Name: Julie Cazier
Age: 41
Height: 5 feet, 9 inches
Before Weight: 210 pounds
How I Gained It: For me, gaining weight had a lot to do with eating
large portion sizes, going for second helpings and making poor food choices, all which led to most of my weight gain.
I was also fairly inactive. While I would take an occasional walk, overall I was basically sedentary. Overeating and inactivity were the major contributors to my weight gain, but there was also the
pregnancy factor. I would gain weight with each pregnancy, but not
lose any weight between them. By the time I was 38 years old, I had ballooned to 210 pounds.
Breaking Point: I was at a point where I was unhappy with how I looked and felt, but completely overwhelmed by the amount of weight I had to lose. I wanted to have energy to run around with my kids, but I would usually just sit and watch them play.
Then, one day I saw my reflection in a full length mirror and I hardly recognized the overweight, puffy woman I had become. It was at that moment that I pledged to myself I would lose the weight, get healthy and be the active wife and mom that I desired to be.
How I Lost It: Losing weight was hard work, but it was never complicated. I didn't join a gym or buy fancy exercise equipment, and I didn't use a
special diet. Instead, I decided to get active as a habit of life, and I began exercising every day to workout videos in my living room. And, as it turns out -- I loved it! I got an excellent workout at home, all while having my family nearby. I tried all kinds of workouts -- I did things like
kickboxing,
walking,
step,
dance and
stability ball exercises. Everything I tried was fun, and I loved the convenience of exercising at home.
Once I started working out, the weight started to come off and that's when I began to pay more attention to what I was eating.
Junk foods and highly processed foods no longer appealed to me -- I started filling my plate with real, whole foods and I started sticking to normal-sized portions. I also kept a
food journal, and I used it to keep track of calories. After a while, I was able to estimate the calories in the foods I was eating pretty well, so I didn't worry about obsessively weighing and measuring my foods. I decided that as long as I took a reasonable portion, I could eat anything I wanted.
Eventually, my new, healthy habits became part of my life, and within about six months I had lost the weight. Once I was at my goal weight, I was happy to become pregnant with our seventh child. After our baby was born, the pregnancy weight I gained came off easily, thanks to my new lifestyle.
Daily exercise and healthy eating are a continual habit for me, and they seem to naturally allow me to maintain the weight I prefer. I am now fit and healthy, and I can truly say that -- as a 41-year-old mom of seven -- I'm in the best shape of my life. Losing weight, getting fit and taking care of my health have allowed me to achieve the most important goal of my life: To be the best wife and mom that I can be.
After Weight: 145 pounds
Julie has maintained her weight loss for over a year.
Even famous mommies have a hard time getting back in shape after pregnancy. Click on the gallery below to find out how the stars slim down post-baby.
http://xml.channel.aol.com/xmlpublisher/fetch.v2.xml?option=expand_relative_urls&dataUrlNodes=uiConfig,feedConfig,localizationConfig,entry&id=820097&pid=820096&uts=1277322105
http://www.aolcdn.com/ke/media_gallery/v1/ke_media_gallery_wrapper.swf
How Famous Moms Lose Baby Weight
Michael Kovac, FilmMagic
Getty Images North America
Celebrity Moms Weight Loss
By Jennifer Fields,Vicki Salemi and Christina Parrella
Nicole Richie gained an estimated 35 pounds, which is a healthy, normal amount for expectant moms, while pregnant with son Sparrow James Midnight Madden. Richie admitted that while pregnant with her second child, she had late-night fast food cravings. Us Weekly reported that she would send boyfriend Joel Madden out to pick up In-N-Out Burger at 2 or 3 a.m.
Celebrity Moms Weight Loss
While she may have given into pregnancy cravings, Nicole Richie traded in burgers for sushi soon after giving birth to Sparrow. The swap paid off, because shortly after her son was born in September, Richie was spotted looking slim and trim. While Richie hasn't spoken on how she shed the post-baby pounds so quickly, she credited her weight loss after having daughter Harlow in 2008 to breastfeeding and eating "bland" foods, like soup and fish. Us Weekly also notes that regular Pilates classes helped Richie slim down.
Celebrity Moms Weight Loss
Voted FHM's Sexiest Woman in the World in 2007, Jessica Alba admitted in an interview with Cosmopolitan UK that during her pregnancy she's never felt less sexy and couldn't wait to lose all her baby weight. Jessica gained 25 pounds while pregnant and said she craved all food in general but told Fit Pregnancy that she had a sudden desire for citrus based foods like lemonade and oranges.
Celebrity Moms Weight Loss
How did Jessica Alba manage to look so slim shortly after giving birth to her daughter Honor Marie? "I wore a girdle," the star confessed in a recent issue of Elle. "Eight weeks after my girlfriend had her baby, you could see her six-pack. She told me to put an elastic band around my waist -- any kind of band or girdle works."
The actress did, however, have to hit the gym to shape up to shoot Club Campari's annual calendar. "[The workouts] were horrible," she told the magazine.
It was reported in People that Jessica shed the baby weight on celebrity trainer Ramona Braganza's 321 Baby Bulge Be Gone plan. On it, Jessica opted for a low-fat, low-carb diet and worked out with her trainer six days a week.
Celebrity Moms Weight Loss
You'd think there would be no surprises after having four kids, but supermodel Heidi Klum is still amazed at how her body changes during pregnancy. "The last month is unbelievable, how rapidly your stomach goes. It's huge," Klum told Page Six magazine. "The thighs, the butt -- everything explodes in the end." Klum told People she continued eating a clean diet that was light on carbs throughout her pregnancy.
Celebrity Moms Weight Loss
Klum has reportedly been eating sensibly and working out in order to get back into shape. "I wouldn't say I'm back in shape yet. Everything changes when you get older. It was different when I was 31 with the first one and now being 36 with the fourth one." Klum famously walked the runway for the Victoria's Secret fashion show less than two months after having son Henry in 2005, and just hit the catwalk again -- only six weeks after giving birth to new daughter, Lou.
Celebrity Moms Weight Loss
During her pregnancy with twins Dolly and Charlie, Rebecca Romijn told Page Six Magazine, "I can't move anymore...I'm a beached whale!" According to her husband, Jerry O'Connell, the supermodel and "Ugly Betty" star reportedly craved "a lot of ice cream."
Celebrity Moms Weight Loss
Just one month after giving birth, Romijn was spotted looking svelte while out and about in Calabasas, Calif. wearing a form-fitting top and yoga pants.
Celebrity Moms Weight Loss
Carrying twins is no small task, though Jennifer Lopez, our favorite Bronx-born songstress managed to do it in style -- even after reportedly gaining over 40 pounds.
Celebrity Moms Weight Loss
It was widely reported that Lopez began construction on a gym for her New York home before the babies were even born. After she got the okay from her doctor, the new mom began intense workouts with celeb trainer Gunnar Peterson that included cardio and strength-training using her own body weight as resistance. Jennifer also has been said to have avoided red meat and eaten four mini-meals a day that consisted of fruit, raw vegetables and lean protein. Another slimming secret: Ordering from Fresh Mommy, an all-natural food-delivery program for expectant or new moms.
Celebrity Moms Weight Loss
Ready to lose weight? Get inspired with our real-life
success stories!
How Many Calories Will You Burn Doing Chores This Weekend?
Dylan Armajani: Run Past Your Goals and Find Yourself
Posted on Jun 21st 2010 10:00AM by Martha Edwards
