1. Make this a lifestyle change.
Take everything one step at a time. I am the queen
of yo-yo dieting and I firmly believe it is what led me to weigh 226 last year. Too often I would try to change my eating,
exercise patterns and lifestyle all at once. Every time, I failed miserably. This time around I started small
and made mini goals for each week that passed. My first goal was to make sure that I attended the WW meeting every week.
It moved to counting points 5 out of 7 days, then counting points everyday, then incorporating 3-5 days of exercise each
week, then focusing on using my points for healthy foods and so on. Had I done all of these things at once, it would
have been too hard and I would have given up. It has taken me over a year to lose 53 lbs. but I will keep them
off because I have slowly made a new lifestyle for myself over a longer period of time.
2. Be honest with yourself.
I have lied to myself for years. I have told people that I didn't mind being overweight
and that I was beautiful at any size. I told myself that I was healthy and that it didn't matter that I was in a size
20. I told myself that I would never like vegetables and that they weren't worth gagging myself just to be healthy.
Being true to myself was the hardest thing I had to realize on this journey. I have finally forgiven myself for thinking
that I wasn't worth being beautiful, having a healthy body and loving both my inside AND outside. Face the truth.
You are worth it.
3. Let yourself mess up.
Nobody is perfect. No one can be on program every second of every day for the
rest of their life. It just doesn't work that way. It took me a long time to realize this. I have always
been a perfectionist and would easily throw away 2 months worth of healthy eating and exercising because I binged one
night. I had to change my way of thinking in order to be successful. To quote Kippy from the WW message
board, "If you dropped one egg would you throw the whole carton down?" No, you wouldn't. Likewise, you cannot
throw the program away because you messed up. Dust yourself off, stop feeling sorry for yourself and kick this program's
butt. You deserve to be thin and you deserve to be healthy. Don't start again tomorrow, start again NOW.
4. Surround yourself with positive support.
Find a buddy that wants to lose weight, do it with your partner, attend weekly
meetings or use an online support board such as www.weightwatchers.com. I would not be as successful as I am without the support of those around me. Surround yourself
with people who will positively support you on this journey. Cut yourself loose from those who wish to sabotage your
success. You will never be who you want to be with those people in your life.
5. Do not compare yourself to others.
There will always be people more beautiful, thinner and smarter than you. Likewise
there will always be people who are not as fortunate as you are. Losing weight is not a race, it is a process, a journey.
Focus on you and your goals in life. I highly recommend taking before, during and after pictures. You will truly
be able to see your success and how far you have come.
6. Finally, and most importantly, have fun.
Make exercise fun by trying new activities. Discover your inner athlete.
Try classes at your gym that you think "aren't you", buy a jump rope, get some roller blades and hit the local park.
On my journey I have discovered how to de-stress my life using yoga and pilates, to shake my booty with some hip hop,
belly and salsa/merengue dancing, and to kick some major butt in my kickboxing class. I plan to continue challenging
myself physically and mentally for the rest of my life.
Get out there and make yourself proud. Please write me if you need support or
want to tell someone about your success.
Sincerely,
Marcia
mlp194@hotmail.com
mlp194 on the WW message board
