Having a baby does "great" things to your body...NOT! During my labour I tore 4 times, and one of those was on the outside! (I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, Marlee Talavou Ochsenbein, in Monterey CA) Not sure really how I tore 4 times, but all I know is that the healing process...SUCKS! 6 weeks on TOP of the already awaited 6 weeks! Can you imagine having to WAIT for 12 weeks!~ Not fun! 
I started my journey to lose weight back in December of 2012. I decided to join a "Biggest Loser" challenge with my friends. The accountability to send in my weight weekly was just what I needed to keep on track! Then the challenge ended. (Don't you hate it when that happens!) So I decided to try and do it on my own. 
For those of you who don't know me I played sports growing up, mainly Soccer, Basketball and my personal favorite, Volleyball! So being part of a team was what motivated me to stay active and fit. This is something I didn't grasp until this last past month.) SO, despite my efforts to try and lose weight, I kept going back to my old ways. I decided to start something new! 

1. I downloaded a "Tracking" app : "Lose It"
   -It works great for me because there are challenges on the app that hold me accountable for logging in my food intake and my weight. 
2. Find a workout buddy! 
   -My husband and I decided to go to a nearby gym together. This I love because I don't have to worry about waiting for someone to get there, I can just wake him up and we can go together. Also it's much cheaper! (This is always a plus!) 
   -Unfortunately my husband isn't always available to work out the same time as me, SO a goal of mine is to find another "workout buddy". 
3. Accountability! 
   -I contacted one of my close friends, and asked her if I could record my weight and send it to her every Monday to keep me accountable for my weekly progress. Unfortunately I'm not the best at remembering to send the weigh, or take a picture of my scale every Monday morning, so that is my second goal. 
4. GOALS! 
  -I decided to pick ONE goal every day and to try and accomplish at least that one goal for the day. Once I have I can feel that sense of accomplishment! Baby steps are always steps forward! :) 
  -As for "Long-term" goals, I try to keep them as much "short-term" as possible. I like to have easy goals to reach so that my motivation can be boosted! 
5. Allowing myself to NOT be perfect! 
  -We all have our BAD days, so why not accept it now and just make sure to know and remember to start again as soon as you fall off! Remember we are all humans and we all make mistakes! If you fall, PICK YOURSELF BACK UP!!! The only crime would to be to let yourself keep falling! 
6. Support! 
   -Nothing succeeds more then someone with a good support system behind them! I am very lucky to have a wonderful husband who supports me and a family who is behind me 110% of the way! I am blessed with this factor. Unfortunately not everyone is as blessed with those aspects as I was. Everyone has someone out there! Find them, get to know them, befriend them, love them, forgive them, do what it takes to build your support system!! 
  -One thing I KNOW for sure is, if you DON'T support those you love, they will NOT support you!  So SUPPORT THOSE YOU LOVE!!! 
7. Resources! 
   -You can't really eat healthy if you don't know how to shop for healthy food
   -You can't really workout if you don't have the right equipment/clothing!
   -You can't really drink all the water you need if you don't have clean water, or the right tools to hold the water!
   -BASICALLY, get into the habit of buying healthy foods, getting the right equipment (Even if it's just new shoes/or a simple T-shirt and shorts) Get a water bottle (These are CHEAP) and  keep track of your activity during the day!!! 
8. BE POSITIVE: 
   -Ask anyone, if you have a negative attitude towards working out, eating healthy, losing weight, YOU WON'T DO ANY OF THEM SUCCESSFULLY!!! 
   -Being positive allows your brain to open up new rooms called the "Appreciation rooms" These rooms are full of compliments, good things, accomplishments in your life!  ....
STAY IN THIS ROOM!! If you linger to the "Depreciation room" Then you'll get lost in your own negative aura! 
  -Simple...BE POSITIVE! 
9. MOST IMPORTANT!! FOLLOW THROUGH WITH YOUR GOALS!! 
- This is probably the most important because your goals cannot be achieved if you're sitting on your butt all day!!! GO GET THINGS DONE!!!  
10. Be YOURSELF!
   -Just because your friend can lose weight one way doesn't mean your a loss cause if you can't do it the same way. Everyone works DIFFERENTLY...did you hear me? DIFFERENTLY!!! So compare to YOURSELF no one else! 

Hope you enjoyed my tips!! Wish me luck on #9! :)