Weight Loss: Healthier Choices = Happier You

I am not a doctor nor am I a nutritionist; I am just an average person that is battling with weight. My experiences with diets and a bit of research is where all of my information comes from, but I believe that is the best information out there…real people who have fought and won the weight battle in a HEALTHY way.

I was the skinny girl, the one who could eat anything and not gain a pound until I hit my 30's and my metabolism decided to take a vacation and not return. Uncomfortable with my weight I fell into the trap of trying diet after diet and failing each one sometimes even gaining more than I started with at the end. These failures are as typical for several reasons the main one being that most of the fad diets do not satisfy people long term. You can only cut carbs for so long and then when you finally glance at a piece of texas toast you gain back your weight for just thinking about it. How much grapefruit can you truly eat before the sight of it terrifies you? And diet pills….don't get me started.

The key is to find a new lifestyle that includes healthier choices of food and activity. Forget the word "diet"; the word itself sets you up for failure.

Start with a short term goal that you like and can handle. If you set a long-term (or even short-term) goal that is unappealing you won't make it through the first week. It would be like saying you are going to eat liver and brussel sprouts every day for a month…not reasonable. (sorry if you like liver and brussel sprouts)

You will need a calendar and a journal to keep track of all of your thoughts, food, activities and accomplishments. Keep them both in your purse and next to your bed so that you get in the habit of writing in them. I bought a nice looking little Thomas Kinkade journal and a cheap little pocket calendar both at Wal-mart for under $10.00 and use colorful inks to keep it lively.

Got it all together? Ok, now we are ready. Let's start with two week goals.

Activities

Each person is different in how they can successfully attack a new exercise program. I personally get bored very easily and know that if I don't dive right in and change things up a bit I will be more likely to find a reason to quit. I know others who have to wade in slowly or they get overwhelmed and have to stick with just a few activities. Whichever way is good for you find things that are do-able.

Write your two week goal on the first page of your journal in huge colorful letters. Do not use weight as a goal right now. For example my two week activity goal was to get to the gym two days each week and to walk at our nearby park trail at least once. Not only was this do-able but it was easy to go to the gym or park more so I ended up feeling much more successful and wanted to raise the activity goal for the next week.

Keep in mind that any activity is great including cleaning, biking, walking, kayaking, gardening, ice skating, roller blading etc. You don't have to join a gym or buy equipment to exercise.

Food

This is easier than you think even with a family that does not want to eat the way you are choosing. Set up a healthy grocery list for yourself that will cover your food for two weeks. Start with a daily menu for two weeks that includes snacks and make your list from that. Then, if the rest of your family is eating differently make a two week list for them. When your lists are done go shopping alone, after you have eaten and stick to your list. Now you have two weeks of meals for yourself that you are more likely to eat instead of waste and two weeks for your family giving you little reason to run to the grocery store.

A sample daily menu:

Breakfast: two egg spinach and cheese omelet, one slice whole grain toast w/yogurt butter
Snack: carrot sticks with light ranch dip.
Lunch: Lettuce wrap with ½ cup grilled chicken, feta cheese, tomato and onion.
Snack: 2 cups popped corn
Dinner: 4 oz Salmon fillet, asparagus
Dessert: ½ cup Soy vanilla yogurt parfait (yogurt with granola and ¼ cup raisins layered throughout it)

This menu is around 1300 calories which, depending on your activity level and weight leaves a few hundred calories for a snack/food of your choice to add in. (see calorie-count.com for a good estimate on how many calories a day you should consume for your lifestyle)

For me, this is more realistic than many fad diets because I am eating something every couple hours and leaving room for that girl scout cookie or two so I don't feel deprived. I am much more likely to stick with this. The end goal here would be to slowly wean out those junk treats in favor of healthier foods, but to begin with I choose to leave them there and I still see results.

Alright, now at the end of two weeks look over what you have done. If you have succeeded in reaching your activity goals and kept your calorie count under your recommended daily count (by no more than about 500 calories...we are staying healthy here) give yourself a pat on the back (a couple more calories burned just from the pat). If you did not…don't worry, don't give up just try again for the next two weeks.

Now it is time to bump up the goals for the next two weeks. This time you can add a weight goal of say 2 pounds. Add an activity to your routine and cut out one junk snack and replace with a healthy one. If you did not reach your original goal look back and find out why and reform your goals to something more reasonable for you. You are on your way!!!!

One last tip. Join a support group. There are plenty of free ones online so far the best one I have found is calorie-count.com which has about everything you need to jump start and keep track of what you are doing.