Losing Weight in it's Basic Form

Current weight: 192.2 pounds

Starting weight: 198 pounds (as of 11/12/2012)
Down: 2.8 pounds
Total loss: 5.8 pounds
Goal weight: 140 pounds
Total to lose: 52.2 pounds

Total lost as of March 2011 (72.8 pounds)

GOALS:

Break the 198 plateau: Completed 12/2/2012

We love the 80’s: -2.3 pounds to go
5% Body Weight Gone:-4.1 pounds to go

Overweight BMI (179): -13.2 pounds to go

Scuba Diving Lessons (170) – 22.2 pounds

What a week!  The stressors don’t stop and I haven’t even had time to stress about the upcoming holidays or the 2 dinner parties and 1 holiday party I am hosting in less than two weeks.  I don’t even want to open that can of worms. 

I had enough last night and almost opened a mini container of ice cream I have in the freezer and ate the whole thing!  I went to bed early instead thinking not only would it help me avoid the calorie overload but the extra sleep would help relieve some stress.  I did avoid eating anything but I got a call from my older sister literally as I was leaning over to turn off the bedside lamp and had an hour conversation which hit every stressor in my life and I ended up going to bed 30 minutes late.  UGH!

Even after having so much success over the past 11 ½ months, I still seem to be surprised by the obvious fact that “Putting less food in your mouth means you lose weight.”   When I am losing I am thrilled but suspicious of the results. I am suspicious that the scale is off or that it is just a fluke and I will gain it back tomorrow no matter how much I try. When I plateau or gain my inner gremlin constantly tells me that losing weight is too hard; that I can’t do it.   What I really need to remember is that there is one basic rule that applies to losing weight and it works 100% of the time….”Putting less calories in your body then your body consumes will ultimately lead to loosing pounds.”  SURPRISE!!! There is no special pill, no exercise routines, you don’t have to avoid certain foods or only eat things that start with the letter G. 

A few years back, I remember being up late one night really depressed about my weight.  As I had 100’s of times before, I decided to do something about. I sat in bed with my laptop and while nomming on a bag of chips (true story), I scoured the web for the secret to losing weight.  I looked at surgeries, pills, miracle diets, abstinence diets, juicer diets, vegan diets all in hopes of finding the one for me.  I came across a website that advertised it had a fool proof plan that has worked for millions. I clicked on the link all excited and it came up in big letters “But less food in your mouth than your body needs.” I scoffed and quickly clicked away trying to find some advice that was actually useful. HAHAHA!

I am not making light of the struggles that millions go through to lose weight. I fight those demons every day as well.  Getting past impulses, food addictions, and emotional crutches is VERY HARD! Thinking of these obstacles can be overwhelming.  But, I have found, that breaking down the weight loss into its very basic form can really put things into perspective.   So many times I have failed because I beat myself up for not following all the rules and I have set for myself.  When it comes down to the basic goal of “Losing Weight” it doesn’t matter if you don’t exercise, if you don’t eat your vegetables, if you had a stressful day at work and order pizza, if you decide to say yes to the cake.  All that matters is that your average calorie intake is less than what your body consumes.