Got weight loss goals?

It’s the new year and everyone is looking for those posts about achieving weight loss goals.  I’m going to go back to my roots to talk about what started it all, weight loss.

My weight loss journey started back on January 6, 2011. I weighed 338 pounds, which I think was my heaviest weight.  I couldn’t be too sure because I never stepped on a scale until the day I started my weight loss journey.

2017 weight loss

Now it’s 2019 and I’ve managed not to gain my weight back.  My biggest weight gain was from pregnancy, but I’m glad to say I’m back at a manageable point.

So what’s the secret to losing weight? There is no secret.  We didn’t do anything but stop eating horrible food and started getting moving.  Counting calories and working out kept our weight loss journey on track.  There was a need to eat more real food and we adjusted to this.  There were definitely more vegetables in our lives. There were more home cooked meals and if we couldn’t eat at home it was about finding the freshest food to consume.

Drink your water, eat real food, and eat at home as much as you can.  When you eat at home, you know what’s in your food because you’re making your meals.  There will be no question or doubt what you’re eating is prepared in a way that you are comfortable eating.

Losing weight doesn’t have to be the worst thing in the world.  It’s possible, but you do have to put the work in behind it.  There are changes that will need to be made in your life.  You may need to adjust some of your social habits.  You will need to cut back on your soda and alcohol consumption.  There is an adjustment period because becoming healthy doesn’t happen overnight.  You will need to make time to workout and prep your food.  It will seem impossible and hard sometimes, but it will pay off in the long run.

Weight loss doesn’t happen overnight.  It’s a process.  Go through the process and let it work.  Give it time.

Find what works for you.  There are plenty of weight loss tools out there in the world.  It’s the beginning of the year and you’re being bombarded with this stuff.  Find the thing that will work for you in your life.  If you need a food delivery service due to lack of time or just not knowing how to plan out meals, then do it.  If you need to get a personal trainer to keep you accountable, then invest in it.  If you don’t like to workout alone, then don’t do it.  Go to a group fitness class.

What works for someone else may not work for you.  I was ok with counting calories and just working out because I am an extremely disciplined person.  It was easy for me because that is my personality type.

I could tell you that I ate chicken and brown rice most of the time but that may not work for you. I’m a creature of habit so it didn’t bother me.  Eating the same thing every day won’t work for everyone.  I know and understand this completely. Find what is going to get you motivated and keep you on track to living your healthy lifestyle.

Your weight loss journey is your own.  There may be motivations (children, lifestyle, class reunion) to why you want to lose weight, but ULTIMATELY YOU ARE LOSING WEIGHT FOR YOURSELF.  If this isn’t the case, you need to sit down and think about why you want to lose weight. A weight loss journey is long and emotional and the only person who will understand is you.  This is a moment you will need to be true to yourself and live the life that works best for you.

Most importantly, remember you are human.  You have feelings and you have desires.  If you mess up one day or don’t feel like working out, it’s ok.  Don’t beat yourself up.  Just don’t fall too far down the hole where it’s called starting over.  If you want pizza, you should eat it because if you don’t you will probably binge on it. It’s a one day at a time process and every day will have its own victory.  Take the time to celebrate those victories and learn from the mistakes that you will make along the way.  There will be times you need to readjust but that’s all apart of the process.

This may not be the information you were looking for about a weight loss journey, but this is the honest truth!  These are kind of the things people don’t tell you about losing weight.