7 Habits of Highly Effective Dieting

SO.



Here we are. It’s the 1st of the year. And now we have to get down to some serious dieting. Cause I promised we would.



I know this is a really important day for many of you. Today is the day you are searching out those magical ways to lose the poundage, checking out site after site, hoping you will find that ONE diet you can actually live with and finally set out to do what you (and I, for that matter) have said you (we) would do for the last 10 years or so. Maybe 5 years. Maybe 20. What ever the case, you are determined to DO IT for real this year.



And you have stumbled across this blog. Congratulations and welcome! Glad you came!



Except there is one problem. There is no magical answer here. In fact, what you are going to get on this blog- the information, stories, and sometimes less than rational advice- is far from what you want to read. But I can guarantee that this blog will tell you what you NEED to read.



Because the answers you are looking for, the real way to lose weight, is slow and steady. Sometimes it happens at a snails pace. Other weeks, it may not happen at all. But losing weight in small increments is exactly what your body needs to do. Here we do it safe. Healthy. And I don’t mind tooting my own horn to say that it is fun when we do it together. We are a community of fat chicks who rely on our strong wills, the lower calorie diet plans, exercise, and our unbreakable senses of humor to get to our goals.



Yeah, we laugh a lot here. It’s inevitable. I am a mess, and I talk about things that no one else is willing to talk about. I give you the real skinny on dieting.



One of the top questions that people ask me, having lost as much weight as I did last year… which for the record averaged about 1.2 pounds per week- give or take a horrormoanally induced binge or 2… or 20…. Is HOW??? How have I lost weight? How did I do it?



I wish I could give you an easy answer. But there isn’t one. So I will give you the truth.



1. I was desperate. Desperate to change. Desperate to make my life something more than moving from one meal to the next, to become more than a girl and her blubber, to go from the fat chick who was jolly to the girl who is light and fun and undoubtedly off her rocker. Desperation is a powerful tool, and when wielded appropriately, it can make all the difference.




2. I did my homework. I talked to several women, looked at the research, and compared all my dieting options before I settled on the one that would work best for me. That happened to be weight watchers. And the first month, I faithfully logged and was honest about what I had eaten. No matter what it was, or how many points I had blown on stupid (yet delicious) crappy food. I learned everything I could about how the program would work best, and have utilized those principles the whole time. (Except when I cheated a little. But that’s another point entirely.) No low carb quick fixes. Just healthy options for a slow continuous burn.




3. I told EVERYONE I knew I was on a diet. I need a vast amount of accountability to do what I do. I was highly vocal about it with my family, friends, and even on Facebook. I will tell you that I didn’t admit my weight on facebook till I weighed 204, but when I finally did, I was shocked at the amount of support I got from others I had in my circle of friends who were in the same boat. Being overweight is universal (well, in America and other wealthy countries) and I’m guessing 90% of the people you know have the same feelings as you do. I was willing to bear my fat and become a leader in my fight against fluff.




4. I exercised. Oh, the exercise! I didn’t really start it until I was over a month in. I couldn’t handle changing everything about my food habits AND being sore until I had psyched myself up for it. I also began a walking group. Again with the accountability. My best stretches of exercising were with other like-minded women. That way we could vent. And laugh. Those are some of my favorite memories from the last year too. You need to have a buddy or two.




5. I took pictures and measurements. I am not afraid to tell you that the first few months of this VERY IMPORTANT part, I cried like a baby when I saw the visual proof of what my body really looked like and was. It gets easier, but trust me, those pictures will do nothing but spur you on to your goal. OK, they will perhaps depress you a little. BUT, you will soon be able to look back and see how far you have come.




6. I learned to laugh at myself. This, sweet sisters, is more than essential. You will be faced with tough roads up ahead, and it’s going to be one of the hardest journeys you have ever come across. Laughing is key. Aside from the fact that it does count as exercise, (oh yes, my friend, it surely does!) laughing will set you free.




7. And finally, you have got to work through the emotional stuff that comes up. Because you are going to hit plateaus, your will and determination will be tested, and you will find yourself learning things that you didn’t realize about who you are. And this is the only way you will make a life long change instead of a temporary one. The emotional reason for your fat needs to be looked at.




So there you have it. That’s how I’ve lost my weight, so far. I have to tell you that this is kind of a bitter pill for me to swallow, because I need to look at these again myself. Cause I am not done. Remember how I FINALLY hit my 169? And was bound and determined to hit 165 by today? It totally didn’t happen. I got caught up in the thrill of the holidays, and landed myself back in the land of 170’s. 173.8 to be exact. Which means I have a lot of work to do.



OK, let’s see, what else did I need to tell you? Ah! There is a wonderful new button on my blog (thank you April!) that you can copy and paste onto your blog, and let others know what you are doing. (Step 3 in my effective habits, remember?) Be bold and speak out about it. Tell the readers of your blog what you are doing. They will ask you how it’s going at just the right time. You will need it, I promise.



Also, for those of you in the Danville IL area, my walking group at the mall will resume this Monday night, so plan to join if you can. It’s a blast!



I will have some fun things up on Sunday, as a gaggle of us girls will be attending the “YMCA FITNESS EXTRAVAGANZA- a 2.5 hour long torture session of all the exercise classes available to members of the Y” tomorrow morning. I won’t be able to write about it till Sunday, so make sure you come back for that. I’m sure it will be painfully funny, in oh so many ways.



All right, we have company coming over tomorrow night, so I need to clean house. I must get to work. But I’m motivated as ever to make healthy choices today, and I hope you are too!



Here’s to 2010- the year that EVERYTHING changes!!!