Hi! I’m Mayra, I’ve lost over 135lbs and have been maintaining my weight for the last 15 years, and today, I want to show you how I did just that. 

Now, if you’re just starting off on your journey, or you’ve lost the weight and now, you’re trying to figure out how to live a balanced lifestyle while keeping the weight off…then you’re at the right place. 

Personally, when I look back, I feel as though the weight loss journey was the easy part. You’re super focused, you’re staying consistent, seeing results and your so motivated! Sometimes, you’re even super strict because you have this number you want to hit on the scale. Once you’ve hit your goal, you realize that life isn’t as easy anymore. You start having a few more cheat days, you start enjoying yourself more at events and gatherings..and life honestly just gets the best of you. 

If you’re in this boat, then you’re in the right place! 

Here are a few of my top tips, and how I’ve been able to maintain my weight for over 15 years. I hope these help - 

1. Meal Prepping  

I know you’ve probably heard people talk about meal prepping and yes, it’s important. It’s actually so important! For me, meal prepping keeps me accountable. It’s a tool that allows you to stay focused. If you’re a person that gets sick of eating the same meals over and over, don’t worry, because this is a great opportunity to diversify your meals. Meal prepping also saves a lot of money and time. You are able to see everything that goes into your meals, and because they’re already prepped for you, you don’t have an excuse to slack off or tell yourself that you’ll just grab unhealthy snacks in the pantry because you’re too lazy to cook! 

There are so many things that you can prepare and have ready to go in your fridge - chia seed puddings, one pan meals, and honestly, you can prepare anything that you’re craving. If you need diversity, you can even batch make chicken and change up the sauces so it feels like you’re having chicken enchiladas one night and Thai chicken curry for another. 

2. Eating out - If you follow me religiously, you know that Donnie and I go out to eat a lot, especially on the weekends. Weekends, for me, are definitely when I’m a little bit more flexible in my lifestyle. It can be difficult to find places that allow you stick your goals, but you have to 

One of my absolute favorite places to eat in Southern California is Panini Kabob Grill. I’ve been to many locations, and their food hits the spot every single time. I actually just found out that they have a scratch kitchen! This means that every single day, their food comes in fresh, nothing is ever frozen and EVERYTHING is made to order.  

You can definitely taste this in their ingredients, you can cut their chicken with a fork, and don’t even get me started on their beef koobideh kabobs! They also have tons of vegan and vegetarian options, if you have members in your family that have dietary restrictions! 

My favorite salad from them is their strawberry date salad with pomegranate dressing. From the meats to the veggies and fruits, I absolutely love that their staff is the one slicing, dicing, cutting, and marinating. Nothing is pre-sliced or frozen produce nor are they buying frozen, pre-sliced, pre-marinated meats, and all of their dressings are made in-house daily!

Here’s my usual order for my family - I love getting the family combo pack. I order 2 chicken kabobs and 2 beef koobideh kabobs. We grab the Mediterranean Salad and the Strawberry Date Salad with half and half basmati rice and brown rice for our family! It’s an amazing value and you can’t compare the quality of food!

If you’re by yourself, I’d highly recommend their salads (and you can add your favorite proteins). I personally love their salmon and chicken.

Click here for their store locator.

3. Choosing Whole Foods - when I first started my weight loss journey, what helped me the most was cleaning up my diet. When they tell you that weight loss is 80% nutrition, it’s definitely true. Focus on whole fruits and vegetables, high quality proteins and healthy fats. Lead with a health mentality vs a weight loss mentality - by this I mean..focus on what you’re putting into your body vs choosing foods that are filled with fillers just because they’re lower in calories, or “healthy.”

4. Intermittent fasting - I’m sure you have heard of this term before, but intermittent fasting is something I’ve done almost everyday since my journey started. What it consists of is having an eating window, and you would eat all of your meals in that window. There are many types of intermittent fasting - some are 16:8, 12:12, 18:6, or 14:10..but essentially, these are hours of eating and hours of fasting. The 16:8 is the most common, and that’s the one I’ll typically stick to. A 16:8 intermittent fasting schedule means that for 16 hours of the day, you’re fasting, and for 8 hours of the day, you’re eating or having your meals. 

That’s it! I can write on and on, but I wouldn’t want to overwhelm you. You can email me any questions you have through the blog, or follow me on Instagram @low.carb.love. I’ll be answering questions on there ❤️ 

Love you guys!

Mayra 

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