This past 8 months I lost over 40 pounds the old fashioned way. I took up exercising and ate healthy. It takes a lot of will power and determination, but I promise it works. At first I did some different exercises but my husband encouraged me to take up running. I’ve never been a runner, but thought it was a good idea. Of course at first it was more like a jog for a few minutes and then turned into walking! But with time I worked myself up to more of a run and I could do a mile, then two, then three. Running did wonders for me, but I eventually started spending time on weights and floor exercises (like crunches and push ups), and I also started using an elliptical machine. One thing that I started which really has been good for me is to keep track of the miles I run (I do this mostly on a treadmill, but you can also track your distance with Google Earth). It’s crazy to add up your miles at the end of the month and see how far you’ve gone. Then you have a goal for the next month, to do just a little more than you did the month before.
The second part of loosing my weight came with my eating. There is one thing for sure, I never ever went hungry! When you’re hungry, it’s totally okay to eat! But, you’ve got to eat the healthy stuff; I don’t let myself eat just anything. Probably the major thing that I did was take what I’d normally eat, cut it in half and fill the rest with fruits and veggies. So for example, if I would normally eat two tacos for dinner, instead I would eat one along with a salad or apple or something like that. I did this for every lunch/dinner meal. Then, my snacks just about always became a fruit of veggie, unless I decided to have a low fat yogurt or whole wheat crackers or something else that would be nutritious. Don’t get me wrong, I still found ways to indulge in junk food. I have a huge sweet tooth and so I had to learn how to control it. The problem with saying no to junk food is that it feels socially unacceptable. In my work environment I felt like such an outcast for not participating in eating junk food. But what I kept thinking was “I’ll be happier losing weight than eating that piece of cake.” After a while I learned that it was okay to indulge with my coworkers if it was really something I couldn’t resist, as long as it was a reasonable portion. I also started to plan ahead if I knew that there would be an opportunity to indulge, and then I would make sure I ate a little healthier that day, or fit in some extra workout time. I also started to tell myself I could indulge twice a week. Then when I was offered something on Thursday, I knew I didn’t want to eat it because I was already planning to bake something delicious on Saturday. You should eat some of your favorite junk foods sometimes, because if you don’t you might go crazy and overeat.
One thing to keep in mind is your ultimate goal and each day is an opportunity to get there. Every choice you make will take you one step closer or farther away. If you “mess up” it is not the end of the world, learning to change you eating habits will take some time. But I definitely promise that the hard work and dedication will be well worth the results! Hope this helps! Good Luck!
