Get Skinny Now

All the tasty treats of Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years have caught up with me and I’m forced once again to either put myself on a regimented diet or to purchase clothing in a larger size. Since hitting my 40’s, I’ve found it challenging to keep my waistline trim enough to fit into my size 8 pants and am edging into that size 10 little by little. I don’t need my BMI to tell me that I’m overweight – I can feel it in this roll that is developing in my mid-section. Where the heck did this bulge in my back come from?? This muffin top is NOT attractive! HELP!!!

What’s most frustrating is that I’m relatively healthy in my food choices. I don’t eat chips and rarely indulge in sweets; I eat whole grains and vegetables, and avoid fast food like the plague. My activity level is not what it should be though. I’m at the gym only once or twice a week. I’m a single mom. I work full-time at my 9 to 6 job, and then work part-time on my own business. I’m fortunate to have teens at home that can make their own meals and help with chores. But realistically by the time I’ve finished all that I need to pack into a day; I do not love the idea of spending another hour or two away from home at the gym.

I work for a company that is very health conscious. Recently they started giving health insurance discounts to employees that are within a certain BMI percentage. While this has been beneficial to my pocket book, it also carries extra stress along with it. I’m constantly worrying about my weight, especially before the required check-in appointments which measure not only our BMI, but also our blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Yes, this system keeps me accountable but it also feels slightly oppressive.

Circling back to the original point I was trying to make – I need to lose some weight. Not because big brother is looming over my shoulder at work and not because I'm avoiding the need to purchase a new wardrobe. I need to lose weight because it’s the healthy choice for me. Obesity, high cholesterol and diabetes are a family curse. My mother is obese. Her mother and her aunts were obese. My grandfather on my father’s side had diabetes due to being overweight. I do not want to follow in their foot steps. I have a lot of life to live and hope to have at least another 40 or 50 years to do so.

Before the holidays I was maintaining my weight by balancing my calories and activity level. Even at that point by BMI standards I was considered overweight. The good news was I was keeping the scale at a constant. The bad news was that I wasn’t shedding any pounds. So here I am considering the best way for me to drop 25 pounds and keep it off for good. While researching options to get my personal weight loss underway I’ve come across so many diet plans my head is whirling.

Today’s society is immersed in a culture of ‘instant gratification’. Do you remember the spoiled girl in the 1971 movie “Willie Wonka and The Chocolate Factory”, Veruca Salt? She sang with mucho gusto “I want the world. I want the whole world. I want to lock it all up in my pocket, it's my bar of chocolate - Give it to me now!” Those in pursuit of weight loss want to see results immediately. Look on the web an you’ll find no shortage of sites that promise you’ll lose weight fast if you drink their shakes, eat their magic cookies (did you know there was a cookie diet??), or pop their fabulous supplements. Some of these methods are extremely dangerous and can cause gallstones, dehydration, malnutrition and chemical imbalances in your body. People are injecting HCG hormones, cleansing their systems with laxatives, and rubbing on creams that promise to melt away the fat from your body. Wake up America! This is a billion dollar industry. Weight loss comes from two things: a controlled diet and exercise. It takes time, it takes effort, and it takes discipline.

Before you chose a diet plan do a little research and figure out which one best fits your lifestyle. If you like to eat meat and veggies and don’t really crave pasta, rice & bread then a low carbohydrate diet might suit you best. If you are unwilling to give up carbohydrates, but are willing to be conscious of portion control and are ready to read dietary labels, a low calorie diet might be more up your alley.

Whichever diet plan you chose, it’s important that you begin with a plan and set yourself up for success. Tips I’ve found useful:

Keep a food diary
Track everything you eat and drink. This includes snacks, water, the amount of sugar you put in your coffee and more. Oh, and be sure to jot down what time you eat/drink. This record of choices and habits is one that you can refer back to when you celebrate successes or when you are trying to figure out why you put on that extra pound overnight.

Be wary of “diet foods”
Low fat does not mean low calorie. An item can be sugar free but loaded in cholesterol or sodium. Pay attention to serving sizes on labels. Did you know a lot of vitamin waters contain not only vitamins but heaps of sugar as well?

Arm yourself for success
Load your cabinets, refrigerator, and cubicle drawers with foods that fall into your diet plan. When you are hungry you will reach for these foods instead of that piece of chocolate in the candy dish. Declare war on unwanted foods by arming yourself with the right foods!

Exercise daily
This doesn’t mean you have to hit the gym for an hour each day. Take a fifteen minute walk during lunch, climb the stairs instead of taking the elevator, bounce on an exercise ball during your favorite television show, stand/pace while you are on the telephone, or do squats while putting your laundry away. Even vacuuming burns calories. I keep an exercise band at my desk and work my triceps, biceps and deltoids a few minutes at a time. Be creative in your activities. Once you start moving you'll see how much fun and effective it can be. Make a promise to yourself to be active!

Enlist a friend or co-worker to lose weight with you
There is nothing like accountability and a little bit of friendly encouragement to keep you on track. Meet or check in once a week. Discuss what is working and what motivates you. Even better, make a friendly weight loss wager. The first one to lose 10 pounds treats the other to a movie.

Make it fun
Don’t think about dieting as what you can’t eat, but what you can eat. Some of the best recipes in my arsenal are those I created or found while dieting. Turn your diet into your personal culinary revolution! Share your recipes. Have a healthy food cookoff! Spice it up a notch!

Fail your way to success
This may seem like a weird tip but it’s true. When you were a kid you didn’t get on a bike for the first time and pedal off into the sunset like Elliott on ET. You fell down. You got back up and tried again. You crashed into a tree. You got back on the bike and tried again. Eventually you figured out the symmetry to riding a bike and perfected it into an art. What most people don’t realize about failing is that there is always a lesson to be learned with each failure. The important thing is to recognize the lesson and turn your failures into success. (See tip one – keep a food log).

Give yourself time to lose the weight
Remember your weight wasn’t put on overnight. It took time to gain those pounds and its going to take time to lose them. Honestly, the battles that challenge you the most are the ones you'll remember forever. If you have spent the last year losing 75 pounds, it’s doubtful that you will kill a box of donuts to fulfill your next sugar craving. Just saying!

Have a goal that does not revolve around the scale
My friend Kim recently lost 15 pounds. Her goal wasn’t to lose 15 pounds. Her goal was to fit into a dress she wore a few years ago at a friend's wedding. She called it the “Bella wedding dress”. Guess what? That dress is now officially too big for her! Another friend wanted to lose weight so she could be active again. She’s lost 50 pounds and can now walk without the pain she once had in her hips. As she walks she continues to shed unwanted pounds.

Love the skin you are in
Don’t set out to lose weight because you are trying to fit an image that someone else has for you. Do it for yourself! Before you lose that first pound make sure that you love the person that you are right now. See the beauty inside and out.

Be Safe
Any diet plan that promises rapid weight loss is a diet plan you should walk away from. I know it sounds ridiculous and a bit overkill, but consult your doctor before starting any weight loss program. In fact, its your doctor who can best recommend a program that suits your metabolism and dietary needs.

In closing, I think the ultimate key to losing weight is to be stubborn, plant your feet and refuse to give up the fight.  Remember to stay positive and to be forgiving of your failures.  Good luck to all of you who are venturing down the weight loss path! Perhaps I will see you along the journey.