My Weight Loss/Life Change Philosophy

I won't say it happens frequently, but occasionally people ask me how I've lost the weight.  They want to know the secret to success.  The secret is that there is no secret and there is no one-way path to success. 

I very much believe that weight loss and getting healthy is a very personal thing and you need to find what works for you.  I don't consider myself an expert at all and I don't even feel qualified to give people advice on the subject.  With that being said, here is what has worked for me and has worked for many people I follow who have been successful in not only loosing weight, but keeping it off. 

1) Move something.  Get active on a frequent basis.  Find something you enjoy doing that gets your heart rate elevated and burns those calories off!  I chose running because with three kiddos, a husband and a full time job, I needed to get the most out of my workouts.  Running just seemed like the easiest way to do that.  I started with the Couch to 5K program and I started slow.  I am still slow, but that is what has allowed me to be pretty much injury free and not burn out.  I have learned that the only person I am competing against or comparing myself too is myself.  Which is another reason I love running, it is easy to track your progress and reach new goals.  Running isn't for everyone, and I don't know that running will be the answer for me long term, but for now it works.  There are so many great things out there: Zumba, Bootcamp, Swimming, Walking, Biking, Hiking.  Try them all, see what you like the most and then set a schedule or follow a plan so that you have something to commit to. 

2) Be mindful of what you are eating.  I didn't track calories at first.  We just naturally stopped going out to eat as often as we did before we had kids and I cut my daily fast food trips.  I would easily consume close to 1,500 calories a meal before, now that is closer to what I eat in a day.  I never paid attention to how much I was eating, now I do.  I still don't always track calories because I need it to be an exact science and if I have a day where I can't get the exact food to come up on the tracker, I think tracking is useless.  (Not the case, just a mental road block for me) Chosemyplate.gov is a really helpful website to look at if you want to know what mix/amount of food you actually should be eating.

3) Don't go crazy on restrictions.  Other than the excess weight, I was otherwise quit healthy.  I didn't have any risk of diabetes or high cholesterol, so I didn't have to worry so much about what I was eating.  I've just always eaten way more than I should, so controlling quantity was more important for me.  I knew from failing many times that following a specific meal plan or diet would not lead to a successful journey for me.  If I messed up one day, I was a failure and I gave up.  I don't do well with planning food or meals, which is extremely important if you are going to follow a specific diet.  If you are good at planning, maybe you would have success with this, but I knew I wouldn't.  

4) Set realistic and measurable goals and tell someone about them.  I am the type of person that needs something to work towards and I need to make sure other people know about it.  It is important for me to follow through on things that I have committed to, so this is a great way for me to stay focused.  Most of my goals have been fitness or running related.  I have three scale related goals, but they haven't been as important to me.  I like to set goals that will push me past my comfort zone and require me to keep up with a training plan to meet them.

5) Keep a sustainable pace.  I need to lose a total of about 183 pounds to be at my goal weight which will put me at the very top of the "Normal" BMI range for my height.  That will be over half of my body weight, when I reach my goal weight, I will have lost more than I will weigh.  (I'm not saying if, this is happening)  I am going by a slow and steady wins the race approach.  I'm not worried about the rate at which I lose weight, I just want it gone.  If I don't lose anything or happen to gain over the course of a month, I shift things up and refocus my efforts to keep things moving, but that is about it.  

6) Figure out why you are overweight.  This was probably the most important thing for me and once I finally figured it out, I started to have success.  Food was always my go-to.  Happy, sad, bored, frustrated, stressed, celebrating....eating was the thing to do.  I enjoy food.  I realized that I cared more about food and turned to food more often than I turned to God for help or thanksgiving.  As a growing Christ follower, it was important for me to be making God the number one priority in my life rather than food.  I needed to have self-discipline and care for the body that he gave me.  I read Made to Crave by Lysa TerKeurst and Love to Eat, Hate to Eat by Elyse Fitzpatrick and they were extremely helpful for me.

7) Don't give up.  Bad days happen.  Life happens.  Things don't always go as planned and success isn't easy.  Learn to accept that and ask God to give you the strength to keep going even when it gets tough.  Don't let one bad day, or even one bad week, prevent you from moving forward.

8) Accountability.  I started this blog largely because I needed to be held accountable for this journey towards a healthier me.  I needed to know that I wasn't just letting myself down if I failed.  I also needed to know that people cared and wanted me to succeed.

9) Make time.  I promise you that you have more time than you think you have, you just need to re-prioritize.  I work full time, have 3 kids 4 and under and my husband and I work different shifts and have different days off.  I could easily let this be an excuse for me, but instead I chose to make the most out of every single day.  The only time I watch tv is if I'm on the treadmill or folding clothes.  I haven't signed my kids up for millions of extracurricular activities (or any for that matter).  My house is no where near immaculate and my yard is pretty much hideous.  I do what needs to get done to keep us functioning and the rest happens when it happens.

10) Don't buy in to gimmicks.  There are no magic pills and results from quick fixes end up fading just as quickly.  There isn't one special program that is going to ensure your success.  You don't need to buy any special products.  You have everything that you need to be successful within you, you just need to find it.


That about sums it up.  It is hard work and it doesn't happen over night.  Find something to keep you motivated and go for it.  Don't make it about losing weight, make it about doing something you have never done before and making choices that are good for you.