How I lost 17 lbs in less than 6 weeks

Update:  Over a year later and I haven’t gained any weight back.  BAM.  Loved the program.
First off.  I have to tell you how embarrassed I am posting these pictures of myself in a swimsuit.  I’m a modest one piece wearer so to be in a bikini is super weird.  And skinny or not… it’s just weird…  So know that I know that this all a little awkward.  Plus, I don’t feel like my body is ready for the “after” picture just yet… I’ve still got some serious toning to do!  I couldn’t keep it a secret any longer though so this’ll just have to do!
Secondly.  I wouldn’t be posting these results if I didn’t feel the love and support from all my family and friends.  I have been bombarded with emails and facebook messages asking how in the world I’ve lost so much weight.  Well… it wasn’t a walk in the park that’s for sure!  Hopefully though, I can answer everyones questions and curiosities!  So if you’re interested keep on reading.
My journey in loosing weight has honestly been a nightmare.  I wish I could blame it on my babies, but in all reality it’s not their fault.  When Boston was born I got back into great shape.  I had all the time in the world to exercise and eat right.  Then baby number two came my way and I suddenly found myself having absolutely zero time for myself.  I started eating whatever the heck I could to stay alive… cough cough processed foods that were super easy to just pull out of the cupboard and binge on and like I was going to wake up at 6 am to exercice when I’d been up at 12 and 3am feeding the newborn the night before.  It just wasn’t going to happen.  So I never lost the baby weight.  And my eating habits kept getting worse and worse.  I literally didn’t recognize my body in the mirror.  So I’d start dieting and working out.  I started insanity like ten different times.  And I started eating better… at least for a couple months… until I’d get frustrated with myself.  I just wasn’t seeing results fast enough and it was making me crazy.  All this effort I was making, all these sacrifices I was making and I had nothing to show for it.
I was beginning to get really discouraged.  I got into this cycle where I’d try so hard and then because I was seeing no results, I’d be like, what the heck!  This isn’t worth all the effort!
Then one day, I was perusing a few of my favorite blogs and came upon my friend Maryam’s before and after photos.  I thought to myself, whatever the crap she’s doing I’m getting on it.  Like today.
And so I did.  And it was hands down one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.
Zero photoshop.  And don’t mind the pasty white… I know I could use some sun!
It’s amazing how seeing results can keep you motivated!
Okay okay already, what did you do?!  It’s called Medifast – I’m sure many of you have heard of it before.  It’s basically a 5 and 1 program.  Every 2-3 hours you eat a meal replacement and 1 time a day you have a lean and green meal that you make yourself which consists of 5-7 ounces of a lean protein and 1.5 cups of veggies.
This program was perfect for me because I am so busy during the day with my kids that to spend 30 minutes every three hours in the kitchen to make a healthy meal is impossible.  Whatever.  I’m at the park with my kids or putting them down for their naps, or trying to get them to eat!  And in the process, I’m binging on left over Cheetos and snacking on Boston’s chicken nuggets he’s not eating.  These are bars, shakes, oatmeal, pancakes, soups, smoothies, brownies etc.. that you can eat on the go.  Would I have preferred to home make everything I was eating?  Sure.  But like I stated above — I just didn’t have the time or the patience.  I loved that I didn’t even have to think about it.  Every three hours I just ate what I was told to eat and I started loosing weight.  Every night I’d grill some fish and have a salad or vegetable, or the program comes with a secret facebook page invite and you have access to tons of super yummy recipes (like the ones you’ve seen pictures of on my instagram).  This diet was possible for me because the guess work was taken completely out of the equation.  I had plenty of energy to play with my kids and I wasn’t hungry!
You start loosing weight immediately.  I lost 5 pounds the first week, mostly water weight, and then my body went into fat burning mode and I started loosing 2 pounds of fat per week.  Obviously results vary.  Because you’re doing one lean and green meal every day you learn new recipes and new ways to cook and eat healthy food.  There is a fabulous book that comes with the program that’s honestly changed my life.  Transitioning back to real food was easy and you have a mentor every step of the way incase you need help or encouragement.  By the time you’re ready for real food again, you’ve learned certain habits that will help you keep the weight off for good.  No yo-yo dieting.
I don’t mind calling this a diet, because that’s what it is.  But it’s also a lifestyle change.  I’ve started focusing on vegetables and lean proteins.  I try to steer clear of dairy and anything processed.  Everything in moderation though for me so I’m not 100%.  I’ve been learning so much about nutrition and what’s healthy for my body and what isn’t.  I am so much healthier now that I have ever been.
I saw results fast.  Those results motivated me.  And now I’m on my way to living a healthier life.  I feel like the effort I make now actually makes a difference.

It’s $330 a month for all the food and average weight loss is ten pounds per month.  So if you have 20 pounds to lose, you’d do it for 2 months — just an estimate of course.  If you’re interested in getting started I would love to help you order your food and get everything set up.  If you let me help you I can get you 28 free meals and free shipping so don’t go ordering on your own!  Email me at twistmepretty (at) gmail (dot) com and I can help you get started —  please only email me though if you’re serious about getting started!

I can’t tell you enough how happy this program has made me.  Loosing weight, especially you busy moms, sometimes feels impossible.  Whether you have 10 pounds, 30 pounds, or 200 pounds, this program can help you.  It’ll transform your body but it will also give you the tools you need to keep the weight off and to lead a healthier life.

Abby Smith

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82 thoughts on “How I lost 17 lbs in less than 6 weeks

  1. You say this is great for nursing moms, I’ve done Medifast previously and there is NO way you can maintain a milk supply on 1200 calories a day. Maybe you mean moms who aren’t nursing newborns or exclusively?

  2. It worked for you. You look amazing. Will everyone get same results? It depends on how religiously one follow the program. I have not tried it yet though.

  3. I have the same pear shape and size as you at starting and I am not sure how much weight I should lose. The lowest I was was 125-130 with moderate exercise and cutting portions(about the same size you are in the after pics). You look great If you don’t mind saying what is your current weight? Then I know what a healthy goal weight is! Thanks

  4. Look into veganism! You won’t have to restrict your calories like you are now and you won’t be contributing to the billions of deaths caused by animal agriculture!

  5. I wanted to share a little about my Medifast experience. I lost 30lbs in the first 4 weeks. I had 100+ to lose so it’s legit. Within that time I started to experience gallbladder problems. This problem eventually led to me having to have my gallbladder out. I share because I learned this is common with those who lose weight rapidly through burning fat. Since my body was burning fat for every so fast it compiled gallstones in my gallbladder. I talked to many people who had weight loss surgery or did Medifast and experienced the same thing. So yes, Medifast will help you burn calories fast as lightening without having to think about it much, but if you begin to get stomach cramps etc see a Dr ASAP because it may be a very serious gallbladder issue. Just be aware that you may need to have it removed (I tried homeopathic remedies to cleanse my gallbladder but it was too full. It helped with short term pain but not a long term solution.) I wouldn’t have known what was going on without my friend who had experienced the pain before. Happy weightlessness 🙂

  6. My parents did Medifast about five years ago and lost about 90 pounds each. My mom has gained ten pounds back in the last five years, but, honestly, she looks great and is so healthy. And that is still 80 pounds lost. They really do treat it as a lifestyle change, and the mentors are fantastic. Awesome program. They teach you about healthy food choices, not “diets.” Congratulations, you look awesome. 🙂

  7. I am so grateful I stumbled upon this post. I love your blog, but this makes me love it more! I have been toying with the idea of doing this program for months. Your feelings before are exactly how I feel. It’s convinced me that I definitely need to do it to help me change my view on my body and my health. Thanks!

  8. You look great, but I’m not going to order anyone else’s prepackaged food. I’d rather spend a day in the kitchen making things LIKE the prepackaged food, but not having to pay the price for it. PLUS, I’ll know what is in the food I’m eating. I’m glad you’ve had such success with this plan, but I really thought that this would be a blog with recipes on it. I don’t want to pay for pre-made food.

    1. Hey Julia! I totally understand where you’re coming from. Prepackaged food wasn’t something I was too excited about either. But hey, it worked and I’m really happy I did it. Definitely not for everyone though. If only I had time to spend a whole day in the kitchen but as a stay-at-home mom who works full-time at nights I just didn’t have that luxury. I also just wanted to say that I’m not a food blog. I will occasionally share recipes we love but I mostly do hair, beauty and fashion. I shared my results with my readers because they were interested, but I wasn’t the one who put it up on Pinterest with the caption “Meal plan for breast feeding moms”. Someone else repinned it and changed what I had written, so I’m really sorry you thought it was something else. I’m sure though, that there are other bloggers who have plans and recipes for you to follow. Good luck on your journey!

  9. I would love to get some info on this program! I realize how busy people get bit I would love to hear from you.

  10. Idk y all of u are so gullible. This isn’t even the same person in the before and after pics. That’s y the girl in the before pic is covering her face. This is so fake

    1. haha, I could see why you would think that. But it’s real. We moved so the room is different, but it’s clearly the same swim suit and definitely the same person. I covered my face because I was so embarrassed.

    2. She has (almost invisible) moles in the same places. So I don’t think it’s fake! (I know you could fake moles, but you would make them more obvious if you did.)

  11. My mom and I struggle with putting effort into working out but never seeing results. We would love to try this! It’s hard to stay motivated and not seeing any results!

  12. I hate the whole excersice thing! So lame! I have a question about this though, after you finish losing the weight you want to lose do you have to keep eating the food that you buy from them?

  13. oh my goodness! I am emailing you RIGHT now! I want to know everything about this program! You look amazing.

  14. I’ve been following you blog for a little while now, and I seriously love it!!! You look awesome, you looked great before you lost the 17 lbs. I’ll have to look at the website and see if it’s for me because I have a 7 month old and it’s been really hard to lose the weight.

  15. I am SO glad I can upon this post! Wow, you look fantastic. I’ve recently (2 weeks ago) started back on p90 to get back into shape. I’d say my body now looks like your before photos (I also have 2 kids, 6 & 4) and I love how you look in the after pics, you look thin and healthy. Many people I see that lose weight quickly don’t always end up looking that great. Anyways, even though I’ve been pretty consistant with the p90, I’m not eating as healthily as I should even though I “try”. I can’t wait to try this out and see how it works for me!
    Thanks 🙂

  16. Wow Abby.. The transformation with zero excersize is incredible. My mom started this a couple weeks ago but still excersizes… I would go the non excersize route . Anyway congrats. You look great and I’m sure you feel awesome. Way to go!!

  17. Oh my gosh you look seriously fantastic! Congratulations! I’ve been toying with going paleo because of some weird issues I’ve been having but haven’t committed completely because it looks hard 🙂 I’m excited to see some recipes!

    1. Agreed, she really does look fantastic! I’ve been concerned about trying diets like the 5 and 1 kind Abby used though because the thing about diets is that any changes you make need to be changes you can maintain over a long period of time. And a restricted, structured diet like a 5 and 1 usually gives you just short-temr, temporary results. Actually, studies show you’ll often end up even HEAVIER using such diets.

      I’ve been having much more success simply focusing on developing habits that promote an overall healthy lifestyle. That tends to be how any truly successful weight loss plan works. In fact, check out the following article that does a wonderful job of explaining the key factors in an effective, long-term weight loss strategy: fatfreeme.net/big5

      1. Hi Leah!! I definitely agree with the fact that lifestyle changes in the long run produce results that stick. For me though I had a healthy lifestyle and just couldn’t get weight off. Once I did it was smooth sailing because I already knew how to eat and be healthy. Although I will say, getting in the habit of 6 small meals a day was amazing for me. The diet really did help reset my clock, I loved it!

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