What’s the first step to weight loss?

I’ve been getting a lot of e-mails lately about taking the steps to weight loss.  I don’t know where all the new people popped up from, but I’m happy to have you here.  I’ve talked about the weight loss journey many times but I’m going to take a different approach to the topic today.  It’s an ever changing and growing process and I think I have something to add to the subject. So here is my first step to weight loss:

I conquered the bridge and completed the half marathon in a personal best. So PROUD of myself right now.

Be confident.

Embarking on a weight loss journey is physical and emotional.  It was the hardest and easiest thing I’ve ever done in my life. But there is A LOT of second guessing along the way.  That is the time to be confident.

Be confident that you are making the right choice at the right time to embark on your journey.

Be confident that you are going on the journey for YOURSELF and no one else.  There’s a different between doing it for yourself and finding the motivation through others.  Willie was motivated to lose the weight so he could play with our god child as she grew older, but the journey was something that he wanted to do for himself to enjoy a better life.  I was motivated by the realization of actually wanting to enjoy life and all the things in it, so it was a completely personal journey which was self motivated.

Be confident that the journey will work.  There will be struggles.  There will be moments of weakness.  There will be moments of great happiness.  Those things are just moments that lead to a bigger picture so be confident that you will succeed in the good times and the bad.

Be confident in the choices you will make.  There will be times when you turn down dinner with friends and alcoholic drinks.  There will be times you choose to stay at home because you know you need to get to sleep early to get your workout in.  There will days spent in the kitchen prepping your meals instead of at the movies and definitely more times than not there might be something fun you pass up because you need to hit the gym.  The choices you are making now are leading to a better tomorrow and there’s nothing wrong with that.  Be confident that you’re changing bad habits into new great habits.

Confidence

Be confident that you can do anything you put your mind to with hard work.  It’s not going to be easy but it will start to be fun.  Be confident that your choices will become second nature to you and the struggle won’t always be there.

And lastly, be confident enough to take the first step.  Nothing happens without action so you just have to dive in, even if you have no idea what to do.  It’s a learning process that you will learn through trial and error.

I hope this gives you a new perspective on how to approach your weight loss journey, no matter how many pounds you’re trying to drop.

The time I tried something new for lunch

The time I tried something new for lunch

If you haven’t noticed, I’m a creature of habit.  We eat the same thing all week for dinner, if it’s good I’ll suggest that we have it again the next week.  I’ll eat the same things for lunch too.  It doesn’t bother me. Most people don’t like leftovers, but I love for them.  I guess there’s a little comfort in knowing what I’m getting.  What’s the point on wasting calories on something you don’t like?  I DO understand there is something a little bit wrong with that, but my weekends are for experimenting…not my weekdays. Yesterday I strayed from the…

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Getting back on track

Getting back on track

It’s Monday! It’s the beginning of the new week and it’s time to start anew. Remember, there are good things about Mondays. There are a couple of things I have gotten away from that I think are very important and I don’t know why I stopped going them. The first thing is setting weekly and monthly goals. The monthly goal post was something I did regularly on the blog but I got away from it for some reason. Maybe I thought no one was interested in my goals or just thought it was a meaningless post…and that may actually be…

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The moments of change really happen

The moments of change really happen

I should have posted this yesterday but I guess you didn’t need to know that part of the story. I just didn’t know where I wanted to post to go. Change is a powerful thing. Sometimes change is good and sometimes change throws the world into chaos. But I guess I’m more interested in what sparks change. This week I was taken back to that moment when I decided to change. I’m often asked why we decided to go on our weight loss journey. What was the thing that changed our minds? I’ve said it before and I’ve been reminded…

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My biggest motivation

My biggest motivation

There’s one thing I’ve learned about motivation over the past few weeks.  In my case, I definitely need that dangling carrot to chase. When I was on the weight loss journey, the carrot was of course losing the weight.  Motivation came in the mirror and just being able to move around better. Since losing the weight and experiencing a whole new world, I’ve constantly been on the go.  I’ve been running these races and traveling across the country with goals…and then all of the sudden I’m not filled with that.  That became my normal and all of the sudden it’s…

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The calzone cooking fail

The calzone cooking fail

I really wanted a calzone carbs this week but I was trying to be good.  I was going to stay away from the bread.  I looked a pinterest for all this wonderful ideas of variations on a calzone.  Spoiler alert:  I should have tried one of those ideas instead of what I did.  Today I’m sharing with you my calzone cooking fail. On pinterest I came across a calzone made with egg roll wrappers and I thought it was a great idea considering egg roll wrappers are lower in calories than some other choices.  But the problem was I didn’t…

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What happens when moderation doesn’t work

What happens when moderation doesn’t work

I’m a big proponent of eating what you want in moderation because if you don’t eat it there are several things that happen. Like you you start to constantly think about eating that one thing and then that can manfiest itself into something else.  Then instead of just eating a small piece or just enjoying whatever it is you want…you hit the binge. The binge is never a good place to be because in my case, it just leaves me feeling horrible about myself and then I’m stuck in food regret.  I don’t regret many things in life, but I…

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Five Things You Can Do to Lose Weight …

Five Things You Can Do to Lose Weight now

It’s not a hoax or whatever.  People often ask what we did to lose weight or how we got started.  The is a simply answer and long answer so I’m going to give you a clif notes version.  It starts with a few simple things that will help you develop healthier habits. Cut the soda.  This is where we started from day one.  There was no more soda to be had.  I really have no idea how many calories I was consuming just by drinking soda.  It’s a mindless habit but those soda cans add up to major calories.  Or…

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Why must a black woman choose between her …

Why must a black woman choose between her hair and health?

Welcome to Transformation Tuesday and I wanted to talk about something different today.  I can’t and won’t deny the fact that I’m a black woman and once upon a time, I didn’t want to work out because it would mess up my hair.  This blog post may not appeal to you or be something you can’t relate to so it’s ok to skip this one if you want.  But for now, I must keep talking. (Afterthought inserted here) I want to preface this blog post by saying that our hair is not more important than our health. I am writing…

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Why I stopped showing up to running group?

Why I stopped showing up to running group?

My running group is great.  I love being a Strutter as most of you can tell from my race pictures.  These people have come into my life and made it so much sunnier.  My Monday and Wedesdays have been filled with hanging out with these people until recently and maybe it’s time for a little transparency. There are a few explanations that I could offer here.  Let’s start with the easiest explanation: I was just injured.  It’s not that I don’t want to run but I just couldn’t.  It hurt.  It was painful and it kind of made me sad.…

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Carbs are IMPORTANT in my life

Carbs are IMPORTANT in my life

More people have been asking about the food I’ve been making because I haven’t been sharing that in the recent months.  I haven’t been sharing because I am a creature of habit.  If I like something one week, I’ll make it again for the next week.  Sometimes if it’s easy and simple, I keep eating the same thing over and over for convience.  Basically, I’ve just felt a little boring with my food choices lately. I’ve turned chicken breast and chicken thighs, all boneless and skinless, into this: It’s a quick an easy meal. Sautee up some onions and bell…

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