Have you seen Jessica's Weight Watchers commercials?
She's not exactly known for her vision or intellectual prowess. To be honest, I've enjoyed some giggles at Jessica Simpson's expense over the years. I mean, let's just review, shall we?
"Twenty-three is old. It's almost 25, which is like almost mid-20s."
"Sorry, I don't eat buffalo." (Her response when someone offered her buffalo wings.)
"Is this chicken, what I have, or is this fish? I know it's tuna, but it says 'Chicken of the Sea.' "
"Platypus? I thought it was pronounced platymapus. Has it always been pronounced platypus?"
Ahhhh, good times. I mean, who knows whether it's true ditziness or a unique way to get media attention. The point is, silly old Jessica has never exactly been the role model type.
And I've never exactly been the celebrity loving type, but I have to admit, I am impressed with Jessica Simpson. In a culture that expects women to be "skinny pregnant," with sculpted arms and legs and the perfect basketball belly, and then to look nineteen years old just weeks or months after giving birth, Jessica's baby weight journey has been real, honest, and healthy.
Jessica was slammed in the media during her first pregnancy for gaining over 60 pounds. It happens! People gain a lot of weight in pregnancy—I gained 50 in my first—but it's not healthy, and it's not exactly a "fun project" to carve away at those extra pounds in baby's first couple of years. I can tell you that from personal experience.
Then—BAM—Jessica was knocked up again! Barely recovered from her first and already expecting her second. She hasn't revealed her total weight gain in her second pregnancy—not that it's anyone's business—but she has admitted, "I didn't gain as much weight in my second pregnancy, but I still gained a lot of weight."
Big deal. Plenty of celebrities claim to have gained a ton of weight during pregnancy, but miraculously reappear, all bones and boobs, just weeks after delivery, so infuriatingly nonchalant . . . "what, I've lost weight? Oh, I hadn't really noticed."
Case in point: Heidi Klum modelling at the Victoria's Secret fashion show, five weeks postpartum. I cry for the pints of ice cream she should have been eating in the five weeks after giving birth.
Since having her second baby, Jessica intimated: "Any woman dealing with their body after pregnancy, you look at yourself and you're like, 'What just happened to me?'" She admits she has lost about 50 pounds since giving birth. That's no small achievement. It's not Jessica's weight loss that gets my stamp of approval. It's her candidness. You and I, reader, we've had babies. We know losing the baby weight is not a walk in the park. Hearing a celebrity, especially a celebrity endorsing a diet product, admit what we know to be true is just so freaking refreshing.
Honesty? In Hollywood? Did hell freeze over? If only more celebs would be honest about the work that goes into maintaining those lean physiques.
So, how has she lost those 50 pounds? That's the thing. There's not much to it.
As the Weight Watchers spokesperson, Jessica claims she got started after baby with their two-week Simple Start program, which is smartphone-based and uses social badges, daily encouragement, and meal planning and tracking to help people get into a weight loss routine. It's no secret that celebrities don't necessarily use the products they endorse. Who knows whether Jessica actually downloaded the Simple Start app and used it, or whether the folks at Weight Watchers briefed her on it and set up a bunch of PR events. Regardless, what is she actually eating?
Jessica revealed she eats five low-calorie, reduced-carbohydrate meals per day. For example:
• Breakfast: Green smoothie consisting of grapes, pears, avocado, spinach, lime juice, and yogurt.
• Mid-morning snack: Turkey with apple slices.
• Lunch: “Brown smoothie” made with espresso, Stevia, whey protein powder, and chia seed powder.
• Afternoon snack: Celery with a tablespoon of peanut butter.
• Dinner: Grilled steak and spinach salad with extra-virgin olive oil dressing.
Pretty disciplined. But probably quite accurate. Loaded with veggies and protein, and light on carbohydrates.
As for workouts, Jessica has been training with celebrity trainer Harley Pasternak for years now. His approach includes full-body circuit training with cardio intervals. Also not earth-shattering. She exercises a very doable 3-5 times per week. That actually sounds . . . human.
Want to drop the baby weight like Jessica? This is one celeb program that is doable and legit:
- First, if you are breastfeeding, be sure to eat to your appetite and consume no fewer than 1,800 calories per day (recommended by the International La Leche League for maintaining milk supply), plus drink plenty of fluids to stay well hydrated.
- Prioritize protein and healthy fats at every meal and snack, and try never to consume a carbohydrate source without combining it into a mini-meal or meal to avoid blood sugar spikes and crashes.
- Cut processed foods and simple carbohydrates, such as breads, bagels, pasta, white rice, cereal, fried foods, alcohol, juice, and (obviously, I hope) sweets and soda, to a bare minimum. This might mean limiting yourself to certain beloved treats on certain days of the week or occasions, like a bagel with lox at Sunday brunch, but eggs and veggies the other six days . . . perhaps no nighttime snacks on the average evening, but some popcorn for your Friday family movie. Don't obsess, just be honest about which foods should be daily fuel and which should be special experiences.
- Perform full-body strength training—even 10-15 minute workouts are proven to be effective if done regularly—most days of the week, with cardio intervals built into your workout.
- Add daily activity to your routine by walking to drop your little one at daycare, walking to the grocery store, parking your car a bit further from your destination, adding a few sets of stairs into your office workday, doing meal prep and housework yourself, and playing actively with your little people.
Here are some workouts & recipes to get you started:
A great strategy for moms: low-carb lunches for fat loss.
High-protein breakfast on the go to help you avoid cravings & burn fat.
Big-batch soup for delicious, high-protein lunches and dinners.
A 10-minute workout you can do at home before work or while your little ones play.
Design your own full-body home workout using these amazing exercise options.
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