and Wednesdays.

The fasting technique I use is 16 hour fasting window to 8 hour eating window or 16:8. I basically finish eating at 8 PM and do not eat again till noon the next day (that’s 16 hours of fasting at least 8 or 9 of those hours asleep). I will eat lunch at noon, a snack at 3, maybe a glass of wine before dinner, dinner at 7:30 and be finished eating entirely by 8PM. Usually my snack consists of a banana, muscle egg and cinnamon shake with a scoop of whole fiber (this brand Standard Process is wonderful and their supplements are made from whole food products and not in a lab, the company has it’s own farm in Palmyra, Wisconsin) and some almond milk.

I really don’t get that hungry while Intermittent fasting, I do miss my creamer with my morning coffee, you cannot have that as it will break the fast. I get my coffee kicker with 1 Tsp nonfat Coffeemate original powder creamer and 1 tablespoon Torani sugar-free chocolate chip cookie dough syrup. It is not as fabulous as creamer, but it works. I cannot handle black coffee, just no. During the day I guzzle at least 2 liters of water and iced peppermint tea with cinnamon.

The key to intermittent fasting is WATER, WATER,WATER. It helps you feel full. Get a big jug and make a goal to finish by the end of the day. Get creative with drinks. I have a whole tea bar at my office with an electric kettle. My staff laughs at me because I’m a TEA JUNKY. Black tea, english tea, noni tea, chamomile, peppermint, christmas tea, hibiscus tea yada yada yada. I have them all! It does help though. A cup of hot tea really does settle your stomach.

Cons:

-Cravings at first. The first few times of IF (Intermittent Fasting) are rough and your body will be trying it’s best to get you to cave. I had daydreams about snickers and starbucks…

-Tummy grumbles. Yes your body will object when you first begin fasting, but that does not last. The beautiful thing about our body is it’s smart and can adapt. Once your body figures out that you are not permanently starving it, but only fasting temporarily…your body will stop the bitching.

-You have to start slow if you have never fasted before. You have to work up to 16 hours of a fasting window. I say start with 12:12. 12 hour of fasting so 8PM to 8AM then after a month or so when you feel less hungry during your eating window then try a 10:14 fast.

Pros:

-You will lose weight. Whether you work out or not, this technique is excellent for weight loss all on it’s own.

-This takes no time at all. You are not spending hours food prepping and in the gym that day. IF is natural calorie control

Conclusion:

I still use IF today. I do it probably twice a week on my non-lifting days. It is a wonderful way to keep calorie intake low and controlled on days where your calorie expenditure is low. It’s also fabulous for the Gut to have a rest day, there has been alot of new research on the benefits of IF.

My Diet Today, as of 6/27/2024 with a 7 year old and and 9 year old

My diet is much more controlled these days. Things have slowed down and I have been able to prepare food for myself more time efficiently and I have managed to squeeze in weight-lifting as well. It took years to get on a lifting and eating schedule. As a busy full-time working mom we always put our needs last, but it will get to a point where you cannot ignore your health anymore. It got to the point where my weight was so high I was inventing excuses to not go out and be social. Refused to wear anything other than leggings and a long shirt (to cover my butt) so Texas summers were LONG and mercilessly hot. I felt constantly insecure and would take this nonsense out on my husband. It got to that boiling point until I realized that nobody was going to lose the weight for me, I had to do the work. I had to fight for my time for myself.

What has worked for me: My schedule, how I make it easy on work days.

1.) My lunch and snack foods are prepared the night before 5 AM gym workouts, so Sunday and Wednesday nights. I also check out the school lunch menu and make sure my kids are good with tray that day. If they are not then I will make their lunch along with mine.

2.) 5 AM workouts on Mondays and thursdays. I do not lift on Wednesdays, so this is my morning to sleep in to 6:25AM. My gym is 5 minutes down the road. I have my gym clothes and shoes ready in the bathroom so when the alarm goes off I just throw my stuff on, let the dog out to pee and head out without waking up my husband.

3.) I limit myself to 1 hour of lifting on Monday and Thursday. My goal is to get home by 6:30 AM to wake my kids up for school. My husband is not a morning person, he will NOT get up before 7 AM. I have tried to break this, it is something I have learned to accept.

4.) My kids are cool with quick simple breakfasts. Cereal, leftover french toast, scrambled eggs, hashbrowns, bakery muffin, pancakes, strawberries, OJ or chocolate milk. Easy and quick to warm up.

5.) While the kids eat I organize lunchboxes (mine and the kids if they are not eating tray that day). On Mondays and Thursdays this is already pre-made in the fridge.

6.) After the kids’ eat they go upstairs and get dressed and brush teeth. This is usually when my husband wakes up.

7.) By 7:20 AM my husband walks the kids to the bus stop. This is when I will go for a 3-4 mile brisk walk around the neighborhood. I do this Monday, Thursday, Wednesday and Saturday.

8.) By 8:20 I am home and I jump in the shower to rinse off, apply make-up and get dressed for work. I’m out the door by 9AM.

On My work from home days:

1.) I work from home on Tuesdays and Fridays so these are my long gym days. I sleep in till 6:25 AM and it’s the same schedule as above. When my husband walks the kids to the bus stop I head to the gym and lift from 7:30- 9:15 (I do about 20 minutes of High Intensity training in that time frame as well, usually sprints).

2.) I work from 9:30 AM to 5PM.

On My Weekends:

1.) I like to spend my time with my family on the weekends. Aside from a saturday morning 3-4 mile brisk walk or jog I don’t work out on the weekends. This is my recovery time, but also my time to work on the kids’ school work (math, reading, writing), yardwork with my husband etc.

*** So I Lift 4 days a week for at least an hour, tuesdays and fridays a bit longer

***I do Fasting Cardio in my fat-burning zone (walk) for at least an hour 4 days a week

*** I do 20 minutes of High Intensity Training (high heart rate) twice a week.

THIS HAS BEEN MY TRAINING SCHEDULE FOR THE LAST YEAR AND IT WORKS FOR ME. I definitely have days where my kids are sick or have dental or doctors appointments. Days where I am sick or my husband has an early meeting and cannot walk the kids’ to the bus stop. All of these are par for the course, they will throw you off your schedule and THAT IS OK. Get back on the schedule the next day. Life with work and kids’ is time-consuming. It’s about balance. Your instinct is to put yourself last, you have to fight the battle against yourself. It takes effort EVERYDAY, but it can be done.

What I eat, quick, easy, efficient

1.) I lift on Mondays and Thursdays and do my morning brisk walks while fasting. It works for me and does not bother me. My breakfast everyday I’m not fasting consists of 1/2 cup egg whites with spinach and some salsa, 1/4 cup oatmeal and 10 almonds. Sometimes I sub the omelette and oatmeal for a 1/2 cup of greek yogurt with fruit, cinnamon and 1/4 cup granola and a handful macadamia nuts or almonds. Overnight oats are also a fave: 1 cup almond milk, 1/2 cup oats, 2 tablespoons chia seeds and some fruit and cinnamon all mixed in a mason jar in the fridge over night. Delicious!

2.) Snack #1 is my protein, iced coffee smoothie. I use 2 scoops Gold standard protein (flavor is vanilla ice cream), 1 cup almond milk, 1/2 cup iced coffee (I use a french press and refrigerate this) Blend it up and enjoy!

3.)Lunches I keep very simple. 4 oz grilled chicken breast, lean fish fillet (Pacific Cod or Tiliapia) or 3 oz steak (my husband will grill meat in bulk on sunday nights for week long lunch prep). On lifting days I always have a complex carb usually 1/2 cup baked sweet potato mashed w/cinnamon, quinoa, whole wheat pasta or brown rice. Half my lunch is veggies. I will have a separate salad with tomato, bell pepper and banana pepper dressed in Skinny Girl balsalmic vinegarette. Or I’ll steam cauliflower, broccoli, asparagus, zucchini or squash. I use whatever veggies we made for dinner that night. My Secret weapon on non-lifting days is Miracle Noodles, zero calories and zero carb konjac pasta…heavenly. I’ll eat these with grilled chicken, throw some veggies in and add some Skinny girl Honey Dijon dressing…delish. Or I’ll add some spaghetti sauce if my husband cooked spaghetti that weak.

4.) Snack #2. My favorite snack is homemade hummus with red bell pepper strips. I LOVE IT. Or cucumber and tomato with a low calorie homemade apple cider vinegar and olive oil dressing. My long lifting days I will usually have a more protein and carby snack like 1/4 cup whole wheat pasta, 2 oz chicken with some cherry tomatoes tossed in a homemade italian vinegarette.

5.) Dinners I tend to keep simple. Whatever meat my husband grilled on Sunday night, sometimes it’s chicken, sometimes fish or a ribeye. I measure out 4 ounces and fill my plate with mostly veggies. I do cycle carbs. My lifting days I like to have more carbs throughout the day to build. On non-lifting days I take in very little to no carbs.

My advice is this. All the diets in the world are not gonna work if you don’t learn from them and implement some lifestyle changes. Losing weight and changing your physique takes work and consistency. If it was easy then everyone would do it. If you’re a mom that has just let yourself go while you raised you babies (like me) then start with baby steps and something you can stick with. Overtime, those changes will develop into habits and that’s where the real magic begins. Do NOT give up!