Sometimes we can be so hard on ourselves, especially when it comes to weight loss. I lost 55 pounds in a considerable amount of time, yet, I am still having a battle of the bulge, with this stubborn belly fat, that is hanging on to me like a leech. However comments of ” Have you lost more weight” have seem to been flying by me left and right. Are these people blind? Or is it me that is blind. Everyone tells me I don’t need to lose anymore weight, and my response is: You don’t see me naked. However my scale is not budging and my clothes are still fitting the same, which is good, because I am 5 pounds below the goal weight I set for myself, when I first started this weight loss journey. So sometimes, it is good to listen to your peers, because you may be seeing something that really dosen’t exist. So I learned instead of stressing about the last 10-15 pounds, or that stubborn as belly fat. You should just live your life, and eventually everything will fall into place, and you will be bikini ready for the summer in no time!

It seems like everytime I pick up a magazine, there is some new diet, or new weight loss procedure that is a must do. From Lap Band surgery to self-injecting B-12 shots. Of course it is easy to get caught up in those compelling ads that boast lose 7-10 lbs in an hour, a day, or in a minute! I get it, we want to look good, and want to look good fast. But what is wrong with exercise? If you think lifting weights is the only type of exercise think again. As long as you are engaging in some kind of physical activity, that is considered exercise. If you hate the gym, go dancing, swimming, hiking, cycling, take a martial arts class, play with childhood games with your children, if you have any. There are a lot of fun and exciting activites that you can perform, and still be able to slim down. Diet and exercise is the sure-fire way to see permanment results!

Sometimes following the same routine can get really boring. I mean the gym is great, but sometimes I don’t want to lift 300 pounds of steel. Instead, I rather take a brisk walk, and get in tune with nature. For example the other day I decided I was going to take my workout outdoors. I mean I could have made my walk a real adventure by going on a hike, or traveling off the beaten path. But instead I just took a nice little walk around the block. I never realized there were a lot of shops that I may frequent in the future that were in a brief walking distance from my home. I got so used to driving, that I would just drive my car to a familiar place. Little did I know that most of the places that I traveled a wide distance for, were right around the corner. And I learned all of this by taking my workout outside.

I was awakend by a disturbing statistic today. The new anchor announced that experts predict that by the year 2010, Cancer is going to be # 1 cause of death, outweight heart disease. Wow! Not by 2020, but 2010 and that is just around the corner, we all know how fast a year can past by. So what does this mean for us? We need to step up, and take it a step further. We need to change the way we eat, starting with swapping harmone-infested food, with organic and natural foods. As a close friend always says: ” If you can’t read it, don’t eat it! You can find great quality foods, at a reasonable price at Whole Foods, Trader Joes, or a natural food store in your area. Small changes can make a big impact.

I admit at times, I really hate  to exercise, it can be such a tedious task.   Therefore when I am pressed for  time, or really want to get a good work out in the least amount of time- I resort to the 20 minute work out.   Experts say that it only takes 20 minutes for your body to turn into a fat burning  machine.   So I make it the best 20 minute work out I possibly can.  My goal is to max out my heart rate- which my target heart rate is 126.    So I pick a cardio machine of my choice, today I chose the elipitcal,  and had a consistent heart rate of 135.    For only 20 minutes it felt like I was working out for the full hour, since sweat was dripping from my forehead.   I thought I only glistened, but with a high intense 20 minute workout you are challenging your body.  The key is to max out your heart rate, and then throughout the day your body will burn even more calories, even when you are at rest.      Wow what a workout, now I have tons of energy to help keep me going through the day!   Remember to drink plenty of water before, during, and after you workout!

Wow! I realized that it has been quite some time since my last post. But as they say life ; life gets in the way. I finally took some time to wind down, and take a few days off to jump start my freelance writing career. You may wonder what does a freelance writing career have to do with this post? Well as a writer, I follow my interest and my passions, and one of my interests happen to be maintaining a healthy weight. So to make a long story short, I was pitching a ” radio script” to one of my potential clients at a health club in my area, mind you a health club that I am a member of. So I did some searching inside of my brain, and realized that the health clubs biggest benefit was the unlimited support and encouragement that you get from an instructor. At this particular gym, the health instructors are invaluable resources to the success of the facility. I mean, I have tried a variety of different classes, and 99.9 % of the time, the instructors were sincere, inspiring, and encouraging. One instructor even came up to me while I was on the treadmill, and told me I had on the wrong work out shoes, and she was concerned because she did not want me to have knee surgery, like she did, because she was wearing the wrong shoes. Now talk about a health club! So when you are feeling self-doubt, just go into a group fitness class and an instructor will give you that extra push that you need!

Nowadays you have to take little Timmy to daycare, plus mow the lawn, because your husband is well too lazy to do so.  In this day in age, women definitely have to put super in front of their names, because it seems like they do it all, manage the bills, clean the house, take care of the kids, save the planet and so much more.  Now how can these superwomen have time for working out?   I know they may be tired, but getting an adequate amount of exercise at least 30 minutes a day of aerobic activity, will increase your energy and productivity level.  So don’t fret if you don’t have time for the gym, because the good news  is; you can break your work outs in half!        How you may ask, well lets explore several possibilities:

• Before you jump in the shower get some cardio going do about 10-20 jumping jacks to get your blood circulating and your heart pumping.
• If your work permits, take the stairs instead of waiting for the dreadfully slow elevators.
• On your lunch break go for a brisk walk around the office, or around the building.
• Practice deep breathing exercises to promote healthy oxygen flow

You see you don’t have to be a gym nut to incorporate easy and fun workouts into your daily life.

I admit, I am somewhat of introvert.  If you see me in a Las Vegas nightclub breaking a sweat on the dance floor, you would never guess that I am a loner by heart.  Being a loner can have its advantages, and disadvantages.  But when it comes to reaching your weight loss goals, you need help.   Losing weight and keeping it off, can be the hardest thing you may ever have to do in your lifetime.  Just like a website needs content, you need a buddy, friend, or some type of support that can help you stay motivated and keep you  on track.

If you live alone, or do not have access to immediate friends due to your work schedules; consider joining an online support group such as www.weightcircles.com.  Not only does this fitness support group give you a new network  of friends to converse with.  It also gives you plenty of healthy lifestyle changing information, as well as allowing you the freedom to search for “weight losers” in your community that you can partner up with.    Besides having a buddy to workout can be fun.  For example, when I found a co-worker to work out with, we actually had a little competition going on.  We decided whoever lost 25-50 pounds by the new year, would receive $ 50.00.  And money is always a great incentive to stay motivated.  The point is, is that we made it fun and allowed ourselves to create a closer bond with each other.   

If your are a loner by nature, consider a personal trainer.  Personal trainers are a great way to help you blast the fat in no time. Personal trainers are experts, and they push you to the limits.  Their secret is, they know what you are capable  of, even when you think you can’t lift a penny.    So the next time you want to work out, invite a friend and experience losing weight on a whole new level.

I wish that I could tell you that I took some magical pill along with a colon cleanse, and my fat instantly vanished in a matter of seconds.   How great that must be, and kudos to the people that experienced that fabulous experience!  But instead I am going to tell you the real deal, the way I lost my weight the old fashioned way.  It wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t hard either.  If you set a focus, and a reason for losing weight, you will see that you will have an easier time sticking to your weight loss goals.   So many times, I see and hear people losing weight for the wrong reasons- to get back at an ex, to look good in a bikini, to show their rival how good they look and the list goes on.  Now I am not saying those are bad motives to lose weight, but you should have a primary motive which is maintaining a healthily lifestyle to prevent diseases like diabetes, and heart disease.

I got my mind right.

I made the decision that I was going to lose weight, because I wanted to have a healthier lifestyle.  I was tired of panting, and trying to catch a breath after I walked up a flight of stairs.    A visit to my doctor convinced me that, it was time to take action.  214 was the magic number of my cholesterol. “Not too bad, not too good either.” my doctor stated.   My cholesterol over 200 was enough to get be thinking of my long-term health.  I definitely did not want to be another statistic, or having a horrible ailment before I was 30 years old.   Immediately after I left the doctor, I felt it was time to make a plan.

Goal Setting

My weight was at 225, and I am 5’11.  I figured that I want to be healthy; I don’t need to be uber thin or a super model.  I set a weight loss goal to be 180 pounds, and healthy. That’s all.  Oh and to be able to wear a dress. Every time I put on a dress I looked like I was about to conceive, and I did not like that feeling.  My goal was to lose at least 5 pounds a month

Exercise

I was already active.  I loved to dance, and I dance religiously at least 4 times a week.  (The benefit of living in Las Vegas, Nevada)  But dancing was not enough, because I must admit, I trimmed down on my eating at first, but I still loved sweets.  After I realized, that my diet must change completely, which it did.  I will tell you about that later.     I decided to dedicate at least an hour to fitness.   I had a gym membership that I did not use, so it was time to make good use of the 31 bucks that I was wasting a month.   Besides my local gym, I also had a home fitness gym in my apartment complex.    So my first exercise, was to walk on the treadmill at a moderate pace 3.7 to be exact, I did not want to over exert myself.   After the 1^st month of walking the treadmill and eating healthy.  I lost an amazing 10 pounds!   The 2^nd month followed, another 10 pounds.   Around the 3^rd month I reached a plateau.  I was just not able to get under the 200.  That really took a beating on my progress.  I was eating right, exercising right and still no progress.   I felt it was time to really take advantage of my gym membership, and use the 3 free personal training sessions I had. My first personal trainer put me on a circuit-training program, where I worked all the major muscle groups in sequence.  The key is to build muscle, because muscle burns more calories than fat does.  By changing up my routine and adding strength training to my workouts, my plateau faded fast.   I finally got under 200 towards the end of the 3^rd month. However I hit another plateau around 195 pounds.  A friend mentioned changing up my diet, and introduced me to another way of eating. When I changed to this particular diet or I should say lifestyle change of eating. I lost 5 pounds easily in the first week I will go in more detail a little later.

Group Fitness

I must admit that I was never a fan of group fitness, since I am somewhat introverted. I tried a variety of different classes, until I found one that was a perfect match.  “ Body Pump” this is a class that focuses on working all your major muscle groups in an hour, where you can burn up to 600 calories.   It shapes and tones your muscle, by using lightweights and heavy repetitions.    I became addicted to this class, and the instructors were very encouraging and pushed you to your limits. 

Diet

When I first started my weight loss journey, I decided to go the low-carb route, since I was successful with the Atkins diet in my previous weight loss ventures.   But this time around, I just borrowed some tips from the Atkins, but did not go full force on Atkins.  I loved eggs, so my the first few months of my diet looked like this:

Breakfast: 2 eggs, with turkey bacon

Lunch:     A garden salad with Oil & Vinegar dressing, and 2 pieces of grilled chicken

Snack:     Mixed Nuts

Dinner:  Fish with Fresh Vegetables.

After a short time, I did get bored and I wanted some more variety in my diet, so I played around with other diets that I thought I could tweak and incorporate into my everyday life.   I am going to be honest, when I got desperate and wanted to get out of my plateau, I tried the grapefruit diet.  Granted with the grapefruit diet, I didn’t lose a lot of pounds, but I lost a considerable amount of inches.  (Sorry I didn’t have a tape measure, but my pants were falling off)  I only tried the grapefruit diet for 2 weeks, since it is very strict.  You are supposed to restrict your caloric intake to about 800 calories a week.  I never went under 1200 calories with my diet, because if you go under 1200 you may be facing mores serious problems than extra jelly in your belly.  Restricting your caloric intake can lead to malnutrition, or your body can go into starvation mode, and protect you by producing more fat, in order for you to survive.   After I played around with the grapefruit diet for a while.  I discovered the Mediterranean diet, which consisted of eating nuts, olives, and Greek yogurt.  I liked the Mediterranean diet, because it contained all the foods that I loved.   So what I did was switch up my diet every week.  I would switch back and forth from the Mediterranean to the low-carb, to the grapefruit diet with caution.   This process worked out great for me, because I never got bored and there were always great food choices that I could choose from.   And my sweet cravings went out the door.

Flat Belly Diet

Prevention Magazine came out with a new diet, the flat belly diet.  Where you eat 5 power foods that actually target your belly fat.  Nuts, Canola oil, sunflower seeds, Dark Chocolate, and olives.   I implemented these foods into my weight loss diet. I saw some results, but they were not drastic enough for the naked eye to notice.   Then my friend introduced me to…

Bill Phillips

He wrote a book called  “ Eating for Life.”  After she told me about the book, I immediately ran to the bookstore and paid the  $ 37 for the book.  And it was well worth the price.  Bill Phillips believes in a technique to eat 5 or 6 times a day for six days straight, and on the 7^th day can be your “ free day” or “ cheat day”.  He has a good program, where you eat a balanced meal of carbs, fats and proteins.  You eat every 2 –3 hours to boost your metabolism and fuel your energy.   You follow that schedule consistently for six days out of the week.  And then on the 7^th day, you can basically have a free for all, and pig out!  So when I started the Bill Phillips plan this is what my diet looked like.

Breakfast: eggs & oatmeal

Snack: Protein Shake

Lunch:  Wheat Pasta with Chicken Breast

Snack:  Edamame (soybeans)

Dinner:  Lean Meat with fresh vegetables

Snack:   Almonds/mixed nuts

I won’t list my cheat day food items here, because I literally did not have a cheat day.  I was so focused to reach my goal; I had no desire to eat devils food.  And when I did consume foods that were out of my diet, I would find desserts to be too sweet, and fried foods would give me a headache and make me feel sick to my stomach.   I decided to stick to the way Bill Phillips plan, because I love to eat. So eating 6x a day is a major plus.   In fact, I had to remind myself to eat, because I would full myself up with so much fiber and protein, that I never felt hungry.   So this is the plan that I will be following for a while.

  Write to lose weight. 

It does not matter if you are not the next Danielle Steele, or Steven king.  All you need is a pen and a notebook. And you can write your own success novel about your weight loss journey.    I started my weight loss journal when I started the Bill Phillips way of eating.   A weight loss journal is essential to have; it can help you trigger your emotional eating habits.  And also track what foods you eat, that make you feel a certain way.    It was easier for me to jot down the foods that I was going to eat throughout the week, on a separate piece of paper. So on Monday I took my little piece of paper and transferred the foods into my weight loss journal, and followed that system religiously.    It was easy for me to eat on schedule, because my place of employment gave me a break about every 2 hours.   I wrote down the days that I exercised, what I did and how I felt.   There were many occasions, when I flipped back through my old pages, to see what methods work and what didn’t. A food journal is a great tool to keep you on track.

Success

I realized that my level of success is not about how much weight that I lost. But I set a goal and achieved it.  Of course, I would like to lose just a little more weight, but I won’t be neurotic about, like I was before.  I am just going to let nature take its course, and lose my last little bit of weight gradually.    So hopefully you will set a goal, stick to it and achieve it.   Until next time, I wish you a happy weight loss journey!

P. S. …  In case you are wondering I went 7 pounds below my goal weight at 173 and I own 5 beautiful dresses, which look amazing.  I will show pictures soon!

At times, we often consume food that we don’t really need. So the next time you pick up a food item that is questionable, ask yourself why are you eating this? Are you hungry? Depressed? Stressed? Emotional eating can take a toll on your health and your spirits. It is kind of a catch 22, you think that the food will supress your negative emotions, however it might. But only for a short period of time, and the only thing that will go up are the numbers on the scale, instead of your mood. The key is to make healthy food choices that will still uplift your spirits, and won’t put a bulge in your stomach. A great little treat to have, when you are feeling the weight loss blues, is dark chocolate. Not only is dark chocolate power packed with antioxidants, but it is chocolate which is know to have transmitters to make you feel happy. So if you must eat comfort food, choose dark chocolate and you won’t feel too guilty.