Happy New Year! Day ? And how I lost 56 pounds

I love a fresh start. I've heard so many people say, "Oh, I never make New Year's Resolutions." Oh, C'mon! I can't believe that. I spent an entire decade making the same resolution: Lose weight. Each year I resolved to lose it, and each year I gained just a little more. But still...I'm just not that hard on myself. Finally, in January of 2007 I made the same resolution and this time didn't defeat myself by trying to "lose 10 pounds a month". In the past I've done weight watchers, nutrisystem, general dieting, fitness clubs, over the counter appetite suppressants, blah blah blah.

Background: I'm 5'4" and would consider myself small framed and decidedly NOT curvy (that's the nicest way I can put it). When I was 12 years old I reached my full height, weight and curviness. I was never heavier than 118 pounds until my lifestyle completely change with the adoption of our first child. I was 28 and suddenly a stay-at-home mom with a toddler. In the next 4 years our family grew with 4 more children. I averaged about 7 pounds of weight gain per child and was exhausted but very happy. By January of 2007 I had gained even more weight and at age 39 was 178 pounds of pure chub. I was not at all happy with my appearance, low-energy level and was just not feeling very good about myself, despite having a great husband and the absolutely best kids.

The Process: At 178 lbs it seemed overwhelming to get to my goal of being a healthy weight. Remember, a normal weight for me was about 115 lbs. I couldn't even imagine what I would look after all of the years once I lost weight, so I couldn't picture the results. Don't worry about this if you have the same problem. Make it your goal to simply feel great. I am absolutely clear now on exactly how I lost the weight and WHY I can easily keep it all off. My hope is that this post may help just one person reach their goal. So here's how I succeeded.

PHASE 1:

1. No Diet Food: I ate absolutely anything I wanted. I simply reduced every serving to half the normal size I usually ate. My entire diet consisted of new portion sizes. Seriously I still ate fast food, candy, everything.
   
2. Add Food: Instead of eliminating forbidden food, I made myself eat things I normally avoid. For me that was fruits & vegetables. I didn't count any of this food as part of my "portion size reduction". I knew my body needed these things that I don't really like, so the goal was to add them to my life.
3. Water: If you are like me, you'll blow this off. Please don't. Or do it and really pay attention to the fact that you won't lose weight. Drink more water, lose more weight. I won't attempt to explain the science because I honestly don't really know why it works but it really does work. Start with making yourself drink 4 glasses a day. Move up each month.
   
4. Exercise: 30 minutes of anything. I walked every pound off. On good weeks I moved up to 30 minutes in the morning and 30 at night and lost more weight. But to feel good, I must walk 30 minutes a day. Find something you like to do. I like listening to my ipod and walking.
   

From January to the end of May 2007 I lost 25 pounds. That's just about 1 little pound a week. The truth is, I went several weeks with no weight loss, and them suddenly 3 pounds would come off. It varies, but you have to just keep going and remember, you want to FEEL better, and you will.

In May I joined this crazy fitness bootcamp, injured my knee, and my ankles have never been the same. I took a few weeks off, then back to walking 30 minutes. By October 2007 I was down another 10 pounds. That means I lost LESS than half a pound a week from June-October. But the end result was that I had lost 35 pounds and was now feeling so much better at about 143 pounds. I could move easier, wear nicer clothes and just generally felt so much better. The big changes came by following the steps 1-4 outlined above. By eating the foods I liked, I did not feel deprived, BUT I no longer compulsively ate. I ate with thought, adding good foods, and truly cutting down every portion size so that I was full, but never stuffed. I now had less of an appetite and had even cut out some unhealthy foods.

During the holidays I wasn't doing as much excercise. Weighing myself in January of 2008 I was happy that I had not gained any weight. With portion size control and water intake, I was easily maintaining my weight, even eating all my favorites: pastas, cheese, bread, even fries! With excercise added again after the new year, I came to the conclusion that my body had settled at this new weight, and I thought I was 'okay' with this.

PHASE 2

After moving our family this summer (2008), with the kids settled into their new school and meeting so many new people, I realized I still wasn't looking on the outside the way that I fell on the inside. I made up my mind to become more active and watch my portions even more carefully. I started the 60 mintues of walking again, added salads (still eating my favorites, just adding good foods in) and more fruit. I'll be fair: these last pounds were MUCH harder. I'm older and wasn't sure what my 'real' weight should be, I just knew I wanted to wear clothes and have them look well-porportioned on my not-so-curvacious figure. But still, I knew that taking it off slowly and not depriving myself were key to permanent weight loss.

With the increased activity and actively choosing to snack a little healthier, I again began to see a 3-5 pound weight loss each month.

The Result:

It is now January 2009 and I actually reached my weight loss goal of FEELING great and comfortable with my size at the beginning of December 2008. I am now 122 pounds, and like how I look in clothes (still need to consider a bit more toning activity!) and made it through December easily maintaining my weight by using the above plan of watching portion sizes and doing 30 minutes of walking. It took 2 years to lose the 56 pounds very slowly, and I am no longer really hungry or feel like food controls me. The key was making little changes and just sticking with it. Some months I lost 5 or even 8 pounds and MANY months I just maintained. It all is a success to me. And if I get my nerve up, I'll even post some pictures....I can honestly say that I both look and feel 10 years younger and about a thousand times happier with myself. If it's your goal to lose weight this year, I encourage you to go easy on yourself and just believe that with little changes, great things can be accomplished. Enjoy!