7 simple ways to kick start your weight loss journey

 It's just this second dawned on me that it's been a year (practically to the day) since I started losing weight! WOW. I've stuck at this for A WHOLE YEAR!!



Before and After 50lb weight los. What a difference a year makes!





Start Weight August 2010 188.8lbs - Goal weight 138.8lbs reached in April 2011





I have tried to lose weight before, but I haven't kept the weight off. There have been other smaller attempts over the years, but kinda half hearted, or impatient attempts and there were times when I didn't immediately get the results I wanted and gave up.

Now I've got a whole year to look back on, I want to share some of my 'getting started' tips. From my experience weight loss takes patience and commitment and the will to not give up. I threw myself into losing weight this time around and I was more determined than ever, but I understand not everyone can, or will be, so gung ho about it. Often it's the getting started bit that people get stuck on. It's getting the momentum underway. Once that's started, it's easier to keep it going.

Getting started with loss.

What can you do that doesn't seem to overwhelming? How can you get that momentum going? How can you not rush into something and be disappointed and give up? With these things in mind I've come up with a few suggestions, remembering that this is a step in the right direction and the very beginning of your weight loss journey.

Just for one week, try one of the following:

• Break your meals up. If you tend to eat once or twice a day and have really HUGE meals and fill up with rubbish, try eating smaller amounts 6-8 times a day. When we let ourselves get really hungry we are more likely to overeat to satisfy our hunger. If you eat a small amount every couple of hours, not only will you keep your metabolism ticking over nicely, mentally you know it won't be long before your next mini meal and also you won't get those huge hunger pangs.

• Join a weight loss club. Take a couple of hours out of your week to attend a local class, whether that be Slimming World, Weight Watchers, Rosemary Conley etc. That might just provide inspiration for you to get your weight loss underway and you may also benefit from meeting others who are doing the same thing, and you might even want to go back again and stick with it!

• Be a label reader.  Just for a week, get your magnifying glass out and read the small print on all the things you eat and set yourself a goal of only eating food that has 10% or less fat content in it. I once read somewhere, "If you don't eat fat, you won't be fat". Well, that makes sense! Of course we do need healthy fat to survive, but see if you can do this challenge just for one week and then see how you feel.

• Vegetable load! Whatever you have for lunch, dinner, (or even breakfast if savoury) fill half your plate with vegetables. Be really generous! You don't want a few peas shoved in a little corner, give the veg pride of place on your plate. That will help fill you up and of course give you less room for the not so great food, plus you will be soon brimming over with even more vitamins and minerals.

• Cut out the processed food. Set yourself the challenge of eating unprocessed food for a week. As someone said to me, you don't find sausages growing on trees! Eat more naturally and eat food as it comes (without the added fat, chemicals, E-numbers, preservatives etc)

• Cook for yourself. Take control in the kitchen. Ditch the ready meals, convenience food and take-aways for just 7 days. Short on time? Cook once, eat twice/thrice! It saves ££ too. Bonus!

• If you don't buy it you can't eat it! Don't bring food into the house that you know won't help your waist line and health. If you are really hungry you will find something to eat in the kitchen, but hopefully you'll have healthier alternatives to turn to. And on that note, don't go food shopping when you are hungry!  

Don't feel you are depriving yourself if you don't have junk food XY or Z. In fact you are depriving yourself if you DO have XYZ. You are depriving yourself of nutritional food and vital vitamins and minerals which your body will thank you for.

Food cravings exist and what I used to tell myself when they struck (before my taste buds changed) was that I already know what cake/crisps/food of choice, tastes like. What's new?!

Challenge yourself.....how do you know what you can achieve with weight loss if you don't try? :)

Say hello on twitter: @karenstrunks

Weight maintenance update & answering weight loss email - your weight loss choices

It's been three weeks since I reached my 50lb weight loss goal. 3 weeks? Is that all? For some reason it feels like longer!

So, three weeks into my weight loss maintenance and what do the scales say today....?

I've practically stayed the same as last week (which I didn't blog). 137.8lbs. Yay!! Looks like I'm getting the balance between eating more (than I was doing when losing weight), but not too much (so I put weight on). At least for this week!

So the little red arrow on the left (below) is the 140lb mark. I want to stay just under it at around 138lb mark (arrow on right).

I bought a new black lacey dress recently. You can't see the detail very well but it's ever so pretty!

I did a fairly big food shop today. I thought I'd share with you some of the items I bought. A couple of 'treats' like chocolate mints and a couple of desserts, some gluten free crispbread (I've still got to figure out if I am gluten/wheat intolerant). I only buy Marks & Spencer sausages as they are gluten free and 97% meat. BUT the good news is I am 99% sure I am not allergic to dairy!! I've been testing myself out on cream (a little), yoghurt and sour cream. I bought some cheese today, so will try that next (I haven't had cheese for 8 months, since I suspected I had developed a diary allergy) but so far no bad reaction to dairy!         



 

And of course, a big fruit and veg haul (mainly from the Bullring Market - so many bargains & beats supermarket prices every time!). I might not eat ALL of this in the coming week. Some things will keep well in the fridge until next week such as the oranges, lemons, chinese pears and potatoes, but I'll make a good dent in them!

When I imagined reaching my goal, I knew that when I got there I couldn't go back to my old eating habits, but it's just really sinking in now, that maintaining my new weight is going to take just as much of a commitment as losing weight has.

I can't be all free and easy with food like I was this time last year just because I'm at my goal weight.
Luckily I have accepted this new way of eating (and exercise) easily enough. As I have said many times before, my taste buds have changed, I don't have the same cravings, I am satisfied with less, (now I can just have one chocolate and leave the rest for example), I have more will power, I listen to my body more and eat instinctively. It's a whole new way, but it's all good.

And I've really enjoyed the process - bonus!

But, if I don't want to go back to square one, I'm going to have to remain aware of what I'm eating every day. Even every meal time. Every snack. All the big, and just as importantly, the small decisions I make will be the determining factor in staying at my goal weight.

I just want to mention a lady that got in touch, asking for some weight loss help. I mentioned that I was working on a blog post draft that would address her enquiry, so it's great that it was able to help someone in advance!

This lady basically asked for a kick up the bum! I obliged, in a good way I hope! She wants to lose weight, but found finding the motivation hard. I sent her my draft post by email. Here it is...

You have choices.


Choice 1. Don't lose weight! Stay as you are. I was happy when I was overweight (but I'm much happier now).


Accept the way you are. You might need to work on that, but you would be removing the pressure you are putting yourself under now to lose weight.

What's the consequence of staying as you are? How would you feel if you accepted it?


Choice 2. Lose weight and get healthy & fit.


Get curious. Challenge yourself and your body. See what happens!


Getting started is often the hardest part, but I haven't heard anyone say they regret getting started/losing weight/getting active! What's stopping you?


Imagine how you would feel if you took a step in that direction. And then you start to see the results and rewards that follow.


Why do you want to lose weight? We all have our own personal reasons/goals to doing this. Think about what yours are. Write them down & put them up where you can see them. You only need one reason.


You can't lose weight for anyone else but yourself, but once YOU have made the decision, there is nothing stopping you.


Become accountable, tell someone, make it public (blog/twitter)! Or keep your own diary. It's proven that people who write down (any) goals/dreams stand a much better chance of succeeding.


Plan HOW you are going to do it. We know what works, and there's plenty of help online about healthy choices.


Food wise, try new healthier alternatives, ditch the processed foods as much as you can. Give your taste buds a chance to change (mine have). If you don't buy it, you can't eat it! Cravings come but they go away too. And besides you know already know what cake/crisps/fatty/processed food tastes like, what's new?!


Be patient. See the 'bigger' picture and the longer term. It's taken me 9 months to get to my goal weight, but I broke down my goals all the way along. The first 7lbs, 10lbs, 14lbs etc.


Remember the benefits you will feel! More energy, sense of achievement and pride. Boost to confidence. Clothes looking and feeling better. It's all good!


Don't be a slave to the scales! Monitor weight but certainly no more than once a week. Listen to how your body feels (it will thank you for making these changes!). Take body measurements once a month & keep track. Don't be discouraged if you gain weight (I've lost count at the amount of weeks that I have gained or stayed the same over the last 9 months) The important thing is to keeping going and set your sights on your goals. Nothing and no-one stop you.

So, there are my words of wisdom! I hope they help.

If you have any questions, feel free to email me karenstrunks@hotmail.co.uk or send me a tweet!