Promise me one thing. Promise that you won't promise to lose all that weight this year.
Why?
Because, while everyone knows how to achieve short term weight loss, NO ONE can tell you how to keep it off while living a normal life.
Zig zagging weight loss plans, where you lose the pounds, then gain back just as many pounds PLUS MORE, just make us fatter and fatter after each diet.
Since I stopped dieting, I stopped gaining weight. My weight wasn't "inching up", it was jumping 12 to 40 pounds each time I gained the weight back, after each of a lifetime of diets.
I currently weigh 272 pounds. (Over the holidays I went up to 278, but that's taken care of itself, now that I'm not at parties.)
I've lost hundreds of pounds in my lifetime, and gained it all back, so I can't tell you how to keep weight off, either. But I remind you that you already know lots of ways to get healthier than you are now. Some of them (most of them?) are difficult or even impossible. Some aren't.
Think about those easy things. There are probably lots of little habits you have that could be swapped for a healthier choice THAT YOU LIKE BETTER.
You're doing the same things you've always done, because you learned to do them the way you do, and you've never even thought about changing them.
This year, Think about what you're doing. That alone would be a great resolution.
If you decide to change one thing that will make you healthier, try it. If that one doesn't work, try something else, until you come up with a lifetime change that you actually prefer to your old habit, you can be healthier. Not just in three months, but for the rest of your life.
For instance, I found out that I like Splenda in my iced or hot tea. I actually prefer it in drinks because it's not heavy or sticky.
Since I drink about a quart of tea a day, that's a lot of sugar I'm not eating any more.
I also mix Splenda into the milk I out on my cereal. Same reason. I get the taste without the sticky feeling.
Now, my sister doesn't experience a "sticky feeling" in sugary drinks, but she likes anything in a "pink packet." (To me, that stuff has an after-taste like aluminum foil, but she can't tell it from sugar. She can't stand the taste of Splenda.)
My point here is that what works for someone else may not work for you, even within your family, but keep trying until you find the easy fixes. For me, using Splenda in drinks and on cereal actually tastes better than sugar. That makes it easy to do.
What would be easy for you? Try looking at your habits, one at a time. For instance, do you like open face sandwiches better than closed top (two slice) ones?
Did you ever think about it before? That bread is mostly empty calories. Your body processes it as sugar, which is bad for you. So if that top slice doesn't really taste good enough to warrant the problems it causes, why not feed it to the birds?
Purists will point out that bread without extra-extra fiber added isn't good for birds, either, but you get my point.
Example:
A Friend has insomnia. She stared at the ceiling for hours every night. One day it occurred to her that she doesn't exercise much because, contrary to her doctor says exercise makes her dead tired, not more energetic. One night it occurred to her that she could try to do sit-ups until she got tired. (She's never been able to do a real sit-up, but she can tense the musclher head and shoulders lift slightly.)
She's worked up to doing a hundred of those anytime she wakes up. Afterward, she reports that she gets really drowsy and usually goes to sleep quickly. Also, her waist is getting slimmer and her abs are hard.
For her, it's an easy fix. Certainly better than being grumpy all day after yet another sleepless night.
So try things. Let me know what works for you. I'll be rooting for you.
Life isn't about being skinny. It's about being happy. And being happy is much easier if you're healthy. And when you're healthy, you feel good and you look wonderful.
Be beautiful!
Knuti
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