What Worked For Me

We're all special snowflakes, right?  Well, that may more or less be true as far as weightloss goes.  I can't stand the additude of, "Eat less.  Move more.  It's not rocket science."  Well, for some people it is.  You're missing so many dimensions with that attitude -- mental health, ecology, GENES.  For a plan to work, it has to be tailored TO YOU.  Every time I tried to eat less and move more, I failed in two weeks, maybe less.  Why?  What makes it different this time?  I mean, this time I've lost 20 lbs, and I've been at it for about 10 weeks.  What was different this time?

1.) Support!  This was key for me.  Having a partner in the process was essential, but I needed this partner to literally share meals with me, work out alongside me, sleep next to me, like a constant reminder that we were in it together.  When one was running on low, the other was pumped up.  It's really helped me this time around.  I truly feel sorry for anyone trying to diet without the support of their partner.  I just couldn't do it.  I tried.  I failed.

2.) Prep ALL the meals!  Research shows that the pre-packaged, sent-to-your-door meals can work very well for some people trying to lose weight.  Takes the guess work out.  Well, I kind of did that for myself.  My boyfriend and I would cook all of our lunches for the week on Sunday, then dish it out for the rest of the week, truly controlling our caloric intake without much fussing and moaning.  Now, I know what you're thinking...

Calm down, Sweet Brown.  It's really a cinch once you get the hang of it.  Even on busy weekends, we found ways to make it work.  If we had to freeze something to make sure it would keep, no biggie.  I'm convinced this has been essential to our success.

3.) Eliminate the excess!  And I'm not talking just the food.  I'm talking everything.  I found I was wasting my time on pointless tasks (browsing the internet, mainly) that took away from EVERYTHING: workout time, meal prep time, clean-up time, boyfriend time.  I feel much less pressured and much more free than ever before.

4.) Take a break!  In a couple of different ways.  First of all, we were "off" for the weekend.  It was always nice to know there could be a day I could indulge, but sometimes we would negotiate a mid-week indulgence for a birthday or company function.  Being strict and unforgiving just never worked for me.  Sometimes I needed to take a break from daily weigh-ins (no, I don't want to hear you tell me daily weigh-ins are bad for me -- go away).  Sometimes I needed to give myself a break when the scale moved in the wrong direction.  Unlike the other times I tried to lose weight, though, all of the above helped me to get back in the saddle once my break was done.

5.) Hydrate -- I think.  In the last week, I've been drinking Sassy water.  Just google it.  Whether or not the ingredients actually help anything, it's nice to focus on my hydration in a new way.  The taste is something to get used to, but not horrible, and I've been feeling great this week despite being on my cycle.  More on this later as I see more consistent effects.

Anyway, this is what's been working for ME.  There has been a whole lot of trial-and-error leading up to this, but I think I've finally got it down.  Maybe I'll post my first before-and-after pictures.  Maybe.