Help!

People are my passion. I really love people and love to help in any way that I can. I think that is why I am feeling a bit overwhelmed. Since I have been successful at losing 100 pounds in 9 months, I have been getting peppered with questions about how I have done it and what I did. I love answering all those questions and I love sharing with anybody that cares to listen, but I know that what works for one does not work for all. I wish I had it figured out and how to give the right answers that will help everyone, and so I am feeling so underqualified.

I think for me, I finally had my "aha" moment and that is why I have been able to stick with this. And it is mostly because of my stubborn nature. People telling me I had a right to look the way I did and a desire to prove them all wrong. I want to help everyone else have that same epiphony as I did, but I know that is unrealistic. I didn't even know what would do it for me until it happened. But, that is my challenge to you. Think about your personality. Think about the things that are motivating for you. Is it the thrill of a good challenge and some healthy competition? Is it having a piece of clothing that you long to fit into staring at you day in and day out? Is it writing down your goals and reasons for wanting to shed those extra pounds? Whatever it is, search for it and go for it. And I will be here to support and encourage you along the way.

Like I said, I love to help people, so if there is something I can do for you, let me know. I am only human though, so don't ask for some superhuman act like guarding every bite you take throughout the day. But I am here for you. Leave me a comment and let me know what you would like someone to help you with along your journey.

I hope these can be encouraging to you. Here are a couple of my 100 pound celebration pictures taken by my friend at http://www.nhphoto.org/.

Secrets and progress

I figured I would start off this post by giving you a few of my secrets. This one I have shared with a few fortunate souls, but now it's going public. When I would have trouble seeing results on the scale over the course of a week or so, I dedicated one day to only fruits and veggies. I would eat as much as I wanted, but only fruits and veggies. Somehow, this changed things up enough for me to see results on the scale the next day and keep me motivated and feeling like I was making progress. I would have some PB with an apple if I really wanted or dressing on my salad, but other than that, just fruits and veggies.

The other secret is one that I just recently picked up and had to use tonight. When those urges for late night snacks hit, go brush your teeth. There is something about having a minty fresh mouth that seems to ward off those cravings and makes it easier to resist. And it's great hygiene too.

I don't know if I mentioned this here or not, but I know that I told several people that I was not a runner. I was a firm believer that I would never run nor did I ever believe running was fun. I was wrong. I have started to run. Not because I think it's better excercise, but because it's fun. I know, I'm a little sick and twisted, but I am enjoying it. I would like to run my next half marathon in April 2012, so I have started the couch to 5K program. I jumped in at the end of week 3 with a friend and that was pushing my limits. I did the first day of week 4 yesterday and made it. I'm quite proud of that. I do find it a little overwhelming though to think that when I am done with that program, I will be trained to run 3 miles and a half marathon is 13.1 miles, but I guess I will get there, hopefully.

For those of you who get jealous or discouraged to know about my progess, you can stop reading now, but I really like to keep track of this part too because it's so awesome to be able to look back and see where I was at.  I weight 153. 97 pounds down only 3 to go. I am having a bit of trouble because I feel I have hit a mental block, but I am trying to power through it so that at least I can hit this HUGE goal and feel I have succeeded. If after that I gain 5 pounds back, I'm not going to sweat it. And I am wanting to schedule a final photo session to document my achievement and I will make that happen.

Working hard

Just in case you are really curious, I am still working on getting a picture taken so I can show you my progress. A friend has volunteered to take some for me tomorrow, so hopefully, you can see soon. But, before I show them, I just want to make sure you know that this did not happen to me overnight. I know that sometimes it's hard to see that transformation in someone else and forget that it took a lot of hard work to get there. Before I started to lose weight, I felt like this was something that would take me "forever". And I think that's one of the reasons I waited so long to begin. I thought the road would be way too long and way too hard. Well, it has been long, and it has been hard, but nothing beats the satisfaction of all that hard work paying off. The weight does come off slowly and so make sure that you have small goals set for yourself to prevent getting discouraged. For me, it was hard to see that 240 lbs go to 238 lbs. It doesn't really seem like much of a difference, but I didn't gain all that weight in a few weeks and it's not going to come off in just a few weeks. Just know that all those little successes do pay off. Each pound lost is one less weighing you down.

Another thing that I have learned to do is to get rid of all those clothes that I used to wear. I mean really, why would I want that stuff clogging up my closet. I think it would be too easy for me to slip back into some of it if it was still hanging around, but now that it is gone, I have no excuses. And let me tell you, the thrift store has seen some big deliveries from me lately. And, instead of going out to buy clothes for myself during this transitional time, I have relied on some good friends who used to be this size. They have lent me their items that are too big, so at least I have something. If I bought a pair of size 16 pants, I think I could have been tempted to stay in them a while and get my money's worth out of them. So, if you have lent me clothes, bless you.

One more thing for today. I found the Weight Watchers official Facebook page the other day and noticed that they are looking for people who have met their goal weight to star in some commercials for them. Now, I am not looking for fame or stardome and I'm not really sure if I would be comfortable with that, but I am bummed that I am not eligible because I haven't hit my goal weight yet. I am about 20 lbs away from my WW goal. I just love being able to share my story and find someone that can relate and realize that they can do it too. I think that is what helped me get started. Finding someone that I could relate to and watch them make those changes.

Things I've learned

I knew a lot about healthy eating before I started. I think most of us do. It's shared with us in every way possible, it's just up to us if we heed that advice and put it into practice, which is the hard part. Here are some things that I learned along the way that have made this possible for me.

Don't go "cold turkey". Don't start out so hard core that you are ready to give up the first week because all you've eaten is chicken and broccoli. Ease into it slowly. You will still see results and it will give you a place to make changes later when things get a little harder.

Treat yourself. I don't mean every day. I have learned that dessert is a treat. It does not need to be eaten every day (or after every meal for that matter). But, if you give up your favorite sweets, forever, you will probably feel deprived and want to overdo it. I keep a bag of hershey's kisses in the house for when I need some sweets. They are small and I can have about 5 of them without hurting my points allowance very bad.

Chew gum. I found the dessert delights gum that was sweet and kept my mouth busy for a while and that kept me from going to get something to eat just because I was bored. And that is one of my big reasons for eating, so it helped a lot.

Have a back-up plan. Lots of advice I had seen said that you needed a plan for your day so you knew what you were going to eat and didn't eat junk because you didn't know what else to eat. Well, I am a busy momma of three little boys, and I can barely think ahead to the next diaper change, let alone all my food intake for a day, but what I did have was a back-up plan. When dinner time rolled around and I hadn't figured out a nice healthy meal to fix, I would fix myself a sandwich. Regardless of what I gave everybody else to eat, I at least had something that fit well in my day. I found Healthy Life bread that is only 1 point per slice, used lunch meat and one slice of cheese.

Be prepared. I'm not talking boy-scout level preparedness here, but when you know you are getting ready to go somewhere that there will be food that isn't exactly on your diet, take some fruit (or a fiber bar) with you and eat it on the way. That way, you aren't famished and eating anything you see just because you need something. Then, if you want to have a taste of a couple of things, you can stop after just a couple bites. This goes for all those BBQ's, picnics, family get togethers, weddings, funerals, birthday parties, etc. If you give yourself freedom to forget the diet for these "special ocassions", you will end up having one every week and not have changed your habbits at all.

Fit activity in wherever you can. My outlook on activity has completely changed. Before, I would really hate having to be the one to drag the trash out to the road once a week and bring the cans back up, but now I am eager to do it because it's a small opportunity for me to move around a little more and be active. Walk to places that are short distances, like the park, store, or bank. For me, this ends up being easier than the car since I have to load everyone up in and out of car seats and carry them into each building.

Well, I hope some of this advice is helpful and something you can use to make your journey a successful one. Don't be scared, just jump in and do it.