Back on Track!

I just have to post about how excited I am to be back on track and to also share the things I've done to get back on track so quickly.

It's funny, in some ways it's way easier to get back in the swing of things now because not only have I adopted a lot of healthy habits that are either already in place or very easy to reapply but also because everything was sooooo much harder when I was really heavy. The movement, the cravings.

Now, that being said, there are a couple of things that I find actually harder to deal with now that I'm trying to lose so much less weight than when I've set out to do it in the past. One is that the weight drops a lot slower. I remember when I was 275, 250, etc., I could lose crazy amounts of weight when I first started. I'm talking like 6, maybe even 10 pounds in the first week! I could continue to see pretty big drops in the first few weeks to follow as well. Four maybe five pounds a week! Talk about motivation! Now I work hard, watch everything I eat, and lose one pound in a week. But I have to remind myself that this is what happened around this weight last time. Some weeks I would see no drops at all. The flip side is that I get to feel pretty good about myself NOW instead of working for months on end before I feel halfway decent so I guess I'll take the trade off.

The other thing that makes it a little harder is actually what I just talked about. I feel pretty decent about myself right now. While this is definitely a good thing, it isn't always the most motivating thing when it comes to depriving myself of things I want. This is where the lifestyle change comes in though. I'm slowly learning to shift my focus from "I can't eat that because I want to lose weight and/or look at certain way" to "I choose not to eat that because I want to feel good and energetic and live a long healthy life."

Sometimes it's hard to step out of the instant gratification mindset and think long-term. So here's what I've applied to my life in the past two weeks to help me get back on track:

• Remembering that every day counts. Sometimes it helps to break weight loss goals down into days. As in, if I want to lose 1 pound per week, that means I have to lose .14 pounds per day. Sometimes just seeing this number makes me extra aware that every day, every choice really does count. Likewise, I like to calculate how much weight I gained per day when I slacked off, for the same reason.
• Focusing on feeling good each day instead of the end result. It's a lot easier to say no to a 200 calorie candy bar because I know it will almost immediately make me feel crappy than to resist it because it will help me lose 0.05 pounds.
• Have someone to which I am accountable. For my clients it's me. For me, it's my boyfriend. I like to call him on Monday morning after I've weighed and measured and share my successes.
• Preemptive eating! Because I struggle with cravings and unstable blood sugar, it is sooo important to never let myself get too hungry. I always have protein rich snacks (like my Sunwarrior vegan protein blend shake) and low-sugar fruit w/ raw nuts to snack on. Likewise, I know not to pack snacks I enjoy TOO much. I could literally eat a 1/2 pound of raw cashews so I would be crazy to carry them as an emergency snack. However, raw almonds I will only eat until the hunger is gone because I'm not crazy about them.
• Constant reminders. I love to watch documentaries, listen to podcasts, audiobooks, etc. to keep me informed and focused on what's important to me. For me it's nutrition. Exercise isn't a problem because I love it but for some people this might need to be included in your focus.
• Water, water, water. When I'm dehydrated, I'm tired and hungry.
• Plenty of sleep!! This is an area I've slacked off on lately but I'm officially back to a decent bedtime and I feel so much more in control.

So this is basically just a short list of everything that I've listed on my 5 Keys to Permanent Weight Loss link but apparently even being the creator of the list doesn't exempt me from needing to be reminded of it every now and then!