Lose Weight Now

I have struggled with weight loss in the past and one thing that I never let on while making this blog is that I was actually pregnant with my second child. Well, I gave birth about 4 weeks ago now and I’m ready to get back into the swing of healthy living again. During my pregnancy I gained 65 pounds (Yes, way too much)

So, even though I know that New Year’s resolutions don’t always work, I am basically making one to lose the baby weight plus about 15 more pounds. So as of today I have approximately 65-70 pounds that I need to lose by December 31, 2009.

So, for anybody who reads this blog, I will be going through this weight loss journey with you now.

Please, if you have some extra weight to lose, why not go through the journey with someone and that someone could be me. Let me know how much you want to lose and what your goals are and as the year goes on you can be accountable for it!

So, won’t you join me on this weight loss journey????

(More info to come about my personal weight loss journey and goals at the beginning of the year)

If you have dealt with being overweight at any point in your life, you know that it can be very, very frustrating. What I have learned is that you need to find out why you are overweight before you can hope to change it.

There are several reasons why a person could be overweight. Though it may be unlikely with most people, some people may have medical reasons that make them overweight. Some people may have issues with their thyroids or are on certain medicines that make them keep the extra weight on and even gain more weight.

The more popular reasons why people are overweight are the following:

*Lack of exercise - be it just don’t like exercise or don’t have time in life

*Unhealthy eating habits - think fast food and just poor choices

*Emotional eater - When something happens, good or bad, in life, the person eats

*Laziness - Yes, I know not all overweight people are lazy, but there are some that are

*Pregnancy - Losing baby weight is not always easy (trust me I know)

*Self-esteem and mental issues - this can range from severe to simple negative thoughts

Before you decide that you want to lose weight, think about why you are overweight or why you need to lose weight.  Do you eat very unhealthy? Are you a busy mom who thinks that she doesn’t have time for exercise or a healthy meal?

You need to change your life to lose weight. In order to do that you need to know why you do what you do. You can’t change your life if you don’t know what you are changing!

Here are some more holiday weight loss tips to get you through the next couple of weeks!

**Don’t get stressed out. Many people get really stressed out during the holiday season. Extra stress in your life can cause you to over-eat. Instead of getting stressed out about the holidays and everything that needs to be done, try some exercises like yoga and pilates to help put yourself at ease.

**Be social at holiday parties. Many times if a person does not feel comfortable at a party or they have no one to talk to, they will instead eat or continuously drink. This is a bad idea. Instead of shoving food or drinks into your mouth, go and talk to people. You can’t eat when you are talking and socializing with others. The more you stay busy at a holiday party, the less you will consume in calories!

When I first started out on my weight loss journey, I was hungry all the time, or so I thought. What I learned was that I was actually dehydrated. Many times we interrupt dehydration as hunger. Many people who go on a weight loss plan, say that they are too hungry and can’t stick with it. What they may not realize is that they are not drinking enough water for their body.

So, when you first start your weight loss journey, make sure that you are constantly drinking water in between your meals. Not only will water help to fill you up with no calories, but it also helps to stabilize your metabolism and keeps your body flushed out. A good idea is to cut out all the soda that you may drink, as soda will actually dehydrate you more and may trick your body into thinking it is hungry.

If you have to have some kind of flavor with your water, try the Crystal Light packets or even better add some fresh lime or lemon slices into your water.

The holiday parties have begun for the season and right now you may be facing so many temptations to over-eat or eat items that you know are just not healthy for you. One of the biggest holiday weight loss tips that I can give you is that: IT’S JUST NOT WORTH IT!

Have you ever heard the saying a second on your lips, a lifetime on your hips? Although this saying is meant to be funny, it is actually the truth. Just how much satisfaction are you going to get from eating a whole plate of desserts or calorie laden food. Now, remember, you can have your splurges, but you need to limit them and keep them in line.

So, you may get some happiness from eating what you want at the holiday party, but what about when you get home or when you wake up the next morning and realize what you did. Over-eating actually makes you physically sick, along with the emotional sickness of ruining your healthy eating.

So, when you go to that holiday event this season, ask yourself: IS THIS REALLY WORTH IT?

There are many health benefits to consuming fish. Eating fish while trying to lose weight is a great way to still eat tasty foods that are low in calories and fat. Fish contains omega-3 fatty acids which help everything from your heart and circulation to your skin. When you eat fish not only are consuming less calories but you are adding essential vitamins and minerals to your body making it healthier.

A serving of fish has half the amount of calories than red meat does (depending on the fish). This means that you could eat two servings of fish for what you could only eat one serving of red meat. Who doesn’t want to be able to eat more and lose weight?

Some healthy options for fish are tuna (if canned, make sure packed in water), flounder, catfish, halibut, cod, haddock, mahimahi, and salmon. Also some shellfish are excellent for weight loss also such as shrimp, crab and oysters.

The thing that you have to remember when eating fish and weight loss is the way that you prepare the fish. Do not batter and fry the fish. Instead use methods like grilling, steaming, and baking. Use fresh herbs and lemon juice to flavor the fish. Avoid drowning the fish in butter and try using a serving of olive oil instead.

Also, make sure that you are getting fresh fish from a reputable fish monger or store, as you can get quite sick from spoiled and rotten fish!

Okay, I have to admit it that I was an addict to mayonnaise. I loved the stuff on my sandwiches, in pasta and potato salads and in yummy dips. This was before I ever bothered to turn the mayo jar around and look at the nutrition label. Did you know that 1 tablespoon of may has approximately 90-100 calories. I remember putting at least 2 tablespoons of mayo on my sandwiches. There is 200 calories right there before you even add in the bread, meat, cheese and toppings. There are also 10 grams of fat per 1 tablespoon of mayo.

I hate to say this, but if you are a mayo addict, you are going to have to cut your addiction to lose weight. I tried the low-fat and low-calorie versions of mayo, but they never tasted right and left a funny taste in my mouth. So, my only option was to go cold-turkey on my mayo addiction.

I was able to cut out 200 or so calories from my daily sandwiches just by not adding mayo. That adds up to at least 1,000 a week.

Instead of mayo now, I use different mustards. Since I am not addicted to mustard, I only use a small amount and I don’t always use it. One tablespoon of regular yellow mustard only has about 5-10 calories. Compare that to 100 in mayo!

So, even though I still love mayo and will sometimes use it sparingly if I really crave it, you need to make better choices if you really want to lose weight.

Now, you may have read the title of this post and thought I was crazy. Who wants to go public with their weight loss. What I mean is that when you decide to lose weight, you need to find at least one person that you trust and let them in on your weight loss and your goals. Telling someone makes you more accountable and will actually make you more motivated to lose the weight.

This person can be your spouse, your parent, your sibling, a best friend, or even someone like an online buddy. No one is saying that you have to tell your whole family that you are going on a weight loss plan, but you need to tell at least one person that can be trusted and keep your information to them-self. If you try to just say  you are going to lose weight and never tell anybody, you have no one to be accountable to when you quit.

Telling someone about your weight loss plan and goals gives you the extra accountability that you need to succeed and stay on track.

Here are some more holiday weight loss tips to get you through the holiday season.

**Be the person who brings the healthy dish. If you know that the party or gathering that you are going to is going to have all bad foods at it, then why not offer to bring a healthy dish. This could be a healthy side dish of vegetables or a low-calorie dessert. Most host will be grateful for you to bring something to the party. This way you can eat your healthy dish and and only take small portions of the less healthy food.

 **Recruit friends for winter time activities. If you are having a get together with friends or family, why not recruit them to do some sort of winter time activity instead of mindlessly eating and talking. Think of things such as ice skating, skiing, snow tubing, taboggining or even hiking. This way you can be active and enjoy the time with friends and family.

When it becomes the holiday times, many people put off their weight loss until after the holidays. Most people even make it their New Year’s Resolution to lose weight. Do you know how many New Year’s Resolutions are broken within the first 1-2 months? Over half of them.

So I say, don’t wait till after the holidays to lose weight. Start now. Right this minute. Make a promise to yourself that you are going to lose weight and get healthy right now. Why put off till tomorrow what you can do today. You never know what tomorrow will bring.

There is always going to be something that stands in your of weight loss. Maybe now you use the excuse of the holidays. After the holidays, you will use the excuse that the weather is bad. Then, you are to busy at work or with the kids. Unless you commit to yourself right this moment, weight loss may never happen.

In fact, go take a piece of paper and write a promise to yourself to get healthy and lose weight. Sign and date it for today and get on your way to a healthier you!