Thursday, June 13, 2013

Dawn's Weight Loss Tips

So I found Dawn's Blog Fixing Myself Happy and she had a list of tips that I found helpful.  They are:

1. Answer the question, why do you want to lose weight? (better health, easier to get around, feel less tired, etc)

2. Do you really want to lose weight for you or you just feel you should for others? (you really have to answer this question honestly)

3. Are you really ready? (it takes commitment, planning, doing, never giving up, do you want it enough)

4. Stop denying and making excuses for yourself. If you are ready then just start NOW. When you make a mistake don’t give yourself permission to just say “who cares” just get right back on track IMMEDIATELY. Stop feeling guilty about ONE poor choice it’s the 10 poor choices after the first that will cause damage.

5. Set goals for yourself, long term and short. Don’t just set weight loss goals either but physical goals as well. Write them down and read them everyday.

6. Plan rewards for each goal reached.

7. Put a physical reminder somewhere you can see it daily (a thin picture on the fridge or a dress you want to fit in hung on the bedroom door)

8. Make rules for yourself that are unbreakable. (come to TOPS EVERY WEEK, no snacks from the snack machine, no fast food, will walk 2 miles EVERYDAY, etc)

9. Take pictures and measurements of yourself regularly to show your progress.

10. Find motivation from others, join a gym, a pool aerobics group, read inspirational stories, read inspirational/self help books etc.

11. Make yourself accountable by telling everyone in your life what you’re doing, don’t make living healthier a secret. Being accountable to others makes you even more accountable to yourself because you don’t want to let them down either.

12. Figure out how many calories you are going to eat everyday and be faithful to that amount. Think of it like a bank when the calories are gone they are gone and you can’t have anymore.

13. Plan plan and plan some more. Make sure you know what you’re eating for the day before it begins. Have breakfast, lunch and dinner planned in your mind before the day starts, that way you are prepared. Cook in bulk for the coming week, pre-package your breakfast and lunches in advance. Have on the go snacks ready at all times. Carry a healthy snack with you at all times.

14. Journal your food and exercise. Keeping track of every calorie (or exchange) that goes into your mouth is important. Remember too that knowing how many calories you burn each day is a way to know if you are eating enough or too much. It also lets you have a few more calories if you’ve burned a lot for the day.

15. What works best for me is eating 5-6 mini meals a day with a balance of protein/carbs/ fat (30/50/20) at every meal. Timing my meals helps too, every 2 ½ - 3 hours apart.

16. Drink LOTS of water (if you don’t have a medical reason you can’t). A good formula is half your weight in ounces or double your waist size in ounces. Don’t drink any beverages with sugar.

17. Listen to your body not your mind. People become obese because they listen to their minds more than their bodies. Put smaller portions on a smaller plate, eat slower, listen to when your body says it’s full. Remove the plate from the table when you are full. The longer you sit in front of it the more likely you are to want to continue eating more.

18. Talk nice to yourself at all times. Your size doesn’t make you who you are. Give yourself compliments, take compliments well from others and know you are WORTH IT. Also realize you can do ANYTHING. You might think it’s too hard but it’s not. It’s just about trying and having faith in yourself and living healthy choice by choice by choice. It really is just one choice at a time till the good choices are outweighing the bad.

19. If you suffer from depression get help. I think depression is one of the biggest causes/effects of obesity.

20. Get therapy if you feel you have unresolved childhood (or otherwise) issues. I think often obesity comes from learned behaviors started as a child, be it from bad eating habits, to abuse, to neglect. Therapy can be a huge help even if it’s just to have someone to talk with on a regular basis.

21. Stress and anxiety was a biggy for me. Realize that exercise is a mood booster so the more you do the better you feel mentally and physically. I call exercise my ice cream now because it makes me feel at ease like sugar use to.

22. A big one I forgot but needs to be on here is cleaning up your environment. I think it's super important to have your kitchen clean from trigger foods. I know for myself if its not in the house I can't eat it.

Now I just have to follow them........

g

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Time to Start Again

I got on the scale and saw 408 and it floored me.  What happened, I got complacent, stopped exercising and just started eating.  Weight went on, knees started to hurt, less movement etc.  I can give all the excuses in the world, but it does not cut it. So here I am, starting over.  According to the Weight loss calculator this is what I have to do:

You should consume about 2,556 calories a day to reach your goal weight of 240 lbs.  This is at a reasonable weight loss average of 1.5 lbs per week, which should be reached by July 16, 2015.

Experts recommend weight loss at the rate of 0.5-2 lbs/week. Remember that this estimate is based on your body weight, height, age, gender, and activity level. It may vary slightly depending on other factors.

Time to change the Blog Name to 240 lbs by July 2015 and here we go again.  This time I will, I must lose because I getting to old for a second chance.

g