My weight loss

I know so many people who struggle with their self-image on a daily basis. I know that I do. I used to weigh 176lbs. I can remember getting up in the mornings and hardly being able to move on account of my knees and ankles hurting. I struggled to keep up with others and felt tired all the time. I basically "hid" myself in my clothes, or at least tried. Luckily, over the past few years I have made some changes. I've managed to drop down to a much healthier 136lbs. I work out almost every day and eat reasonable. I don't deprive myself, I just don't overeat anymore. It was a huge change. I took it one day at a time. If I decide I want cake, I'll have one piece and I'll stop there. I know it is a long hard raod and you have to take things as it comes. I've had several downfalls and there has been days when I've felt like giving up. I've learned to take a deep breath and realize that tomorrow is a new day to start over.

I think losing weight is one of the hardest things for a person to take on. Unlike many other unhealthy habits such as: smoking, drinking, and so on, you can't just "stop" eating. You have to eat just to survive. With other habits, you can avoid certain situations that would cause you to relapse into your bad habit. If you are trying to stop drinking, perhaps you would avoid going to bars or buying alcohol. What do you do if you are trying to lose weight? You can't avoid eating, that is clearly impossible. It can be so hard to eat reasonably and avoid overdoing it. Here is what I have personally done to lose weight.

• Try not to eat after 7pm
• Do cardio at least 30 min. every day, if possible, for weight loss. (Although some is better than none at all.)
• Add in weight training to help tone and build muscle. Muscle will burn more calories than fat.
• To decrease snacking, don't buy tempting junk food.
• Take low calorie food and snacks whenever you are on the go.
• When you have to buy fast food, buy grilled sandwiches and pass on fried foods.
• Write down everything you eat while you are eating it. I have a tendency to forget what I've eaten if I decide to write it down later.

Most importantly, don't get discouraged. Losing weight IS hard! It isn't easy and it takes a lot of time and changes. I think the best thing to do is to start out with baby steps. Just try replacing one fatty food a day with something healthier. Do 10 minutes of exercise and build from there. Make your goals small, aim at losing just 2lbs. a week. Reward yourself for work well done. If you don't lose weight, but you did work out by walking a few blocks, then you did good! Your body will benefit regardless! Overall, your main goal is to change your lifestyle. You will have much better health if you lose weight and start conditioning your body through exercise and food.

Since my own weight loss, my knee and ankle problems has disappeared. I can keep up with anyone and can even jog a couple of miles at a time. Am I a fast runner? Oh no, by no means, but I CAN do it. That is the cool thing. Do I still struggle with what I see in the mirror? Yes. I still do. I don't think anyone can be completely happy with their appearance. Well, it often seems that way to me. You can see any celebrity or someone who looks perfect to you, and ask them about what they see in the mirror and they can rattle off several things that they would like to change about themselves. I think our society is very unrealistic about the "body" body. I don't think one exists. I definitely don't think it is on the catwalks or in the movies/tv that we see every day. I don't know what the best method of weight loss is, but it seems that different things work for different people.

I just thought I'd write about what helped me the most, maybe others have other things to add?