Consistency

I get asked about weight loss pills... do they really help you lose weight? NO MAGIC PILLS! N.O.P.E. 

I get asked whether health shakes were my solution to weight loss. Maybe as a good kick-start, if only for a short time, while I was getting used to getting back on the dieting path. But did I lose weight because I had a shake? N.O.P.E.

I was asked what I could suggest to lose weight.

I suggest being CONSISTENT!

Truth time.... make a plan and stick to it. Be consistent.

Shakes alone won't do it. 

Exercising and eating badly won't do it.

Taking a magic weight loss pill won't do it.

CONSISTENCY WILL DO IT!

If you're consistent you'll find success with weight loss. Start and stops will derail you every time.

Do you think you'll eat/drink/use Product-X every day moving forward? If yes, then it's an option. If no... make a different plan.

Before you say... "but you drink health shakes"... well yes... I do, on occasion, but I don't for weight loss, and it never was part of my big loss of over 100 lbs. I didn't start drinking them until after I had lost my weight and was in maintenance mode.

Consistency will win out every time. I consistently log my food. I make choices based on my calorie budget. I meal prep and make sure I have a plan in motion ahead of each week.

I won't get derailed for lunches because I made a weeks worth on Sunday. I won't get derailed for dinner because I made a weeks worth on Sunday.

If you like to grab toast in the morning... keep grabbing toast, but make the toast better for you. A slice of Ezekiel bread is going to take your further than a slice of wonder white.

Look for the complex carbs to enhance your diet. Try to avoid/skip the simple sugars. This will keep your body busy digesting the whole grains and in turn keep you fuller longer. Having foods with higher protein will help keep you fuller longer. You can find protein in MANY plant foods too (for those of you that are vegetarian...

http://bwarsh.blogspot.com/2015/08/carb-talk.html

It's hard because it's overwhelming.

Break it up into smaller bits. For 2 weeks... JUST log your food. Everything. Just stay consistent with logging it. For the next 2 weeks, see where you can make healthier swaps and keep logging it. Then for the next 2 weeks... play with macros... see how you can add more proteins and see how you can jump start/reset your metabolism. Set meal/snack alarms. For breakfast... even if you're not hungry... have something... even a glass of milk would be something. For snack, have a banana. Play with your calories... maybe have more, or less... (not sure where you are starting...), Make mini goals, and when you obtain them, reward yourself... new barrette, new bangle, new ear rings... new something small and pleasant.

Take a step back to move forward.

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Advice for the Overwhelmed - My 2¢ as a person that was morbidly obese...

So you want to lose weight. But you just don't know how to start, or where to go? Maybe starting a new program, or signing up for a year of workouts seems overwhelming, or it  also sounds HARD! Maybe you don't think you're ready for it... Not YET...

That's TOTALLY OKAY and it's TOTALLY NORMAL!!!!!

My 2¢ as a person that was morbidly obese... TAKE BABY STEPS for sure.

TOP 3 THINGS YOU CAN DO NOW!

1) START WALKING. I encourage folks to get a pedometer, perhaps join my step challenge, or my Ladies MFP support group. Depending on your condition, step goals probably should be like 1 mile a day and we build off that.

2) START A FOOD DIARY. Myfitnesspal is excellent and free. Connect with me: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/profile/bwarsh73 

3) DRINK MORE WATER. 1/2 body weight is the goal in ounces. But with baby steps, do 8 cups a day to start with.

I strongly encourage you to meet with a Registered Dietitian to help with getting your eating set up correctly.

Most people set up mfp incorrectly. Try setting yours up for 1/2 lb loss a week. Note, that would be 26 lbs in a year, which is brilliant. You will have to eat more then you think you'll need. Working with a dietitian and/or setting up mfp correctly makes a huge difference.

If you're trying to eat 1200 cal or less a day you may not lose. When I weighed 288 lbs I had to eat around 2000-2400 calories a day. BUT every time I lost 10 lbs, mfp dropped how many calories I could eat. Don't Panic! Realistic goals will yield you SUCCESS.

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Up LATE With Things On My Mind

Up late with things on my mind. 

My daughter..... starts fifth grade tomorrow, 10/3, and will head to school early to move out of her fourth grade classroom and into her new room/class. I'm excited and nervous for her and can't wait to hear how her first day goes. 

My son.... He's been quite a handful lately. Misbehaving. Strong willed and thinks he's invincible. Climbing and getting into things purposefully put away up high and out of reach. Wants to do it by himself and I'm okay with it when it won't harm him. Like wearing his clothes backwards. But not okay to play in the litter box. Not okay to hit his sister. I want to give him more positive attention. More one on one focus. I'm thinking I want to get him letter and number tracing books so he can start practicing. Less TV! More play! But still manage to have him occupy himself somewhat too, because I've got my hands full! He will be going to kindergarten next year! Is he going to be ready? 

My husband.... he works so hard and we love him dearly. We have been so stressed out; my surgery, my daughter's pneumonia, my son's potty training (or lack of training), my husbands root canal.... it weighs so heavily on him and I wish there was a better way to deal with the stress and worry. Thank goodness we're all better. But yeah the worry and stress never seems to diminish. 

ME.... I have a great group and a great team! I love coaching and helping where I can. It fills me with immense joy. But sometimes I get so busy I lose myself in the mix. I need to sort out the working out part now that I'm 8 weeks post op. It's time to press play. It's time to refocus and reset my why. Why do I want to workout and eat better? Why is it so hard? Why is it still "work"? I want to go back to school and take a dietics focus to become a registered dietitian. I know what I want but starting seems overwhelming. I love my credit union job. Truly love it. My boss is amazing and I'm honored to work with her. We do incredible work. Important work. We are so community driven. If I won the lottery tomorrow I'd still want to go in to the office and I'd still want to be a coach. I want to be a career woman, earning income and contributing to my family. I want to feel valued. I want to be respected. I want to motivate and inspire; others AND myself. I want it all! And I know I deserve it all. Just wondering HOW to have it all. Maybe it will be logistically more realistic when both kids are in full time school and my daughter is old enough to "babysit" my son. Maybe I just need to map out a long term plan. Make a plan; work my plan. That's what I tell others. It's good advice. I need to tell myself this. 

My Heath..... I had a bad flare day. Even though my uterus is gone, and that's finally fixed/resolved, I still have a diseased colon that's never going to get better. Today was a not so gentile reminder of that. My chronic insomnia is also a not so gentile reminder of my UC. My toe still hurts, 2 years post foot surgery and that pisses me off. My scars from my hysterectomy still itch and I still get super swollen and likely will continue with that over the next year. I'm the healthiest sick person I know! It's frustrating beyond explanation!!! I postponed a colonoscopy due to the hysterectomy, but flare days like today remind me that I need to get that back on the calendar. How am I going to pay for that? Let alone prep for it. (Ugh).

Shocker I can't sleep!!! 😳

What keeps you up?

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