Story of the Week

In my first blog post I mentioned that I have been on many diets in my lifetime, and have been the worst kind of yo-yo dieter.  Dieting can be tricky, and choosing the correct diet plan for your health can sometimes be difficult.  It seems that there is always someone telling us of a new and better way to lose weight.  I thought I would share a time when I did it all wrong.  

Some of you might remember a period of time when I was in college and lost a significant amount of weight.  What you probably don't know is the way that I lost the weight, and what a scary and dangerous time it was in my life.  I started out the way that you are supposed to.  I was eating healthy and exercising everyday.  Every week I would get weighed, and the scale would always show that I had dropped several pounds.  I was excited to see the weight dropping off so quickly, and I didn't want it to stop.  Every week I would continue to eat smaller and smaller amounts of food, and I started exercising excessively, so that I could continue to get the amazing results on the scale.  I reached a point where I was barely eating.  I had some friends express concern at the bird size portions of food that I was eating, but there was no one who could convince me to stop what I was doing.  I had become obsessed with the number on the scale.  I loved all the compliments I received about how good I looked, and I wanted it to continue.  I was eating 500 calories or less a day, and I was oblivious to the amount of damage that I was doing to my body.  When I went home for Christmas break something kind of clicked in my head and I realized that if I continued to eat less and less, that I would reach a point when I wasn't eating anything at all...profound I know.  The thought of starving myself completely scared me, and I started to slowly eat a little more every day.  Of course as I started to eat again I also put back on the weight.  I remember how disappointed people were when I started to gain back all of the weight I had lost, but I was too embarrassed to admit to anyone what I had done to lose the weight.  I look back now and wish that I would have gotten some help, so that I could have learned to eat correctly, and still lose weight.

I know that there are a lot of people that struggle with finding the right balance with dieting and exercise.  It is easy to become obsessive and take it too far.  The trick is picking a plan that you can live with the rest of your life, and that also teaches you healthy eating habits.  I know that when I reach my goal weight I will have to follow a maintenance plan to keep the weight off.  That is why it is so important to not pick something that only gives you temporary results.  It is also important to give yourself a break when you have a bad day.  Sometimes we end up eating more than we should, or we eat foods that are not good for us.  I know that sometimes this can cause us to either panic and become obsessed with being perfect,  or it can make you just want to completely give up.  It is important to realize that sometimes things happen that make sticking to plan difficult.  Sometimes I struggle when I have a party at work, or when I go out to eat with friends.  It is okay to have a day where you eat a little more, you just don't want to make it a habit.  I am still learning how to deal with the unexpected, and sometimes I have to give myself a speech about not beating myself up when I have a bad day.  If you eat something that you shouldn't, don't let it ruin your day or week.  Don't feel like you have to wait till tomorrow or Monday to start again.

I will have a chance to put my tips into practice this next week.  I will be going to Ireland, and I will definitely be facing the unexpected when it comes to food.  I will have to let you know how it goes.

Tip of the Week

Buy a really nice water bottle - Keep it filled with water - Carry it with you everywhere you go.  If you do this you will never have trouble getting your required amount of water for the day.  You should drink a half an ounce of water for every pound you weigh.  For example if you weigh 150 pounds you should have at least 75 ounces of water every day.  I know that a lot of people really struggle with drinking water, but it gets easier after a while.  I find that I actually crave water now. 

In future posts I will also be sharing recipes, interesting articles, questions and more. Hope you Enjoy!