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Originally Posted by Meg
So, Miss Gretchen, why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself and what you're doing to lose the weight? And what have you discovered along the way? Any surprises? Has it been harder or easier than you thought? Inquiring minds want to know!
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Hi and thank you for the warm welcome!
Where to begin… I have learned tons on this journey. The most important piece in my success, without a doubt, is the positive attitude I developed about weight loss. In my opinion, without a positive attitude, losing weight—and keeping it off is nearly impossible. Rather than continuously focusing on the failures I have encountered; and in turn getting down on myself, I choose to focus on the positive. I recognize when I fall off the wagon, quickly devise a plan to avoid a reoccurrence of the situation and move on. I have encountered many “speed bumps” along the way, who hasn’t! I just refuse to let the speed bumps become roadblocks in my journey. It’s this type of mental exercise that keeps my momentum going!
Now for the specifics of my plan:
I jump started with a VLCD, under the supervision of a dietician. After about 2 months, I gradually increased my caloric intake to a more realistic level and have been doing that ever since. I plan for occasional treats, nothing too extravagant, I stay away from fried, fatty foods, limit sugar intake, and I try and eat bread products with as many “visible ingredients” as possible i.e. 12 grain bread etc. I love “grains”.
I usually do 20 minutes of cardio first thing in the morning, a 2 mile walk at lunchtime (weather permitting) and if I am really ambitious, another 20 minutes of cardio in the evening. I don’t drink as much water as I should—I need to work on that. My dietician tells me that drinking diet iced tea is considered water. I am not so sure.
For maintenance my plan is to gradually increase my caloric intake by 100 calories for each additional 10 lbs lost from this point going forward. I have about 22 more to go. By the time I reach my goal I should be right around 1400-1500 daily. I suspect that this period will also be my “trial and error” time until I discover what values will work for me in maintenance. I will continue to do cardio and I continue to gradually increase the amount of high rep. weight training to intensify the toning efforts for the arms and tummy.
Overall, I am totally satisfied with my experience. It has been very easy for me, unlike other attempts. I fully credit my success to my positive attitude and determination to live a healthy lifestyle.
Whew… that was long winded eh?