A few people have asked what I am doing so I'll give you the long and short version.
The short version: I am eating less and moving more. Done.
The long version (cut and pasted from an email I sent to an old friend):
I have been doing a variety of things that seem to be working. Finally:)
I think one of the biggest helps is eating (or drinking) breakfast. I never ate breakfast always crashed around 10 and then just ate and ate and ate. So, I have been making smoothies each morning using chocolate Shakeology, almond milk, water, strawberries, and sometimes peanut butter. Shakeology is kind of expensive, but I have offset the cost by not making daily visits to Starbucks for caramel fraps:) It is easy for me to spend +/- $4 a day on that rather than dropping $7 or 8 at Starbucks each morning.
I have also been working out regularly--at least 6 days a week. I am doing the Couch to 5k training, Turbo Fire, and Chalean Extreme. I have tried all other kinds of workouts at home but never stuck with any. The ones I am doing now are 90-day programs with workouts scheduled in a specific order. You can download the c25k app for free and follow that. Turbo Fire and Chalean Extreme are from the same company that makes Shakeology (and, again, are kinda expensive, but less expensive than the gym memberships I never used!)
For Christmas, I got a FitBit. It is kind of like a BodyBugg but less expensive (and a little less high-tech). It tracks my steps, calories burned, sleep, etc. It also syncs with MyFitnessPal (which I use to track my food and calories intake) so I can see how many calories are going in versus how many I am burning. I love my FitBit--it is super motivating because I want to beat my totals from the day before! This really helps because as we all know, weight loss is all about burning more than you are taking in but I think many people do not know how many calories they are burning or consuming. While the FitBit/MyFitnessPal combo just provdes estimates, it gives me a way better idea than before. If you only have a little to lose, I'd say you want a 500 calories deficit. Since I still have another 70 pounds to lose, I shoot for a 1,000-1,200 calorie deficit each day; I eat between 1500 and 1800 calories and burn around 3000 on average. Since I am working out, I get to eat more.
MyFitnessPal is free--there is both online and phone app versions.The FitBit is $99 but all the online interaction is free. This is why I went with the FitBit and not the Body Bugg. The Body Bugg does a few more things but is more expensive and charges a monthly fee to use the online tools.The support of others is a big help as well. I joined a weight loss challenge on FB and that really motivated me. I had joined Weight Watchers more times than I care to remember and only ever stuck with it for a couple weeks at a time. I need to be held accountable by others so having to report my weight to someone other than myself is huge, especially when the other person is a super fit and beautiful! I am thinking about putting together a challenge group of my own. If I do, I will let you know.
I used MyFitnessPal on its own and lost my first 20 or so pounds so I think incorporating any of these things will make a difference.
So, as the short version says, it is all about eating less (but much better) and moving lots more. Over the course of yesterday, I walked 12 miles. And only 3.5 were my "workout." I even got to indulge in a Girl Scout cookie or 3 :)
Off to lose another 50! Wish me luck!
