A Paver

After having a conversation with my sweet friend, Aly, the other day, I wanted to share with others what I shared with her.  I've had a lot of "weight loss experience" (I wish that were usable on a resume) and while I'm by no means an expert, I have learned a lot.

There a lot of adages

• It took years to gain the weight, it will take years to get it off
• I'm on a seafood diet. I see food and I eat it.
• Stressed spelled backwards is desserts. 
• The first thing you lose on a diet is your sense of humor. 
• You can't lose weight by talking about it. You have to keep your mouth shut. 
• Instead of focusing on which unhealthy foods to eat less of, concentrate on which healthy foods to eat more of. 
• The toughest part of a diet isn't watching what you eat. It's watching what other people eat.
• I'm in shape. Round is a shape — isn't it?
• Obesity is a condition which proves that the Lord does not help those who help themselves and help themselves and help themselves.

In my discussion with my friend, she asked what I'm doing to lose weight.  This was my advice.

"Start with one thing at a time.  Take a month just worrying about whether or not there's High Fructose Corn Syrup in your diet (or any other ingredient you're concerned about).  Eventually, you'll want to limit sugars as much as possible, but first just get rid of fake sugars.  It's better to eat junky food if the junk is at least natural, so use butter instead of margarine, stevia instead of sugar, and little things like that.  You'll find, if you're paying attention, at the end of your trial period with these changes, that you won't actually like the fake flavors anymore... that is your first ounce of motivation.  Then, you add in something else, like an exercise you enjoy, for me it's volleyball.  You do that for a month or two or three while keeping up with the other change you made previously.  These things will become completely natural to you and when you're ready to do something more, you add in another little change.
It's hard, but we have a tendency to feel the "all or nothing" aspect of weight loss, but you're really just trying to do stuff you know you'll keep doing for years, not just to lose the weight."

That last part is the key, in my opinion.  Why waste your time on something temporary with temporary results?  Just do what you know you will stick to/ afford.

If you're eating food that you could throw away because "it's waste", think of it this way, it's either "waste" or "waist", you get to decide if it's more wasted on your butt or in the trash.  My chiropractor, when I told him of my intent to do this competition and blog, suggested that you fill your plate and then throw half of it in the trash.  Now, I wouldn't necessarily go that far for myself, but I could see the psychology working for somebody else.

There are yummy vegetables and salt in moderation is not a bad thing, so, if I'm really munchie or hungry, I just steam some veggies or enjoy them fresh.  It's filling, healthy and really yummy.  Now, that being my opinion doesn't necessarily mean that it will work for everybody, but you can find your niche.  There's something that will work for each of us.  Pick yours and make it happen.
Be patient, be willing to fail, but more importantly, be willing to succeed.