Weight Loss and Happiness

What Makes YOU Happy?

When I was 250+ pounds, I was very depressed. I thought "if only I weighed 150...I'd be happy like everyone else." It took a lot of hard work but I reached 150. 143 was the lowest my weight got, and I didn't stay there very long.

I've previously mentioned that I put on about 15 pounds this year. In a few weeks I'm going to go back to weighing myself once a month again. While I was losing weight, I weighed myself twice a week. It was a good thing to keep me in check and when I lost weight it made me happy! Seeing a 2, 3, 8 pounds loss made me ELATED! On the flip-side, seeing no loss --or worse--a gain, I'd be depressed and beat myself up for what I ate. I didn't take into account that I was a woman and certain times of the month we can gain around 5 pounds due to PMS, bloat and water retention.

The reason behind weighing myself only once a month is because I don't want to get obsessed with the scale. I went through a phase where was I was. It's an easy trap to fall into but it's not healthy.

The hard part is learning to love your body no matter what weight you are at. Find joy in losing 5 pounds, being able to walk a flight of stairs without panting, running a mile. I struggle with this every single day. I have good days and bad days. I'm not worried about being "heavy". I'm athletic and will never be "skinny."

If you're having a bad day about how you feel about your body, take a few minutes to look up pictures of professional athletes. They are NOT skinny (well, maybe the marathon runners). My favorites are Michael Phelps and Serena Williams. Serena Williams is a massive woman. Have you ever seen her THIGHS? Dang! But you know what, she's healthy!

It's a hard thing to accept sometimes. Athletes aren't skinny. You need food as fuel. Simple, right? Then why am I so hungry all the time?!

How to Stay Motivated

Vegas before....and after! The picture on the right was taken last summer in Vegas. I was the skinniest I'd ever been. I gained about 15 pounds this last year. I hate it. I felt like a failure after losing 110 pounds! Part of it is muscle because I really changed my work out routine this year (added a weight program and started running). The main part of that is medication I took for a year. It was nasty stuff. I'm off it now and hope the weight starts to come back off. I want to get back to that Vegas weight.

I think most people start exercise/diet programs with the best intentions but it's difficult to stay motivated. Here are a few tips I've learned along the way:
*Listen to music while at the gym. Or talk radio. I recorded a few radio shows I liked but couldn't hear at work and it helped me stay on that elliptical machine longer.
*A few gyms now have mini television screens attached to the machines. I've been known to get sucked into an HGTV program and all of a sudden I've been on the treadmill for an hour!
*Choose an exercise that you enjoy.
*Get a buddy! Having someone to work out with keeps you motivated because it's fun and you're accountable to each other.
....And the most important for ME:
*Have achievable goals!

Achievable goals are less overwhelming. Want to run a marathon? How about making your goal to run a half marathon instead? It's less stressful and overwhelming. Sometimes when I run, I start to feel overwhelmed, tired, or bored and want to stop. I tell myself, "I'll just run to that next light post" and once I get there, I usually keep going. :)

While I was losing weight, it helped immensely to have goals and specific dates to reach my weight loss. Here is an example:
1. I wanted to lose 50 pounds by my brother's wedding.
2. I wanted to train for my first 5k run.
3. And currently, I am training for Reach the Beach and Hood to Coast.