How to Lose Weight and Keep it Off For Good!

First let me start by saying I have never been overweight, so if you are trying to lose a ton of weight, this could work for you but you might need more extreme measures. I am 5’6 closer to 5’7 and I weigh about 135 at my normal weight. Well the story goes, before my trip to Greece in August of 2010, I weighed myself and I was a whopping 149. To me that was a lot because I have never been 150 lb., and I knew my clothes got a little too tight on me but I still couldn’t believe I reached 150 lb.! I should add that even though I had gained weight I was not fat, and my body was not all that gross, just to me it was. I am pretty tall and well proportioned so it is difficult to tell when I gain weight, unless I have a scale. I actually do not like scales because I don't think numbers really matter, but the problem with me is that I still wear the same size in clothes if I gain weight!! So, I was not feeling myself anymore....and I quickly took action to try to lose weight before going to Greece. The main reason I was going is to be part of my cousins wedding and of course we were going to be going the beach a lot, how could I go to the beach looking like a wale?! (In my opinion of myself lol)

So I started doing some light exercises at home every night, I started eating healthier and eating SMALLER portions. It turned out great in the end. I came back from Greece with everyone, and I mean everyone commenting on my weight loss, and I really didn’t do much! Even my dear aunt who I can always count on to negatively comment on my cute figure had told me that I lost weight. I thought that was crazy, before Greece I walked out of her house and her comment to me was, “Yea, keep eating those cheeseburgers”. But you know, I let that one slide. At least she noticed my weight gain, because no one else said ANYTHING!! I wish people would tell the truth, at least to me because then I might get upset but I'd rather hear the truth than hear people telling me I look good all the time, when I didn't!

So now my rant is over and I will share with you a list of the little things I did to lose my chunkaness:

EAT SMALLER PORTIONS

We as Americans are used to eating for 3. Our portions are humungous, and it is not at all good or healthy for us to be eating this much. I cut down a tremendous amount of what I was eating. I drank a lot of water to make sure I wasn’t eating when I was thirsty, because that is a mistake a lot of people do. You think you are hungry but really you are parched! I chose healthier foods to eat, which in turn made me full faster than any stupid fast food could fill you. And I only ate 3 times a day. That works for me. If you get hungry fast, you might want to try eating many small portions throughout the day, but for me I’d rather eat my 3 meals a day with a possible snack sometime throughout the day, because if I try to eat small portions all day I will probably lose track and eat everything in site! One thing I do as well is if I eat out, I only eat until I am full and then I save the leftovers to eat for later on in the day or the next day. Remember, when you eat out, the portions are bigger than what your supposed to have, which is about the size of your fist, so keep that in mind when you are eating and try not to pig out and eat all that food if you can get full from less food.

EXERCISE!

I have always been an on and off exerciser. It is now a regular habit that I have incorporated into my life, but before I would get lazy and then not exercise for a while and then when I felt chunky I would start again. I don’t think this was a good way to live, so I now exercise at least 3 times a week minimum, but I don’t do anything crazy. I started off with light yoga and then as I got used to it I started doing more difficult moves. I also started with light dumbbell workouts, and standing up ab workouts. I really didn’t do much to lose weight with exercising but I think it helped anyway. When you build muscle, the muscle burns more calories than fat, so exercise is definitely a benefit. Before my Greece trip and while I was in Greece as well, I made sure to do light exercises EVERY SINGLE NIGHT before I went to sleep. My sister and me shared a room then, she wanted to kill me, hehe.

GO WALKING

Now this goes along with exercise, but the reason I kept it separate is because I don’t think it’s a good idea to think of it as exercise. I think it’s important to try to walk as much as you can everyday. So, my advice to you because this is what I do is try to take walks everyday, especially in nice weather of course! Aim for a 30-minute walk around your neighborhood or the park, and if you can’t do 30 minutes do at least 15-20 for the day. Walking is something simple and nice, it can help you release some stress and helps you stay in shape! Remember: don’t think of walking as an exercise because then you most likely won’t want to do it, so just think of it as a recreational thing, something you enjoy doing and it will lead to a smart and healthy lifestyle for you!

CHOOSE HEALTHIER FOODS TO EAT

This should be a lifestyle change, not just to lose weight. Instead of eating those greasy French fries, choose a salad, or instead of white rice switch it up to brown rice. For the most part, most of us DO know how to eat healthy, we just choose not to, but if you start little by little eating healthier, than it will become easier as you go and you will eventually become a natural at it! Eat your fruits and vegetables guys, and don’t forget to have a Greek yogurt a day for your probiotics!

MOVE YOUR LAZY TUSH AS MUCH AS YOU CAN!

This is another obvious one, and it is separate from exercising as well because it is sort of silly. Something I do all the time is fidget and jump around, kick around, butt clench, stomach clench, whatever it is to keep myself moving while I am doing lazy things like watching TV, or just lounging around at home. It may sound silly and minor, but moving around burns calories, so to me I move around as much as I can because every burned calorie helps!

ONLY DRINK WATER OR TEA AS A BEVERAGE

This one may be difficult for those soda lovers out there, but if you are drinking soda you should really stop right now because it is not good for you!! I used to have a diet soda addiction myself, but I stopped completely and now I only drink water or green tea. I do drink other teas as well and the occasional coffee, no sugar of course. To me there’s no sense in consuming all your calories through beverages, that is what food is for, so its better to drink water as much as you can to keep your internal and external self healthy, because you must know all the benefits of drinking water. (Healthier skin, nails, hair, etc.) Water is good for you and doesn’t make you gain weight!

So that’s basically all I did and all I do to maintain my weight, although I am not perfect, I am at a healthy and stable weight and that is what’s important. Oh but wait, the last think I did and still do but not as much is go dancing! I love to dance and it's exercise, but I didn't put that on the list because you guys might not go out dancing that much, but it is good exercise, even if you just dance at home.

Also, just my own opinion: don’t buy into the excuses that wintertime adds pounds. Many people use this as an excuse, that everyone gains weight during the winter. You can be that exception! if you work at preventing gaining weight than that is much healthier than yo-yo dieting and you will be able to maintain your ideal weight for as long as you can. You can do it!

Healthy stable you=Happy you :)