How I did it!

"Attitude is everything, is your worth catching?" This all too familiar maxim has so much truth to it. Its no secret I have a completely different body from just a year ago. Rather than drop stats on you, or tell you what I can do now that I couldn't before, I would much rather tell you how it feels to be in the best shape of my life. I find myself with a different set of "problems." Before, I struggled to find clothes that fit. Today, clothes still don't fit, but now, its because the collar swallows my much smaller neck and the pants bunch up at the waist from all the excess material. It is the price I am willing to pay for the new me. It is not just a physical change. My confidence is up- and without the assistance of "liquid courage." People used to just give me a side hug now fully embrace me! I no longer look like I am in my third trimester. Even my relationship with God is the best it has been in a while too! Namely, I have something people want.

I hear an awful lot of "what's your secret?" and "just how did you do it?" I give them the typical answers (which happen to be true.) Took up running, got my portions under control, and began counting calories, among others. I began a decent exercise regiment. Thanks, to my influence, a few people have told me that they are beginning their own journeys. How exciting for them! Experience has taught me to add a few words of caution for them.

For me, a huge problem was portion control. Though my height always hid it, I almost always never got full. I would be done when my plate was clean or I finished what I ordered, not when I was full. I tried frozen meals for a while, but they left me still hungry. I tried the Subway diet but that doesn't work when you order the wrong kinds of sandwiches, and multiple foot longs at that!Chipotle is healthy food, but is also calorically dense. My average bowl or burrito was as much as 1400 calories. After indulging, I often tried to starve myself, which just forced a heavier indulgence later. So, I would definitely say to pace yourself. I cannot stress how important it is to count calories. It is real easily to find your AMR and BMR online, then you will know how many calories you extinguish every day. Then subtract that from what you ate and drank. You cannot do this without counting calories.  Since one pound is equivalent to 3500 calories, an average daily deficit of 500 calories would mean the scale moves to the left one digit. So don't stress if you don't do well one day, you have 6 to make it up! I know, it can't be that simple- but it is! This is how I was able to eat out and lose weight! My parents would cooking things with one servings being 700-1000 calories. So I would skip out and grab a 6" from Subway (typically less than 300 calories.) The nature of my job allowed me to snack throughout my shifts, allowing me to be satisfied quite often, so I rarely gorged myself.

I'm not Catholic but when Lent came, at the suggestion of a friend I gave up soda. Then after that very rough Lent, I never picked it up again. That was ten months ago. mostly because of the High Fructose Corn Syrup and artificial sweetners. We all have our vices, Mountain Dew was mine! I was going through several 2 liters a day- more than the average person should be drinking water! But why not just switch to diet soda? Those who know me best know I have two speeds, all the way or not at all! I don't do well with exceptions! If I had allowed diet soda I would not have stuck it out. Taking away the fact that though you don't have to worry about calories, diet sodas come with another worry. A big one. The sweeteners. The artificial sweeteners have been thought of as worse than sugar. The sweeteners send a message to your brain making you crave something sweet, which usually ends up with more calories than a soda would have. The sweeteners have also been the link between "dieters" and man-made diseases such as colon cancer. Our livers were not made to cycle the sweeteners. As one health professional called it, high fructose corn syrup and other artificial sweeteners are worse on your liver and kidneys than alcohol. Take how many sodas you drink in a day (or anything with artificial sweeteners in it.) Would you replace each one with a shot of jager? Glass of vodka? Bottle of beer?

I also did workout DVDS at home. At least 30 minutes a day. Lots of people walk, but in order to walk enough to cut calories- that is a lot of walking! Who has time for that? It was easier for me to run or do resistance and circuit training. It burned more calories in a lot less time. Plus, I could do it anywhere, including the laundry room at work! When you exercise, my number one tip is to do something that will either challenge you, or that you will enjoy. Those two things will lead to you doing it more consistently. You could just diet, and given the formula above you could lose weight. You'll lose water weight, fat, and even muscle. Plus, if you don't do something to stay toned, you will get flabby and loose skin. Push ups were my thing. Now its pull ups! I used to be so upset that I couldn't do any! So each time I did it, I would try my darnest to beat my previous! Now I can do 50 push ups and 8 pull ups without stopping. Different types too!

You are bound to get tired or burnt out. So, I publicized my results. Then people would comment and ask how it was going. Sometimes good, sometimes bad. Either way, for me, their asking was an extra kick in my pants. An incentive to keep it going!

Well, there you go! Just a couple tips to tell you how I kick started my weight loss and redesigning my body. This is what worked for ME! Everyone is different.