I�ve heard more than once that I am crazy to write about my latest Weight Watchers experience for everyone to see. At some point I may gain weight, will I write about it then? Yes. Part of what has me so enthused for the program this time around, and a large part of my success the last two weeks, are all the nice comments and emails I have been getting. Today, Lilie, the owner and designer behind A Planet 4 Creation, emailed me a list of tips that helped her lose 25 pounds. They were so good, I asked Lilie if I could share them. She happily obliged.
Watch your portions. Sometimes when you restrict a certain food item from your diet, it�s all you think about. Eventually you break down and eat way too much of whatever it is you wanted to avoid! A better idea is to allow yourself anything you like, within reason, and in much smaller portions.
Get up and move. Start slow, try to do it daily and increase the amount each day. Try to build muscle through weights. With more muscle, you will burn calories in your sleep!
Don�t cut your calories too much. I tried to keep my intake at 1200 calories and it was too little. It�s much easier to reduce your calories by a reasonable amount and make up the rest by burning calories with exercise.
Reward yourself for good work. I plan to get some new beads [for the shop] once I exercise for a full 2 weeks.
Mark your progress. I put stickers on my calendar when I exercise for the day. I use to have a bar graph that I would fill in red as I got closer to my goal weight. I kept a notebook and wrote down everything I ate.
Exercise does not require fancy equipment. I just put on runners and dance in the kitchen. Do stomach exercise during commercial breaks on tv.
Cheat on your diet. I would hit plateaus where I did everything right but the scale didn�t move. I would then go off my diet (McDonald’s for dinner, etc.) and I would lose again. [This has happened to me so many times! �ed]
Don’t measure success by weight alone. Measure your waist. Try on clothes that were tight on you and see if there is a difference. Sometimes the numbers on the scale don’t go down because you are building muscle, and muscle weighs more than fat.
Read labels. It�s surprising how many servings they put into one package! You think you�re doing well and then realize that the package was 4 servings.
Small steps. Don’t try to do everything at once. If you want to quit sodas and increase exercise, pick one and work on it slowly until it becomes an afterthought. Then work on developing another healthy habit.
Thanks, Lilie! It�s always nice to hear what works for other people, just like me, who are trying to lose weight and manage a busy schedule.
Please email me at jules [at] pancakesandfrenchfries [dot] com if you have a great diet/exercise tip, recipe, or product you want to share! If someone hasn’t already suggested it, I will post it on the blog, give you the credit, and link back to your site or blog.
Don�t worry and think your tip is too small�Lilie suggested I eat cottage cheese for a high protein breakfast, and would you believe I never even considered it until she mentioned it to me? Such an obvious and simple idea, and I completely overlooked it!
One word: LAUGHING COW cheese wedges! One point and you can/will put it on EVERYTHING!!!!
CherryTreeLane�s last blog post..glimpse
I am so happy you putting up these posts. It’s totally motivating to me!! Can’t wait to try and get something going for myself. THANK YOU!!!
brie�s last blog post..Idol Chit Chat
I’m glad you’re writing about it, Jules, and I think I need to read about it more because I’ve hit a plateau. Not a real one–those come when you’re sticking to it and your body has adjusted. Nope. THe kind of plateau where I say to myself, well, it’s a birthday week in our family, so I won’t track my food. I’ll just eat “sensibly” other than the our pieces of cake/pie I’ve eaten today. And tomorrow.
I was pleased at my meeting yesterday because I’d only gained 2 pounds. I’ve lost a total of 11 pounds and it feels so good but it’s hard to wrap my head around the fact that I’d like to lose 35-40 more. ANd I can’t help but feel Sam’s bar mitzvah looming in the near-distance.
Jen�s last blog post..The Gift
Whew! You have no idea how nice it is to hear you like these posts. I woke up this morning full of doubt, thinking people would find all this very boring and that I should stop writing about the subject. I’m so glad that at least three of you like my diet posts. :)
Well you know I like the diet posts since I have a whole blog dedicated to it! I love getting new ideas :)
Colleen�s last blog post..FOOD
You are doing great! Don’t stress over the slowness of losing–all studies show that the slower you make changes, the longer they are likely to stick.
And you make everything you write interesting to read, so don’t worry about that.
Here’s one that made me think twice: Don’t do anything while you are eating, such as reading. Have you ever tried to just sit their and do absolutely nothing but eat? You’ll find that you get full faster and eat less. That one I believe was from Dr. Oz.
Brooke�s last blog post..Can I Use Your Toilet?
I love reading about it too. I am in a program myself and trying so hard. Your tips and stories have been great and inspirational to me!
Love, love, love your weight loss posts. They inspire me to get my butt in gear! I’m emailing you a great recipe for a low-fat/low-cal dessert. :-)
Julie�s last blog post..L’Atelier des Bijoux
I was always constantly complaining about not having the time to exercise. Let’s face it, I still complain about that. But then I got off my lazy but and decided to exercise on my lunch hour at work. And since I hate running, that was out. So instead, I grabbed a friend and started a mini aerobics class via DVD in one of the conference rooms.
Now we have a standing date for some Tae Bo everyday at 1 o’clock. It’s a great way to break up the day and rev up your energy for the afternoon. Although, this is usually only good for people who don’t have to see clients as “wet and sweaty” is not typically a look they like to see…
Colleen You’re full of tips and secrets! You’ll have to email me with some so I can post them here!
KathiD,/b>Thanks! I have a feeling this week will be a no-lose week. I a pound up from last week, and I have no idea why! Must be my body adjusting?
BrookeThat is a GREAT tip, and so true! I snack and watch TV at night. Very bad!
KristenWhat program are you doing, and do you like it?
JulieI got the recipe, thanks! It looks great and I will definitely try it. I’ll post is too, of course, so everyone can try it!
Morgan I have spent my life looking for excuses not to exercise. I’m 36, and my metabolism is telling me I just ran out of excuses. But your story is funny–while I was reading I thought, she must not be seeing clients after that!