Weight loss--The secret that isn't really a secret

I'm trying not to make this blog "all Caroline all the time" but sometimes, that's just my world. (And I'm great with that!) However, I had a light bulb moment recently and I thought I would share it. It seriously is not earth shattering, but if you have the epiphany like I did, hopefully it will help!

I am not a healthy eater. I am not great at committing to long-term exercise. I am not great at saying no to foods I shouldn't be eating regularly. These are things I have always strived for, but haven't quite had the self-control to do. Up until I got married, I didn't have to worry much about dieting or even just eating right.

However, since Caroline had such a rough start with her reflux problems, I was forced to go on a special diet for babies with protein allergies. I wasn't allowed any dairy products (milk, ice cream, CHEESE (holy moly), butter, etc, etc), Soy (EVERYTHING has soy in it in some form), nuts, eggs, or beef. Most people ask, what CAN you eat? Well...Fruits, Veggies, Chicken, and pasta/rice. And, that's about it.

I hated it from the beginning. It was a constant frustration to look on a package and see soybean oil (on everything!), or butter, or milk, or eggs... It's impossible to go out to eat at restaurants. I really feel for people with food allergies. It is tough!

As I researched more and more, I was able to find products I could eat. Instead of butter, olive oil. Instead of dairy ice cream, coconut milk ice cream. Instead of Mrs. Baird's bread, fresh bread from the bakery. Instead of ground beef, ground turkey.

But, I started to notice that the things I couldn't eat had one other particular thing in common. Basically any processed food has one or more of those ingredients. I can have almost anything that is fresh. I have been forced to cook things in a more "whole foods" perspective, rather than a semi-homemade way... And, guess what? I have lost my baby weight and more. I know breastfeeding has a lot to do with this, because of the amount of calories I am burning daily. But, avoiding high calorie restaurant meals and processed foods has made the weight just melt away.

So, here is my epiphany:
(**I made up the numbers just for illustration purposes. There is no validity to them aside from me using them to explain what I think.)

If you want to lose weight, avoid processed foods. I'm not saying to get on my crazy diet. But, if you focus most of your grocery list on the produce and fresh foods sections like I have had to, you will be able to lose weight. And fast.

Here's my other epiphany. Exercise is SO important. (duh). BUT, Diet comes first. I think of it as 75% diet and 25% exercise. If you just diet, you will lose weight fairly easily. If you add exercise on top of that, it will compound those calories lost and propel you up to that optimum 100% level.

So many times, I see people who exercise regularly not losing weight. It always puzzled me until now. If you exercise, but still eat what you want, it's likely you just aren't going to be offsetting the calories enough.

So, I am not an expert. Or a dietitian. Or a personal trainer. All of those people probably want to strangle me right now. But, I'm me, and I found something that worked. Hopefully I helped someone to have that "a-ha" moment just like I did.

Good Luck!