Losing Weight & Baby Steps
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
So many of you out there in blog world are telling AMAZING stories of your weight loss & health goals!!! I am truly inspired by all of them. Yes, I lost weight when I was younger, about 40 pounds on a very short person, but many of you have lost 100 pounds and more. You all are AWESOME!!!! I know how hard it was to lose my weight so you all are my heroes!!! I also know the effort it takes to maintain the weight over time & change things when the body needs change. We get older, have kids (or not like me), take on new responsibilities & jobs so it is always a learning experience to find ways to keep it off & maintain our sanity at the same time!!! My sanity is in question!!! 
Well, a while back, I saw such an inspirational story on The Joy Fit Club (they are all inspirational) portion of The Today Show. Read her full story at the previous link. This lady is VERY short & was at an all time high of 270 pounds after the birth of her second son. She said this:
“I was out of breath walking up a flight of stairs,” she recalls. “I knew I needed to break the unhealthy eating cycle for my whole family. Here I had everything I ever wanted: a wonderful husband, two beautiful children and a beautiful home. We had the perfect life ... and I was risking not being around to enjoy it and see my children grow up." After nearly two decades of unsuccessful fad diets, Natalie committed herself to taking a slower approach to overhauling her eating habits.
There are so many fad diets out there like the grapefruit diet & the cabbage soup diet & the cookie diet. Jeez, I could do a whole post on these crazy programs that prey on womens desires to be beautiful & thin. There are lots of quick fixes out there like this "lose 11 inches in one hour" approach" . OMG, I nearly fell jumped off the couch & punched the poor TV when I saw this on Extra. I had the TV on for news & saw a blurb about this coming up so of course I had to watch the ridiculous in action! The clip is short if you want to watch it. The lady they wrap is not even overweight, in fact thin & they talk about how you keep your muscle.. I did not find any muscle on this lady! These friggin entertainment shows are so full of crap!!!!
Anyway, back to this great lady. She took the baby step approach. She did not overload herself & added healthy food & exercise along the way. First she started by adding lots of veggies & fruits to her food plan & cut out take out. Second, she just started walking. She set small attainable goals for herself & kept trying to do better. Third, when she was around 200 pounds, she started a food journal. We all know that studies prove logging food leads to a higher success rate & it makes you accountable as long as you are honest! Fourth, she stepped up her exercise routine as she got stronger. When she hit plateaus, she pushed herself further to get thru it. Fifth, she started letting herself have portion controlled snacks so she would not overeat later in the day. Sixth, she learned how to cook healthy! She started this early & continued to learn. Lastly and I think so important, as her clothes got too big, she donated them!!! NO GOING BACK! Now that is such a huge step!!! The acceptance & acknowledgment that you will not let yourself fall back into your old ways!
Now, I have always said that each person has to find a program that is right for them & that they can live with for life. The one thing I always love about the slower & baby steps approach is you learn along the way what does & does not work for you AND YOU LEARN IT RIGHT FROM THE BEGINNING rather than the quick fixes that keep you on a roller coaster ride & can be very bad for your health.
So many of you out there in blog world are telling AMAZING stories of your weight loss & health goals!!! I am truly inspired by all of them. Yes, I lost weight when I was younger, about 40 pounds on a very short person, but many of you have lost 100 pounds and more. You all are AWESOME!!!! I know how hard it was to lose my weight so you all are my heroes!!! I also know the effort it takes to maintain the weight over time & change things when the body needs change. We get older, have kids (or not like me), take on new responsibilities & jobs so it is always a learning experience to find ways to keep it off & maintain our sanity at the same time!!! My sanity is in question!!! Well, a while back, I saw such an inspirational story on The Joy Fit Club (they are all inspirational) portion of The Today Show. Read her full story at the previous link. This lady is VERY short & was at an all time high of 270 pounds after the birth of her second son. She said this:
“I was out of breath walking up a flight of stairs,” she recalls. “I knew I needed to break the unhealthy eating cycle for my whole family. Here I had everything I ever wanted: a wonderful husband, two beautiful children and a beautiful home. We had the perfect life ... and I was risking not being around to enjoy it and see my children grow up." After nearly two decades of unsuccessful fad diets, Natalie committed herself to taking a slower approach to overhauling her eating habits.
There are so many fad diets out there like the grapefruit diet & the cabbage soup diet & the cookie diet. Jeez, I could do a whole post on these crazy programs that prey on womens desires to be beautiful & thin. There are lots of quick fixes out there like this "lose 11 inches in one hour" approach" . OMG, I nearly fell jumped off the couch & punched the poor TV when I saw this on Extra. I had the TV on for news & saw a blurb about this coming up so of course I had to watch the ridiculous in action! The clip is short if you want to watch it. The lady they wrap is not even overweight, in fact thin & they talk about how you keep your muscle.. I did not find any muscle on this lady! These friggin entertainment shows are so full of crap!!!!
Anyway, back to this great lady. She took the baby step approach. She did not overload herself & added healthy food & exercise along the way. First she started by adding lots of veggies & fruits to her food plan & cut out take out. Second, she just started walking. She set small attainable goals for herself & kept trying to do better. Third, when she was around 200 pounds, she started a food journal. We all know that studies prove logging food leads to a higher success rate & it makes you accountable as long as you are honest! Fourth, she stepped up her exercise routine as she got stronger. When she hit plateaus, she pushed herself further to get thru it. Fifth, she started letting herself have portion controlled snacks so she would not overeat later in the day. Sixth, she learned how to cook healthy! She started this early & continued to learn. Lastly and I think so important, as her clothes got too big, she donated them!!! NO GOING BACK! Now that is such a huge step!!! The acceptance & acknowledgment that you will not let yourself fall back into your old ways!
Now, I have always said that each person has to find a program that is right for them & that they can live with for life. The one thing I always love about the slower & baby steps approach is you learn along the way what does & does not work for you AND YOU LEARN IT RIGHT FROM THE BEGINNING rather than the quick fixes that keep you on a roller coaster ride & can be very bad for your health.
I know so many of you out there are in the same position as this lady. Let us know if you agree, disagree or have anything else to offer the people out there that are still struggling to lose. I did not go through the weight loss process the right way at first & had to relearn all about food later. If I had done & known then what I learned later.... well, you can't go back BUT it would have made a difference!
Oh, give-away over at Feed Me I'm Cranky! She has a whole list of stuff she is giving away. Check it out!
Oh, give-away over at Feed Me I'm Cranky! She has a whole list of stuff she is giving away. Check it out!
I do agree with the baby step approach. I also phased in my health habits one by one instead of the all or nothing approach. Phasing in help to get strong in an area, one at a time, and establish a habit before introducing another step.
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Great points Josie!!! You done good & look great too!
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Thanks for sharing her story. It's just so wonderful to read about people who lost weight sensibly. Good for her, and thanks for posting this!
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Diane, I think you should submit your story!!!!!! Yours would be perfect for this!
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Baby steps is the way to go. All these "lose weight in 5 minutes" programs just make losing weight that much harder. Training your body to eat right and exercise is probably the smartest way to dropping lb's. Great story Jody..
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Amanda, yes, those quick fix things are crazy! That lose 11-12 inches thing really ticked me off!
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Good for her. Results can come in many many different ways. But this reminds me of one of my favorite quotes: "Ordinary actions, over time product Extra-Ordinary results"
Remember that because it's true in almost EVERY aspect of life.
P.S- Oh and Jody, what was this "dating" thing you spoke of? People still do that? Craziness! >
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FJ, always love your quotes!!!! Going to make note of that one too!
And you are too dang funny!
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Love this post. I'm not overweight but struggle with healthy eating and exercise which plays a roll in my overall well being. I have to find out what works for me and what i will actually do.
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Fitness surfer. Thx for visiting! I sure hope you are able to take away a few things & start feeling better overall! YES, we all have to find what works for us long term. It may change over time BUT it has to work for you & what you will stick with long term.
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