Hi Momma!

I’d like to start this post by saying that the subject line is deceiving. I do not feel overweight and never really have been BUT I am a foodie and have always struggled with staying in shape long term. You know, those 15-20 pounds that always creep up and then I have to wheel it back in. I also had my second baby 7 months ago and we all know our precious bundles come with some extra love on our bodies.

Secondly and most importantly, I am NOT a Coach (nor have intentions to be one), Personal Trainer, Nutritionist or a licensed health professional! I am not trying to sell you anything and nothing shown here is part of any kind of sponsorship or ad.

I am just a mom who is genuinely sharing what has worked for ME time and time again and hope to provide some motivation for you to do the same :). Having said that, please consult with a health professional before trying any kind of workouts or diets.

Okay, now onto business. As mentioned above, I am a foodie- A hardcore one. This girl can EAT and unfortunately, I am not one of those lucky girls that can do so and not gain weight (like one of my very best friend, MT -rolling eyes lol). So when things get out of control, I have to work hard to get the extra LB’s off. Hence why I call myself “Forever Gordita”.

I have tried it all; Cabbage Soup Diet, South Beach Diet, Atkins, Paleo, 21 Day Fix, NutriSystem, good ol’ salads and “clean eating” and I have even done Jenny Craig! I’m pretty sure I am missing some but you get the point. They all work, if you do them right. Some are healthier choices than other but I am going to talk about what has worked for me with fast and consistent results for the past 5 years and that is Carb Cycling.

The idea behind the diet is that when you interchange the amount of carbs you intake daily, it confuses your hypothalamus which causes your metabolism to speed up. <I found this on Google and it is TRUE. So during the week, we have days that are High Carb (HC), then Low Carb (LC) then Medium Carb (MC) etc. Our “DAY 1” has always been a Monday not because I believe Mondays is the only day to start a diet like most people think, but because we work Monday-Friday so we like our Cheat Meals to land on Saturdays.

First, you need to determine the amount of calories you need in order to maintain your current weight. To do this, head to Google and type Macros Calculator and use any of the links. It is important to choose “maintain” because this will be your intake on HC Days. The results will show the amount of Carbs, Protein and Fat you will need based on your age, weight, height and level of activity.

Then, you will want to download an app that will help you track your daily macros intake. The one we use is called My Fitness Pal by Under Armour but there are a ton of other apps that are similar.

Now that we know the amounts for HC Days you can calculate MC Days by reducing your carbs by 50% and LC Days by 75%.

For example: I am 31 years old, 5’5 height and Active. My Macros call for 2117 calories (227 g of Carbs, 143g of Protein and 71g of Fat). This is my HC Day!

For MC Day I eat 110g of carbs and on LC Day I eat 45g of Carbs. Makes sense?

Here is a chart with the meals we do because they are easy for us to prep but you can interchange the proteins with chicken, fish, turkey, lean steak or any lean protein and for Carbs you can do Rice Cakes, Wheat Bread or RYE, Brown Rice, Potatoes or any complex carb you’d like. For Fruit I like to go with any kind of berries.

Now on Saturdays I put in the chart only 1 cheat because that is what we did at first but honestly, we have never done less than 2 cheat meals. Seriously, it will not make a difference! Take these 2 meals and satisfy any and ALL cravings you’ve had all week!

The diet is for a total of 12 weeks but coming out of pregnancy and having some pretty drastic goals, it has taken me longer to achieve my goal but at 12 weeks, I had lost a total of 25 lbs to give you perspective.

Here are the only before pictures I am able to post out on the Internet to keep things appropriate haha. This is what I was left with after losing the natural water weight after birth.

And here is where I am at now. Well, a little over 2 weeks ago when I started to write this post and snapped this picture.

Abs are starting to show up!

So sorry for the long read! Wanted to make things detailed but not overwhelming. I will be adding more posts providing tips on prepping your meals to set yourself up for success, tips on how to stay focused, what products we use and will be sharing what I do for workouts as well.

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I truly hope this helps you have a different perspective on dieting!

Comment below or DM on Instagram (@lismarie_lifestyle) with any questions you might have! I am truly here to help YOU!

Xx,