I got tired of having to squeeze into my jeans, and no girl in her right mind should ever sport a camel toe. I decided to take action.

Why is this relevant in a photography blog? Two reasons:

1. Models always ask me how to lose weight; and
2. The exercise and weight loss spiked my creativity and motivation to shoot.

Legal Disclaimer: While I am not a nutritionist or licensed in any way, shape, or form to dispense medical advice, I will tell you how I lost the weight. I’ll save this as my own motivational reference, but you should talk to your doctor before starting any weight loss program.

1. Sleep

I know this is hard for some of you multi-taskerbaters, but this is a crucial element for weight loss. After a little research, I’ve discovered the magic number for weight loss: 7.5 hours of rest. Prior to this experiment, I could not squeeze in more than 5.25 hours of sleep—no wonder I gained weight.

2. Count Calories

Do you realize what you’re shoveling in your mouth everyday? I had an idea but almost fell out of my chair when I created a spreadsheet and entered all the calories I consumed each day. When you have a visual representation of the foods you eat, you can eliminate some or all of your bad habits. For example, I easily consumed 3,000 calories a day and found ways to shave off a few calories from my diet: I had to stop eating dessert, put down the Dorito’s and Coke, and lay off my Lifesavers addiction (yes, the candy).

Also, stop drinking your calories. I eventually moved from Coke to Vitamin Water, but then stopped drinking that once I read the label–it contains way too many sugars, and at 150 calories a bottle, you could easily drink 300-450 of that refreshing beverage. Furthermore, I shaved off calories by switching from half & half in my daily iced coffee to skim milk. I did not make all of these changes at once, but rather, one vice at a time. I still get my Chipotle fix, but instead of having it for lunch AND dinner, well, you get the point.

In order to find out how many calories you need for your basic metabolic rate (e.g. eating, breathing) and how many calories you need to limit in order to lose weight, try a calorie calculator. That process takes time and involves a little bit of math, but the proof is in the pudding. Mmm…pudding.

3. Drink H2O

It is incredibly challenging to go from drinking minimal water a day to drinking 8 glasses of water everyday, but this is essential to weight loss. Water flushes out the toxins in your body and breaks up those fatty particles. Douse your water with lemon if you have to, but I promise you’ll get used to the flavor (or lack thereof).

4. Exercise

I chose to run a 5K as an initial milestone and purchased a pedometer to track at least walk 10,000 steps a day. 10,000 steps is a relatively easy goal, but you do have to make time since it goes over the suggested 30-minute cardio workout. Incorporating exercise into your daily routine certainly requires a level of adjustment to your schedule, but it is essential for weight loss.

I lost eight pounds and look forward to more energized photoshoots and bursts of creativity. Share your personal fitness goals here!

Chris and I after the Wall Street 5K

Photo by Nikolai Pozdniakov