Reducing high blood pressure back to NORMAL without drugs and losing 55 lbs. This mom did!

Stay at home mom-of-2 Cindy Siegemund is a testament to the positive mental and physical effects that living a healthy lifestyle can have.

She has been following The Healthy Mommy 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge for 3 years (following the birth of her 1st and 2nd child) and has collectively lost a MASSIVE 55 lbs. Not only that, she has been able to reduce her high blood pressure back to NORMAL without any drugs.

The change in her body and mind has been HUGE.  She shares her weight loss journey and top tips to achieving weight loss success.

The Healthy Mommy team invited Cindy to be one of the six Healthy Mommy moms selected to take part in the Healthy Mommy’s EPIC Body Confidence photo shoot. She rocked it!

What motivated you to join The Healthy Mommy?

Cindy’s motivation to join The Healthy Mommy 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge was to lose weight, improve her health and become a good role model for her daughter. She says “I want my daughter to grow up with body confidence and self-love and this is an example I can set for her.” 

Weight loss: 55lbs (from 235 lb to 180 lb)

“It would be easy to say that my weight loss journey was the 15 lbs lost during my initial Healthy Mommy 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge but really it’s the 55 lbs lost collectively over the last 3 years and all of the delicious meals that I’ve shared with my family.”

Cindy joined her first Healthy Mommy 28 Day Challenge when her daughter was 6 months old. She lost 15 lbs in 4 weeks and then another 15 lbs over the next 8 weeks.

After her 2nd child was born she found herself suffering dizziness so she went to see her doctor who diagnosed her with high blood pressure. He advised her she would need to adjust her diet if she wanted to avoid medication. She says “This was the wake-up call I needed and I was straight back into the Healthy Mommy Challenges and increased my exercise.

I have managed to lose 22 lbs in 6 months. I am no longer experiencing any dizziness and at my recent check-up my doctor advised that my blood pressure is now back to normal.”

How have you lost the weight?

“The Healthy Mommy 28 Weight Loss Challenges provide me with easy recipes to help me lose weight and they are also nutritious for my family. 

My very first 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge taught me the basics of cooking healthy meals with easy to follow recipes. I learned about portion control and healthy food swaps.”

“No longer will I buy a jar of pre-made sauce from the supermarket (full of sugar and other unnecessary ingredients) as now I can easily make my own sauces with just a few ingredients and fresh herbs.”

What are the benefits of Healthy Mommy to you in your life?

“I’m living a life where food is not the enemy and exercise is fun.

I’ve gained knowledge of living a healthy lifestyle and I don’t feel like I’m on a diet.

Gained the energy to keep active and play with my kids.

I feel confident dressing up and I am proud to be in photos with my family.

I’ve always said this plan was the best money I ever spent as it taught me so much about how to make healthy adjustments such as portion control and still enjoy delicious food.”

How has the Healthy Mommy Challenge App helped you?

“The App has helped me with meal planning and keeping track of my calorie intake with a variety of recipes to choose from.

The exercise routines on the App are easy to follow yet effective and I can do them anywhere from my phone.”

Cindy’s top 3 tips for weight loss

1. FOOD

• Choose meals from the Challenge App that excite you and that you look forward to eating. This motivates me to make them and avoid ordering fast food.
• Take note of which meals your kids like best and repeat those meals throughout the month. When you are making their favorite meals it will motivate you to get into the kitchen. Mine love the Mexican Lasagna.
• Take turns making each family members favorite meals plus at least one new recipe to try every week.
• Make family dinners a ritual. Dinner is our family time and our ritual is a sit-down dinner at the table without screens and sharing stories about our day. I find this daily ritual keeps me motivated to cook healthy and delicious meals for dinner that my family can enjoy.

2. EXERCISE

• If you are not a gym member go for a walk or do the exercises on the Healthy Mummy App. I’ve never been a huge exercise fan and I’m definitely not a runner but I love a long walk and I enjoy the Healthy Mommy exercises in the App as I can do them at home without going to a gym.
• Change the way you view exercise. Instead of seeing it in a negative way like a chore I started to use it for reasons such as strengthening my sore back and shoulders or improving my posture.
• Combine housework with exercise. I started doing my “housework workout” where I would put on my workout clothes and play my workout music and incorporate exercise moves I’d learned from the Healthy Mommy App such as squats while emptying the dishwasher and hanging laundry, strengthening my posture and core while vacuuming and mopping, work out the arms while cleaning the bathroom and shower.
• Remember to keep your core engaged and shoulders back. Keeping my core engaged and shoulders back and I could still feel the benefits of a workout plus my house is clean.

3. MIND

• Set goals for the month and check them daily.
• Make sure goals are achievable and not always about the number on the scales. eg it might be going 28 days without ordering take out or 28 days without soda.
• Get to know your weaknesses and set goals to overcome them. eg my weakness is cravings around that time of the month. I prep some Healthy Mommy chocolate snacks and my meal plan usually consists of the ‘fake-aways’ such as homemade pizza, burgers, nachos.
• Take into consideration what events you have on during that time such as vacations or birthdays. These need to be realistic goals so that you can still enjoy life. e.g. When I am traveling I love eating at restaurants so my husband and I will often get one meal to share to help with portion control.

The Healthy Mommy team would like to congratulate Cindy for taking control of her health and being one of the six Healthy Mommy moms selected to take part in the Healthy Mommy’s EPIC Body Confidence photo shoot.

Are you ready to become a Healthy Mommy?