Getting it off and keeping it off!

The funny thing about losing weight is that losing weight is the easy part compared with keeping the weight off and maintaining your healthy weight.  Trust me, I'm an experienced yo-yo dieter.

Once you start dieting and exercising and really getting into the groove of it, the weight will come off.  You have to be diligent and patient; it took a long time to gain the weight so it stands to reason that it will take a long time to come off.

It will come off, though.  Before you know it, you're a few clothing sizes smaller and it's time to go shopping.  Does this mean you can abandon your diet?  Stop exercising?  I'm afraid not. This may seem like common sense, but trust me, there are people out there who think that once they reach their goal weight, they can go back to their old habits. 

Maintaining a healthy weight means you have to change your lifestyle.  You may have to give up things you like but you can in turn develop new, healthier habits and start being more active which can be very rewarding.  I took up running which I now love.  I also hauled out my bicycle last spring which hadn't seen daylight in a shameful amount of time and instead of taking taxis to the next town over when I needed to go there, I cycled

You don't have to do those things; simply going for a walk a few times a week will be enough to get you started.  Once you get outside, it's hard to go back in.  Give it a try.  If you're interested in running, check your area for local runs, like charity runs or fun runs and sign up.  It will give you something to train for.

With regard to food, you can have a treat every once in a while; it won't do you any good to deny yourself something you really want if you're just going to be miserable.  If you want something, have it.  Just watch your portions.  After I had been dieting for about 5 or 6 months, I really wanted fish and chips one night, so I ordered it at a restaurant.  I LOVE fish and chips; it was always one of my favourite things to eat.  That night, however, I couldn't finish it.  It was suddenly too greasy for me and I instantly regretted ordering it.  You'll find that this might happen with you as well; something you loved may not taste as nice when you get used to eating healthy food.

I hope this has been helpful.  Feel free to email me if you have specific questions.

Back on the Wagon

It appears I haven't blogged in a while... my last post was in 2009. Scary.

A lot has happened since then. I'll skip to November 201o. At this time, I had been on and off dieting for a while and I had gained a lot of weight. I was afraid if I didn't do something, I'd be back up to my heaviest weight again and wearing clothes you can only buy in certain shops.

I was depressed. I felt bad about myself and the way I looked. Exasperated and not wanting to do any more fad diets, I searched online for something that would help me and found Motivation Weight Loss clinics. I called them to set up an initial consultation in the hopes they could help me.

I arrived at my appointment full of hope and anticipation. I was warmly greeted and taken through the program step by step. They were very friendly and up front about the cost which I thought was high at first, until I calculated it and found it was nearly the same as what I forked out for Lipotrim which I tried 2 or 3 times and didn't work at all.

That night I discussed it with my husband. He was initially put off by the cost but I reasoned with him that it was worth it for my well-being and I promised him this would be the last thing I tried. If it didn't work, I wouldn't spend any more money on trying to lose weight. He agreed.

I started my diet which is a high protein, low carb and restricted calorie plan. I was allowed beer or wine as a replacement for my carbs, but I chose not to drink. I went in every week for a weigh in and did very well. My main motivation was my upcoming trip to Africa, India and Australia. It's not nice to be overweight in warm weather.

By August 2011 when I was due to take my holiday, I lost an astonishing 46 lbs (around 21 kg). I was still about 14 lbs (6kg) away from my goal weight but I felt great. I had been exercising; going to toning classes, spinning and pilates, plus working out with a trainer once a week.

During the holiday I put on some weight. Then I came home and put on more weight. Long story short, my clothes stopped fitting and because of the progress I'd made, I had thrown out all of my big clothes.

So now I am back on my diet and exercising again. I am not going in for weekly weigh ins, mainly because I want to discipline myself. I shouldn't have to get weighed in to maintain my diet. I've been back on it for two weeks now and have lost about 10 lbs (4kg).

I will be blogging more often, sharing recipes and tips as I come across them. Currently, I eat 5 servings of protein a day, 3 with main meals and 2 for snacks. For the snacks I use protein shakes or light cheese like Mini Babybel Light. 2 of them make up one protein serving.

Today's menu was:

Breakfast: one poached egg

Snack: protein shake

Lunch: Vegetable and lentil soup (homemade)

Snack: protein shake

Dinner: 30g (1 oz.) steamed boneless skinless chicken breast, steamed asparagus and brussels sprouts and 1 cup of basmati rice.

Dessert: 1 small apple