Melissa's weight loss journey...

Good morning to all my beautiful friends!


I wanted to share with all of you my new weight loss journey, and what I am doing to "BE" on this path. I'm really really on it this time, and it FEELS amazing! It's very simple actually:

Food:
Okay...this aspect of my weight loss is HUGE!! I have read this vital tip and been told this tip and I have seen it on TV. But for some reason...when my friend Lisa told me this about three weeks ago, I FINALLY believed it!

You have to EAT to loose weight!!!!!

I NEVER would believe this in the past! My brain was programmed that the less food I consumed, the more weight I would loose. I know that sounds silly, but it's what I believed. That is why I was always just stumbling on the path in the past. I could sometimes manage to loose some weight, but it all depended on my "Will power" to not eat so much. I now know that it has NOTHING to do with will power it's all about "The way power". (I made that up..hehe) Okay..so here is "The way"!

• I joined SparkPeople.com. This is a FREE website to help track your calorie intake. When you sign up, it has you input all your info and it sets up a plan for you with how much calorie's to consume and how much to exercise. You get to create your own spark page, this allows you to network with other people that are on the same PATH with you! If you sign up...which YOU NEED TO, my screen name is ColoradoBeauty. Add me as a friend and we can take the journey together!! You can go in and look at my food log anytime! The biggest thing I love about Spark, is that it's not a diet..you can eat pretty much anything..just in moderation! It "teaches" you how to eat the right way.


• Spark pages recommended that I eat between 1200-1500 calories a day. I have chosen to eat only 1200 calories per day. That may not seem like a lot to some people...but I will tell you this. When you are actually eating healthy..it's dang hard for me to even reach 1200 calories a day! It feels like I am eating constantly! You have to eat 6 times a day. Breakfast (something I always use to skip) then a snack, lunch then another snack, dinner, and one last snack 2 hours before bedtime. See before spark pages, I would skip breakfast, then I was starving by lunch so I would eat some crazy huge portion of something totally not healthy, then I would eat a small dinner and close the day by eating lots of fattening snacks at night while watching Biggest Loser! So It seemed like I was not eating all that much...but in reality I bet I was probably consuming at least 1500-2500 calories per day!!


• I am NOT and never have been a big breakfast eater (Unless it involved breakfast burritos from Wendy's or ham and cheese croissants from Burger king) so I knew I needed to find something that I loved and something HEALTHY. Here is where my friend Lisa came in again. She eats Special K with red berries everyday. The only problem is that I HATE milk! I bought Silk Vanilla soy to eat with it...I was very cautious the first few times just because the word SOY grosses me out. But it is sooooo good...I'm so serious people..it tastes so good! I eat that EVERYDAY! So yes...BREAKFAST is a huge deal for me, I never really ate breakfast, and wow...it really starts your day off good!


• My lunches are usually a lean cuisine, I love them there is such a variety. I can get my Mexican food fix or my pasta fix this way!


• For dinner I usually eat a salad and chicken breast cooked on my handy George Foreman grill.


• For snacks I love to eat: Special K bars (raspberry and choc drizzle) all types of berries, apples, Quaker mini delights and yogurt with a little bit of grape nuts on top. I love cheese...but I'm cutting that out for the time being, just has so much fat. I have learned that the snacks are so important..they keep your metabolism up and running!


• Guess what Taco Bell has a menu called the "Fresco menu" It's there contribution for people seeking "Healthy fast food". I love the Fresco burrito...so yummy!!
• You can stalk my food log at Spark people anytime to see what I am eating =)

So that there is the 411 on what I am doing with my Food. Like I said food=weight loss!! Wow...what a concept...I wish I would have believed this sooner!!

Exercise:

• At first I started out with just 30 min. per day of "Intentional" cardio exercise. This usually consisted of a 25 min Tae Bo video tape. (I heart Tae Bo) Or I would use my Wii fit board for 30-40 min doing the advanced step aerobics and the running in place.


• I am now doing the 30 min Tae Bo tape, or 30 min of high intensity aerobics. I then run in place with my wii fit for 2 miles. So I am now exercising for about an hour a day.


• I purchased a fitness watch at Target. It tells me how many calories I have burned each day, as well as how many steps I have taken. They say you should walk 10,000 steps per day. I have been averaging 17,000 steps. It's fun to see how high I can get each day. I love the fitness watch!!


• Very soon I am going to start mixing in some Pilate's and strength training, I just wanted to hit the cardio hard at first to burn some of this fat off!!


• I have been exercising 6 days a week.

So ya..that's the exercise portion! Pretty simple! You know what though? It is AMAZING to me how good I feel from just exercising everyday! It makes me feel sooo good throughout the day! It even seems to have given me more patience with life (you know the little things..like husbands and kids..lol) I did learn that I have to exercise in the morning sometime, by the late afternoon...I just don't have the energy like I do in the morning. Even if you work outside the home...just try and wake up a little earlier and get 30 min in before your shower, the 30 min loss of sleep will be worth the way you feel the whole day from exercising.

Random other tips:

• WATER....I started out with a goal of 8 cups a day. Now that I am exercising more, my goal is a gallon per day. I have a pink Nalgene bottle that holds 32 ounces, so I shoot for 4 of those per day. I add lemon juice to the water, because I get so sick of drinking so much water plain.


• GUM...when ever I get a sweet tooth (usually at night) or while watching biggest loser..hehe.. I chew Extra spearmint gum.


• GOD..I should have put this on top. I know that everyone is not religious. But I happen to be very religious. I pray every night in my bubble bath, and for the past month...I have been just asking God for strength. Just for him to stick it out with me, so that I can be a healthy me. I know that he has been there, I KNOW IT!! I don't ask him to loose weight FOR ME...because it's ME who has to do the work, I just ask him to give me the strength to push through each day, and to be there with me through this journey.


• CONSISTENCY...This is a BIG one for me..HUGE! Just stick with it...stay on the path and take ONE day at a time. I have always been one of those people who want results like an hour later...but they won't be there an hour later. You have to be patient and consistent, and the results WILL come...trust me I know this now!!


• A free day. Everyone needs a free day, to eat the things you love in moderation. Although for me portion control is obviously still a problem, so I think I am going to skip the FREE day for now until I shed more weight. Yesterday I attempted to have free day and I ate enough pasta for 3 people and wayyy to much garlic bread..then I was like heck why not really go out with a bang..and I ate a little bag of sugar babies!! So this morning I am THREE pounds more!! So..you see..I stepped of the path for a moment. I woke up this morning and asked God to just stay with me today, because weighing 3 pounds more..my motivation was a little in the toilet this am. But with his help, I know that today is NEW day and I WILL push forward!! I can do it!!! so can you!!!

Wow...if you have made it this far...THANK YOU for listening!! I have done all the things above, CONSISTENTLY and I have lost 12 pounds so far (I still have 30 more to go). You can do it too, and I am ALWAYS here for moral support for anyone!! I will be making weight loss updates on here, or anything "new" that I learn along the way!!

p.s. when ever I need some motivation I visit the Spark page of "Jensfitjourney" it inspires me EVERY SINGLE TIME!! Look her up if you need to...or if you just need some extra motivation to get going!! Click HERE to read her story and to see her amazing pictures!

p.p.s On Sat night me and my husband went to a movie. I sat there and drank a bottle of water while he devoured a ice cold Coke and a bag of buttery popcorn!! Wow..if I can do that..I can do ANYTHING!!! hehe

Love to you all,