posted March 12, 2007 05:34 PM         

I'm still figuring it out so I'm no expert, and we're all different. But here are some things that helped me.

~"I Always Start My Diet on Mondays" by Janice Alpert. Fantastic book. Addresses emotional eating. I cannot stress enough how important it is to address your "issues" with food.

~"Improve Your Mood With Food" another fantasic book. It's the best. This book really changed my life.

~Fitday.com <------ check it out. Track your food intake and you will get a huge wake up call about what you are putting into your body.

~sleep. If you aren't sleeping well, your body craves fat and sugar.

~Ionic Fizz, a calcium/magnesium product. Helps stress/cravings.

~Exercising outside. The combination of sunshine and a nice walk/run is unbeatable. It will make you a very happy person.

~Strength training.

~"Healthy Appetite with Ellie Krieger" (a great show on food network) Her recipes are also online: foodnetwork.com

~knowing that there are no secrets. Helpful tips, yes, but secrets...no. At the end of the day, it's calories in vs. calories out. If there was a secret pill that worked, every rich and powerful person would have it and be thin. But they're not. Think of Oprah and the way she has struggled with her weight for years.

~eating mostly fresh, whole foods

~BUT...never depriving myself of favorite foods. I eat what I want but in smaller portions, and less frequently. I buy portion-controlled, single servings of any food that I love but have trouble with when it comes to controlling myself. If I really want something sweet, I will buy a cupcake instead of a package of cookies, for example. Because if I buy the whole package, I will probably eat the entire thing within a couple days. Or one day. (sigh)

~patience. It is a slow process, lots of ups and downs. You will sometimes gain back the weight you lose. You have to pick yourself up and get back on track. You have to believe that if you are taking in less calories than you burn, you *will* lose weight.

~letting go of perfectionism.

~knowing that losing the weight is hard and keeping it off is even harder. But that's it 100% worth it.

~learning to care for myself. Caring about my appearance AND health.

~forgetting "diets"

~changing my entire lifestyle.

~consistency

~a little bit of faith

posted March 13, 2007 02:29 PM         

This was 3 years ago.

I went from a size 18 to a size 8.

Last year I temporarily gained some of the weight back. I went through a lot of stress/loss, and it was my first year of college.

My life stabilized though and I lost it all back. Now I am maintaining. I am in the land of maintenance. If I can lose 5 or 10 more lbs, great. If not, that's okay, too.

But the battle is not over for me! haha...but really: I have to stay vigilant. Otherwise I know I can slip back into my old patterns.

I think that was a big lesson for me. On some level, I think I used to believe that once I lost weight I could "relax a little." But you can't!! You have to keep eating well. You cannot go back to your old ways. If you do, you will regain. It may sound unpleasant to some, to always have to be "watching it," but it's not a life of misery!

Everything is worth it. E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G.

Every time I go into a store and see something beautiful and try it on and it fits perfectly and looks good.....I just want to pinch myself. It's the greatest feeling.

Every time I can do the things I want to do without feeling self-conscious...

(the list goes on and on).

I still fight the "food demons." That, for me, never fully went away. I don't think it ever will. Even though I love healthy food now, I will always want that cupcake/order of fries/slice of pizza. I love food. Absolutely love it. Let's face it: a lot of unhealthy food tastes pretty damn good.

But if you stay overweight, you give up so much for just..food. You give up your health, you give up your vitality...you give up your happiness, I think.