20lbs or bust!

I want to know what the worlds obsession with losing 20 pounds is!  You've read it in magazines, you've seen it on television, you probably even know someone, YOURSELF, who has tried this "lose 20 pounds or bust" experimentation.

I am here today to throw that logic out of the window!  First off, why 20lbs?  What is it about 20lbs that is going to make you feel THAT  much better?  I don't mean to be rude, but yet blunt.  I spent 16 years doing that "lose 20lbs for *fill in event in which I would be wearing a nice dress*" and I can't remember feeling better about MYSELF, just happy at the fact that I lost 20lbs in a short period of time.
The fact of the matter is, if you can lose 20, you can lose 120!
I know I have made this blog seem like I am promoting being fat, fabulous, and healthy, which I am not trying to deny!  But I want to talk to you girls out there that may be looking to lose a little weight.  I do want to note right now that you should never change yourself OR your body just because someone else, or society in a whole, thinks you should!  You need to change for YOU!
Throughout my whole life, I have been little, okay maybe only at birth!  But I have been considered "obese" my whole life!  I put that dirty word in quotations because I have never considered myself "obese".  Just big boned and full of fabulous personality!  Anyways, where were we?
Before I started my weight loss program, I had pushed myself to lose 20lbs for prom, 20lbs for a friends wedding, even 20lbs for a upcoming date!  Think back to all those times you have gone for that 20lb difference, did you ever keep off that 20lbs even after the event?  . . . . . . Chances are the answer is no!   It's okay, your secret is safe with me!  I never kept off the 20!  It was gone for a day or so, but after the event, I was right back to the normal!
I was reading an article on yahoo yesterday about a woman using a feeding tube to lose weight for her wedding!
**Here's the article if you would like to read**
I am confused as to why someone would go to this much extreme to lose weight for a wedding!  I mean, her husband has to be shocked too!  This girl IS NOT fat in ANY sense of the word!

Someone, PLEASE explain to me why this looks like a good idea to lose 20lbs?!  Because I am disgusted and baffled right now!  I for one, don't understand how her husband to be could have been okay with this either!  This is NOT how you lose weight!
Please don't ever feel like you need to starve yourself, give up good food, or EVER EVER E-V-E-R! GET A FEEDING TUBE TO LOSE WEIGHT!
I have tried it all!  I stopped eating only to find out that when I would eat after a few days of fasting, I would immediately gain weight.  I tried the "no-carb" diets, only to find that I was unhappy when I would go out with friends and family and couldn't eat anything but dry lettuce at the best Italian restaurants!   At the end of the day, the only thing that was going to work for me was going to be something that I could do to improve myself mentally and physically.
I worked my butt off, no really!, in the Jenny Craig program for one whole year!  When I started, I didn't believe at all that I was going to be able to lose anywhere near as much weight as I had at "goal" in just one short year!  March to March, a total of 140lbs!  But this time was different!  I didn't have to give up on indulging in pasta!  I could still have a big Thanksgiving dinner!  I even went out for ice cream with my little sister on numerous occasions!  I was happy with how my lifestyle played into my weight loss!  The better I felt about my weight loss and still knowing I could indulge, I believe that was key to losing all of the weight I have kept off!
Here I am, 2 years later, and still over 170lbs down!  Yes I have gained 5 here and there, but I have been able to catch myself and lose those 5lbs quickly and happily.  So lets talk about some techniques that helped me and hopefully some will help you as well!

First, and I can't say this one enough, DON'T BE SCARED OF YOUR SCALE!  The scale is your friend! No, really!  The scale tracks your progress and lets you know how many pounds of AWESOME you have in you!  For those of you that may be deathly afraid of the scale, I have been there!  I remember going to the doctor and praying before getting on their scale then jumping to gun with the "please nurse, don't even read aloud what I weigh!!!!!".  It's okay to be worried, but when you are worried too much about going up in the number, you aren't going to let yourself go down in number!  I want to share a great scale that will help those of you who have some issues stepping on that devil!
*Most Amazing Scale Ever*       <---- this is a link to what I believe is the most inspirational scale ever!  It is a scale by Weight Watchers that inspires you before you even step on it!  Check it out and I know, for me, it really helps me feel good before I step on the scale!

Second, when it comes to the normal "diet and exercise" I believe that is the best thing for you!  BUT, don't do anything you, and your lifestyle, aren't comfortable with.  That pretty much just sets you up for disappointment.  Instead of trying to make yourself believe that you aren't going to touch chocolate, candy, or sugar again, try working things like this into your diet!  I know some of you probably think I am crazy now but stay with me on this one!  You really think when I was on my weight loss program that I didn't eat delicious white chocolate and my favorite peanut butter candy?!  HELL NO GIRL!  I even had some break down days where I ate NOTHING but candy!  Although I was able to fit them into my weight loss 99% of the time!
When deciding what "diet" is right for you, you need to stop and think about what you normally eat.  Make a list for a whole week of EVERYTHING you eat!  Even if it is just a cracker!  Make a list and after a week, sit down and go through your list.  Everything that you feel will hinder your weight loss goal, mark it off!  Take it off your list but not out of your mind!  Then, when you are ready to begin a weight loss regiment, make another list!  Better yet, get a calendar with daily writing slots, BIG writing spots!  Plan out your meals for the week.  You will find if you KNOW what you are eating every day, you are less likely to be picking up that fast food on your way home because you are excited about the dinner you have planned!  Also, be sure to plan snacks!  You know we all get hungry between meals, plan some light snacking!  See, that's where that indulgence comes in!  It is NOT bad to eat between meals!  I even found that it sped up my metabolism!

Third, water consumption!  It is so important to drink plenty of water!  This is probably the easiest rule!  Every time you are thirsty, pick up a glass of water!  If you have water issues, I've found that using the Crystal Light packs in bottled water gives the illusion of drinking a sugary juice and sort of tricks your mind! But at 0 calories and 0 sugar, this is a great way to get all of your water consumption in!  Also, get a cute water bottle!  If you use it enough, it will become more like an accessory to carry around!  Then, you will always have water on you to keep drinking!  Lastly, I want to drill it in everyone's head because it worked so well with me and others I have shared this tip with, when you are hungry, drink a glass of water!  Drink that full 8oz's of water and see if you are still hungry!  The human brain gives off the idea of hungry even when you may not be hungry, you could just be thirsty, so drinking some water when you start feeling hungry and wait a minute to see if you were really hungry or if maybe you just needed a little thirst quenching water!

Forth, lets talk about working out!  Working out doesn't mean going to the gym 5 days a week and beating yourself up when you can't complete that 10 mile hike on the elliptical!  Working out is simply motivating your body to weight loss!  When choosing the appropriate work out method for your lifestyle, remember, don't ever expect yourself to continue a routine you may not be comfortable with.  If you don't think it is something you could do at least 3 times a week, there you go again setting yourself up for disappointment!  Chose activities that you can, will, and ENJOY doing!  If you hate running, there is no sense in putting "run 5 miles" on your work out calendar is there?  Do a few different activities and find ones that work well with both your lifestyle and comfort!  I enjoy swimming, so I try to make it a point to swim at least 2 times a week.  When I can't swim, I walk my dogs.  We walk as far as it takes them to get tired!  If that means 3 miles, then that is how far we are walking today!  I am comfortable, happy, and staying active and healthy!  So go find some activities that you are going to enjoy!  Any activity is better than no activity!

Fifth, don't get upset when you don't lose what you expected to every week!  Setting goals is awesome and a great motivational tool for some, but with my experience I have found that when I set a weekly weigh in goal, I weigh in and didn't reach the goal, I became so upset with myself and didn't want to continue my weight loss anymore!  That is not healthy for your mind!  Try setting monthly, more broad goals, to start off. "This month, I will lose 30lbs!"  See how I wrote that!  It is not "This month I WANT TO lose 30lbs", it is I WILL lose 30lbs!  You'd be surprised at how much a difference it makes to change "want to" to "will".  Say it every day!  Don't get upset when you are on week 2 and 14lbs down and you happen to gain 2 because you had a fun week!  Keep telling yourself, I WILL, and feel blessed for every pound that comes off!

One last note, when I was on Jenny Craig, my weight loss consultant had this cool prop that really helped me.  It was a ziplock bag with one pound of "fat" (I believe she used some kind of thick goo like Crisco maybe?) but every time I would come in and "just lose one measly pound" she would pull out the "bag of fat" and I will let you know now, you really don't realize how much one whole pound is until you see it!  So try to make your own "bag of fat" and when you think you only lost 1 measly pound, hold that bag up and really see what all you lost in weight, and what you gained in confidence!

So here's to you, weight loss buddies, go out there and make that diet fit you! I promise it will make the whole experience much easier and much more exciting if you are enjoying your weight loss!
Remember, positive thinking goes a long way!  Lets turn those "I want"s into "I will"s!