Weekly Weight Loss Report week 14 - Finding motivation

I missed last week's weight loss report as I was away in Cardiff having a hyperlocal blast at Talk About Local's un-conference.

I did over indulge a little last weekend and put on 2lbs. So, this week, weight loss wise, I have the same results as two weeks ago.

The excess 2lbs went on quickly and came off quickly.

Being only 4lbs away from my 50lb weight loss goal is getting quite exciting. I must admit I'm so proud about this progress. This time last year I wouldn't have been interested at all in losing the excess weight. If you had of brought up the subject I would have said "I'm fine as I am. I'm happy. I'll get round to it one day". Half acknowledging that from a health point of view it's better to be slim, but at the same time giving stubborn resistance to changing myself.

And I guess this is one of they main keys to losing weight: You can't lose weight for anyone else but yourself. YOU have to be ready

You can't do it for your parents, friends or partners

It's going to be your personal journey

And only you will know when you are ready.

Of course you can understand friends and family concerns and why they would want you to lose weight. Their motivation is for you to be healthy and live longer. That's so natural!

But from my experience, somethings got to change in YOU.

You have to make the switch in your mind and find your own motivation, whatever form that may come in.

Perhaps you are just curious to see what happens if you start to eat healthier and move a little more.

Perhaps there is always something you have wanted to do, but have been physically unable to due to excess weight

Perhaps you are just sick of feeling the way you do, whether that's mentally or physically.

Perhaps you have an event coming up that you would love to go to and have your eye on a certain outfit that you would know will looking amazing on you when you have lost some weight

Perhaps you know, deep down, that your putting your health at risk, and you really do need to make a change.

It's your body and you can take control.

Losing weight doesn't have to be a miserable experience! I think that's what put people off trying some times. They foresee a life of deprivation. It doesn't have to be that way. It's about BALANCE.

I haven't felt deprived in the last 7 months. About 80/90% of the time, I'll have a healthy diet consisting of natural non processed food, and the other 10/20% I'll have what I feel like. For example, last night's tv snacks consisted of cake, peanuts and crisps with a glass of wine. Now I just watch my portions, and find myself easier satisfied with small amounts.

If you want to lose weight, be patient with yourself. Give yourself the time you and your body needs to adjust. Your taste buds will change too. Give it time.

Figure out HOW you are going to lose weight. I think most of us know this one really. You would have to be living in a cave not to read or watch something on tv about healthly eating and balanced diet, and exercise. Do some research if necessary, but I would be keen to point you in the direction of a healthy sustainable way to lose weight. Check resources that support this.

DIETS DON'T WORK!

That's a phrase you hear time and again. Well, actually, I'd have to disagree with that. Diet's DO work. IF you stick to them.

Atkins, Cabbage Soup, Low Calorie, Grapefruit, Hollywood, Meal Replacement, Baby Food (YUP!), Maple Syrup... you get the idea!

HOWEVER, these are fad diets, and I would strongly recommend you don't go down this route. Sure, you might get a quick weight loss result in the first week, but at what cost? These diets aren't sustainable, and they don't teach you how to eat 'normally'. Be lured in by their promises at your own risk!

There are a few weight loss companies that seem to have a good reputation, so if you need some extra guidance and the option of having support, you can attend meetings with others people losing weight, or join communities online. I'm talking about Weight Watchers, Slimming World and Rosemary Conley.

Out of those I have only tried Weight Watchers. It must have been about 15 years ago, and I lost weight, and got to my goal. I joined again in December 2010 for a month's free online trial, and they have shaken up the food plan quite a bit since 15 years ago, and it seems more flexible and it definitely encourages healthy eating with lots of fruit and vegetables. I thought I would give it a try, but I didn't stick to it, so didn't lose much weight. And that's totally MY fault, not Weight Watchers. As I said, if you follow a plan, it will work. I didn't follow it. (I was too busy eating After Eights over Xmas!) ;)

Around Jan/Feb I started to pay a bit more attention to calories for a few weeks, and then realised I don't want to be a calorie counter. I just found it too time consuming, and prefer to eat more and instinctively. It's what worked for me when I started this weight loss journey last August and it suits me.

Take time to find out what suits you. There may be some time invested in trial and experimentation. You may experience set backs. Just see those as learning experiences and a way to find out what isn't working for you so you can adjust and move on.

From experiencing the benefits of weight loss personally, I'm so glad that I took my head out of the sand and got rid of the stuborness I had in relation to losing weight. I'll reach my goal soon enough, but that won't be the end of the journey! It will just change direction a little in that I will be working on keeping off the lost weight :)