Here’s how I did it.

First I started with a very helpful website MyFitnessPal.com. One of my clients and his wife were using it with great success. He lost 30 pounds using the My Fitness Pal app on his phone, his wife also was losing weight. (*Results may vary.)

I put my current weight in the website plus how much I wanted to lose and how many pounds per week. It helped to see how many calories per day it was going to take to lose one pound per week. For me it was 1200 calories per day.

Next I bought a good accurate scale and vowed to weigh myself every morning upon rising.  I heard warnings about not weighing every day, however I decided it is important to know what affect the food I ate yesterday had on my body today.

For the first week I input everything I consumed on My Fitness Pal. I was shocked to see the actual calorie count on the “healthy” things I was eating. As an example; I would sometimes eat an organic avocado over the course of a day, but then learned that tasty avocado had 322 calories. WOW! When you only have 1200 calories in a day, it’s a huge chunk of the total. Then my favorite salad with chicken breast was 850 calories. FOR A SALAD! Another eye opener! I switched to half of my favorite salad eating it slower.

I continued to put in what I was eating over the course of a week to get an idea of how many calories were in each item. Once I had the calorie count down on each food my nutrition plan began to take form. My Fitness Pal is also good for keeping track of water intake, exercise and other helpful information that includes number of carbs, grams of fat, etc.

I’ve been a nutritional consultant for many years and didn’t have to worry about my weight because I was active, knew my food allergies, and my appetite was never big but I needed to eat every three hours or so due to low blood sugar. Then I turned 50. Got married and suddenly pounds began to shift, activity was less, cooking dinner every night increased the amount of food I was eating, my appetite grew and the pounds started creeping up. And I do mean creeping. I knew I added a few pounds by how my clothes were fitting, chalking it up to life style change, but self-delusion pushed by denial was the real culprit of how the weight continued to accumulate. Only weighing myself occasionally then dismissing the extra pounds didn’t help.

Next my self-esteem began to suffer. My self-talk was conflicting; I’m getting fat and it’s unhealthy, followed by, I’ve gained a few pounds but I’ll stop it soon. I’m not eating that much. My clothes don’t fit right or look right. Is that my body?

The tipping point for me is when we came back from a wonderful trip to Europe. Where I ate my way through Italy justifying the wheat there was not the same as the United States Frankenfood wheat.

However, gluten sensitivity or gluten intolerance causes inflammation, which is swelling. Inflammation can cause weight gain and is the fuel for many dis-eases.

When we came home I discovered I weighed nearly 140 pounds, which is too much for my small bone structure. Most of the extra weight was in my abdomen and hips. I was appalled that I was on my way to being obese which means unhealthy, unless I did something immediately. So that’s how my motivation materialized along with wanting to look fit for my husband and myself.

Each day I weigh myself, and sometimes I gain one or two pounds, I think about what I ate the day before. Most of the time it’s due to carbs, like a piece of bread, or potato, maybe some rice or just too much of a combination of cheese, dairy or all the above. We all have heard a calorie is not a calorie and it’s true. Calories from bread, as an example cause a bigger spike in insulin which affects other hormones causing the body to store more fat. The same amount of calories in the form of protein and veggies is less likely to cause weight gain providing the body fuel. Food allergies are also a big part of weight gain. Eating dairy or most grains for me translates to instant fat. And how I love those intoxicating foods. I say intoxicating because I feel good while I’m eating them, but normally feel bloated, lethargic or foggy headed after (the hangover). So now I only eat them occasionally to find the next day I gained weight from self- indulging in foods that are my undoing.

I also started exercising at the rec center with weights three times per week. I work out for 45 minutes with my favorite tunes and have twice the energy when I’m finished. I also walk my dogs with the attention of getting my heart rate up not just strolling. The off days from the rec center I exercise for 30 minutes at home with hand weights, yoga, dancing, sit ups or anything that involves moving. I take Sunday’s off unless we’re going for a hike or bike ride. Exercise is not over rated. The benefits are endless. Human beings have to move in order to be healthy. And if you can’t be healthy, what else is there? Can’t be happy without good health either.

My recommendation to all who want to lose weight is to stop denying that being overweight is okay. Extra weight is unhealthy, it is our physical body’s way of letting us know we’re compromising our health. Our society has lowered the bar on being obese, but it’s the wrong direction when it comes to not being sick and enjoying a long healthy life.  I’d rather live the same amount of years being healthy with a high quality of life than to be sick and on medications caused from being obese. It’s not that difficult to be healthy and is worth the changes required. Choose health as your wealth.

Here’s to your good health!

(*Results may vary.)