There are probably thousands of weight loss diets out there, low carb diets, crash diets, detox diets, low fat diets, the ketogenic diet, liquid diets, and on and on. I’m not a medical professional, so take everything I say on this blog with that in mind. That said, I think different diets work for different people, you need to find the one that works for you – long term. Ultimately, that is the trick, you have to find something you can live with for the long term. You have to change your lifestyle completely. Had I known when I started my weight loss program just how dramatically I would have to change my lifestyle, I would have been completely overwhelmed. It is possible, though, to change your lifestyle dramatically. My husband and I did it baby step by baby step.
On July 21, 2011, 10 days before my 38th birthday, David and I began our weight loss program. We did a medically supervised, very low calorie diet program through our medical group. The program required us to attend weekly meetings to check in and weigh in. The weekly meetings were with a group of people who were going through the same thing. The group leader would give us homework every week and we would discuss our struggles and successes with the leader and the others in the group. The homework was meant to help us try different exercise activities (or “P.A.” aka Physical Activity – I’m guessing they didn’t want to freak us all out by calling it exercise).
We started by walking for about 30 minutes a day, and we worked up from there. We tried different things – Zumba, yoga, the elliptical, kayaking, running, dancing, weight lifting, paddle boarding, cycling, swimming, and, of course, hiking. There are so many ways to move, so many forms of physical activity that will burn calories. We just had to explore and find the ones we liked. We loved hiking, walking, kayaking, Zumba, and dance, yoga, cycling and swimming. We still work those things into our routine to this day. We hated running, weight lifting, paddle boarding, stationary cycling. We do Body Pump now, which is a form of weight lifting. I hate it, David likes it – but other than that – we generally do exercise we enjoy and there are plenty of those activities. We just started small and built from there by trying new things and adding to our routine. You don’t need to love to run or to love Zumba – just find what you do enjoy. There will be something. Baby steps…. We went from walking 30 minutes a day to hiking over 130 miles in 11 days, and we continue to look for ways to challenge ourselves.
Oh, and Happy Halloween!!
In honor of Halloween...here's a baby step for today - don't eat the candy you are handing out ;-) If you have a sweet tooth, eat fruit instead. (I know, easier said than done, but you can do it!)
On July 21, 2011, 10 days before my 38th birthday, David and I began our weight loss program. We did a medically supervised, very low calorie diet program through our medical group. The program required us to attend weekly meetings to check in and weigh in. The weekly meetings were with a group of people who were going through the same thing. The group leader would give us homework every week and we would discuss our struggles and successes with the leader and the others in the group. The homework was meant to help us try different exercise activities (or “P.A.” aka Physical Activity – I’m guessing they didn’t want to freak us all out by calling it exercise).
We started by walking for about 30 minutes a day, and we worked up from there. We tried different things – Zumba, yoga, the elliptical, kayaking, running, dancing, weight lifting, paddle boarding, cycling, swimming, and, of course, hiking. There are so many ways to move, so many forms of physical activity that will burn calories. We just had to explore and find the ones we liked. We loved hiking, walking, kayaking, Zumba, and dance, yoga, cycling and swimming. We still work those things into our routine to this day. We hated running, weight lifting, paddle boarding, stationary cycling. We do Body Pump now, which is a form of weight lifting. I hate it, David likes it – but other than that – we generally do exercise we enjoy and there are plenty of those activities. We just started small and built from there by trying new things and adding to our routine. You don’t need to love to run or to love Zumba – just find what you do enjoy. There will be something. Baby steps…. We went from walking 30 minutes a day to hiking over 130 miles in 11 days, and we continue to look for ways to challenge ourselves.
Oh, and Happy Halloween!!
In honor of Halloween...here's a baby step for today - don't eat the candy you are handing out ;-) If you have a sweet tooth, eat fruit instead. (I know, easier said than done, but you can do it!)
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