85 Pounds Worth of Advice

Last week I officially hit the 85 pounds lost mark.  I haven't been using MyFitnessPal regularly, but I happened to open it up and put in my weight and was pretty darn excited to see this...

Now I didn't round up, but I did weight myself a couple days later and was down another half pound, hence the 85 ;).  I will reiterate for the five millionth time that it is most definitely NOT all about the numbers on the scale, but that doesn't mean it isn't pretty darn motivating.  I used to imagine what it would be like for the scale to show a number under 200.  Now I'm envisioning that app telling me I've lost 100 pounds.  It is definitely within reach.

Soon after I started my weight loss journey, I wrote a post on tips that I had found helpful in getting things going.  You can read those here.  They were not mind blowing and most were pretty small adjustments, but by putting them all together, they have literally made a HUGE difference in my life.

So I decided to make a new list, with some new "strategies" that have been working for me.  I'm not an expert and everything does not work for everyone, but I always appreciate advice from others on how they have achieved success.  I'm just trying to pay it forward :).

Never say never - If you want to fail at a healthy lifestyle, tell yourself you can never have your favorite food again.  Seriously, just go ahead right now and tell yourself you can't ever have pizza, ice cream, cake - whatever your guilty pleasure is - EVER again.  It's all you can think about now, isn't it?  I do not deprive myself.  If we have pizza, I eat a slice.  If I want ice cream, I eat a little bit.  There are a few things I keep in mind here.  I make sure the rest of my day has been filled with healthy foods.  I make adjustments if I can.  If I am craving a cheeseburger, I get it without the bun and have veggies as a side instead of fries.  You get the idea.

Love your form of exercise - If you don't love it, you won't do it.  If you hate running, don't keep trying, find something else.  There are SO many ways to get your heart rate up and build muscle.  I truly enjoy my training sessions, dance class and walk/runs with my family.  I am starting to get a little bored and am going to try and change it up a bit soon. Try different things and see which one makes you smile.  I promise you'll find something eventually, even if it happens to be a pole dancing workout ;).

Be focused, but not obsessed - This is a fine line for me.  I think about and talk about fitness and healthy eating A LOT.  In fact, I've probably annoyed some of you with it.  It's important to me and it's become a sort of hobby.  I enjoy sharing it with others and I am inspired by the challenge it provides.  But I also need to take it easy.  When I couldn't workout for a week earlier in June, I almost had an anxiety attack.  I seriously thought I would gain back 80 pounds...in a week.  That's crazy.  I actually lost more weight and now feel reinvigorated. 

Do it for YOU - Do not change your lifestyle for anyone but yourself.  Sure you want to be around longer for your family and friends and it's always nice to have others recognize your progress.  BUT...you have to do this for you or you won't stick with it.  Eventually, no one is going to pat you on the back and there will be times when you just don't feel like sticking with it. That's when your inner motivation has to kick in and you have to know that this is the best path for YOU...and you're worth it.