My Secrets to Weight Loss

If you read a book on my short life history you'd probably think I was really good at losing weight. And I guess I am? How many times do you have to do something until you officially become an expert?

I don't know how many times I've gained and lost weight. I can think of 3 specific very successful times on the "major" losing side, but there are countless more experiences on a lesser scale. So why is it so hard this time? Why am I cringing through my salads and spending a half hour just motivating myself to get up and move? How did I get to this faraway place?

I've made a small goal: lose ten pounds. That's it. For some people 10 pounds is huge, but for me it's just a small step on a path I MUST get back on. I made this goal on Sunday and have been going strong since. For a little motivation, I posted this countdown sign on the wall by my door:

For each pound lost I'll cross off a number. I can't wait to post a picture with 10 Xs!

So I've been thinking a lot about my past and when I've been the most successful in losing weight, and I've come up with my own "secret to weight loss." And no, I'm not just trying to increase my SEO! This exercise was totally for my own purposes -- I needed to remind myself that I have the tools to lose weight, now I just need to do it!

So here it is:

1. Track your food - doesn't matter how you do it, just do it! I've always done my best when I'm writing down what I eat. Google spreadsheets work best for me since I spend all day on my laptop at work and don't focus too much on calories, but lots of people like My Fitness Pal, Sparkpeople, Livestrong, or plain old pen & paper.

2. Surround yourself with inspiration - the last time I lost a major amount of weight I became borderline obsessed with health and fitness blogs. I don't think it needs to go that far, but being surrounded by other people with the same struggles or other people who are living healthy lifestyles can be both helpful and motivating.

3. Put yourself first - make getting healthy a "top three" priority. Make keeping a trip to the grocery store or the gym as vital as keeping a dinner date with a friend or a work meeting.

4. When in doubt, eat real food - plain and simple. Go for fruits and veggies when you're not sure what to eat.

5. Find an exercise that you enjoy and run with it (no pun intended!) - I fell in love with zumba and continued doing it for about 2 years even though it may not have been the highest calorie burning exercise out there. It's important to enjoy yourself a little bit (or more!!) and not feel like you're constantly forcing your way through exercise.

6. Set short term goals often, and REFLECT.... - Again, at my best I was setting (and sharing) weekly goals on Monday and reflecting on them on Sunday night. It helped to cut the daunting weight loss into weeks and kept me from falling off the wagon completely, even if I had an especially bad week.

7. ...but keep perspective of the long term - It's great to focus on short term goals, but losing weight has to be a lifestyle change. I thought I had this down, but I guess I didn't!

8. Share your goals with the important people in your life - the people who love you can be your biggest champions in weight loss. Let them help you!

I should really print these out and carry them around with me as a reminder!

And now, for what I've been eating this week:

This new cereal for breakfast everyday with skim milk and fruit. It's just okay, not as good as I thought it would be!

Turkey and avocado sandwich, strawberries, and a raspberry seltzer from Flour Bakery...soo good!

A plate of watermelon and cherry tomatoes. Yum.

Homemade whole wheat baked ziti. All about the portion sizes with this one.

A very strange last night's dinner -- roasted potato and ketchup, banana with peanut butter, and a sting cheese (I only ate one)

Today's lunch: salad with watermelon, feta, grilled chicken and cucumbers with some homemade balsamic dressing

That's all for today. Catch ya later!