Another 21 Day Challenge Under Our Belts

Hard to believe, but the February 21 Day Challenge is over. How did you do?

I think I've turned the corner. New habits are actually really habits. My weight continues to steadily drop...not fast, but it is going in the right direction. This time around, my goal is for slow, long-term weight loss. A real healthy lifestyle. I've broken the habit of eating between meals. That is a big...no HUGE change for me. As of the end of this challenge, I've lost 7.6 pounds since the first of the year. Who knows, by the end of the month it might just be 8 pounds. Whatever it is, it's moving toward my goal.

If you are sick and tired of the yo-yo dieting experience, come join me next month for the March 21 Day Challenge. Set attainable goals that move you in the direction you want to go. Come on. Let's do it! You can lose weight before summer and keep it off!

Anyone with questions, feel free to contact me or leave a comment.

21 Day Challenge: Day 19

Hard to believe we are already on day 19 of January's 21 Day Challenge. Life has been full of things to do including birthdays to celebrate. I still have two to go. Those kinds of special occasions used to derail my weight loss plans every January. I'd make an "exception" and before I knew it the exception became my way of life. So far, that's not the case this January. My 21 Day Challenge goals are really making a difference.

I'm following the No S Diet which basically means no sweets, no seconds, no snacks except on days that start with S. That includes "special days" like birthdays. The flexibility of this diet has really worked for me, plus I've been walking an hour a day 3-5 days a week. The thing that I've noticed is that I'm learning to know when I'm hungry and it is time to eat. With the no snacks rule, I wait to eat until my stomach tells me it is time. Even on the weekend when I can snack, I'm paying more attention to my hunger. Hopefully this is a habit that will carry me through the days off between this challenge and the February challenge!

The weight is coming off slowly and I'm hitting my target goal. I can eat what I want for my meals, just no seconds. I'm trying to include healthy choices that actually feed my body which helps me stay satisfied longer. All in all, this 21 Day Challenge has made a difference on a number of levels! I hope you can say the same.

21 Day Challenge: Day 6

Here is is already day 6 in the January 21 Day Challenge. I'm amazed how fast time flies. When I step back and look at it, it also becomes clear why I've gained weight in these past years. When I walked through life with the "I'll start to do something about my weight tomorrow" mindset, one day blended into the next and the only thing I was doing about my weight was adding to it.

Losing weight is a process. One day of healthy eating and exercise is just that one day. When we learn to string them together, it can be called a lifestyle. That's my overall goal for this year. To develop the habit of a healthy lifestyle. Saying that, today I'd like to talk about excuses.

Excuses are the reasons we come up with for why we don't eat healthy and/or don't exercise. Believe me, I'm a writer, I can come up with some creative reasons for why not to eat right and probably even more excuses for why I didn't exercise. That's one of the reasons I'm a member of the No Excuses Workout System. I think many of our excuses are a result of our busy lives...or at least that's what we blame it on. But think about it. Are we really so busy as to have no time for ourselves? For our health? If we are, then that needs to change.

My life as a writer and editor is busier than ever. I have another book coming this year which is in editing (which takes time), the sequel to Beyond the Fifth Gate which 3/4 written and is supposed to be finished soon, editing a non-fiction book for epress-online, and a host of articles to write and more. I think I work more hours now than ever, but this 21 Day Challenge, I've made exercise and fitness, in general, a priority. I set an appointment to exercise and so far I've made them. Even in below freezing weather, I've walked 9 miles so far this week! That's progress. Tomorrow I'll step on the scale and see if I've met my goal of losing one pound a week!

21 Day Challenge: Day 1

Here we are in a New Year and a fresh start. So many of us make New Year's resolutions to lose weight each year and by the middle of January get discouraged and quit.

The 21 Day Challenge is designed to keep us going all year...to see our weight loss and health goals through to year's end. The idea is that it takes 21 days to establish a new habit, so for the first 21 days of each month we will set goals to help build a foundation of healthy habits. The last days of each month will help us see if we need to continue on the same goals, change them totally, or just tweak them,. Each month represents a new start and a new set of goals will be posted; each month is a new start. This will help keep us motivated and moving forward to success!

For this month, my personal goals for the 21 Day Challenge are:

Follow the No S Diet

Drink 64 ounces of water daily

Exercise 3-5 days a week

I'd love it if others out there following the challenge would post their own goals in the comments section. Feel free to use "anonymous" posts if you don't want people to know who you are but please use some kind of name and sign your post so we can follow your progress.

Happy New Year!

How to Lose Weight in 2010

Here it is the last week of the month...heck it's the last week of year. It's the time when re-evaluating goals comes naturally. A new year, a new start and a new diet. Do I really want to start another diet? That's the real question. Bottom line is that I do want to lose weight. I do want to be healthy. I do want to fit into my clothes and breathe comfortably, and to bend over and tie my shoes without feeling like my air is cut off.

I'm taking steps toward the New Year and my plan for January's 21 Day Challenge. Today I bought a new scale. It not only tells me what I weigh but my percentage of body fat. Well, it hasn't told me yet. I didn't realize I didn't have two AA batteries. But I've taken that step, and will get the batteries this week. I also bought another book called The Maker's Diet. I'm looking for something to help inspire me and remind me of the importance of eating for health.

As I head toward January's 21 Day Challenge and putting together my goals for the first 21 days of the year, I'm considering following the No S Diet again and to walk at least 5 days a week. That's where I'm sitting with things right now.

Anybody else have any thoughts about the New Year and what they'll be doing with their weight? Have you set your goals?

New Year and the 21 Day Challenge

I've toyed with the idea of coming back to this blog for a number of reasons. First of all, I still have people leaving comments on old posts. Secondly, it's that time of year again when everyone is sick and tired of being overweight and we look with renewed determination at the New Year thinking we can actually lose that weight!

I've been facilitating a 21 Day Challenge elsewhere that has people setting goals--diet related goals--for the first 21 days of each month. I've made some new friends and couldn't help but think of those friends I left behind here.

It takes 21 days to establish a new habit. That means we can establish a new habit every month in the New Year. The goal is to work toward healthy lifestyle habits. Let’s get together and set some goals to springboard into a healthy 2010! I’m ready to lose all my excess weight! How about you?

If you want to take steps to a healthier lifestyle whether it involves losing weight or not, I encourage you to join me on or before January 1. Post your goals here and lets spur one another on to healthy living.

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For more check out my Diet News Blog.

How to Lose Weight in the New Year

It's that time of year. Among the top group of New Year's resolutions you'll find that ever elusive goal--to lose weight or go on a diet. But what is the success rate? How many people are still on target by the end of January? I won't even tell you...at least for now. I don't want to discourage you.

Instead, lets make a plan for how to be successful. First, make a plan. Don't choose a diet that you know on the front end will be impossible for you. That's a plan for failure. Instead, consider the basics. The reason you gain weight is that you are taking in more calories you burn. That's what has to change. There's two three approaches:

• Eat less calories
• Exercise more so that you burn more calories
• A combination of eating less calories and burning more calories.

Whether the doctor tells you to lose weight or not, if you're carrying around extra body fat, you know it. You don't really have to go on a diet--let's face it diets end and weight comes back. Instead, it's time to learn a measure of self-control and discipline. Eat less and exercise more.

Holiday Baking and Losing Weight

Thanksgiving is behind and Christmas is ahead. This is the time of year that can be quite a challenge for those who strive to eat healthy or are trying to lose weight. I've been hanging out at the LoveToKnow Diet forum where people are discussing all kinds of topics. If you go to the page, look in the top left hand corner for the yellow bar that says "Diet Forums". I brought up the topic Tips for Dieting and the Holidays, and have found the exchange is helping to motivate me to make better choices, and use the little tricks to help me through the times of temptation. If you're looking for some support, it's a great place to visit.

The tip I posted there today is about holiday baking. My family has a tradition of making a slew of Christmas cookies. Over the years I’ve narrowed it down to about four kinds of cookies, and most of those I bake to give away or bring to a special event. This way I can have a few of my favorites, without the temptation of eating them throughout the day...day after day.

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Looking for a Christmas gift and don't know what to buy? Pick up one of my books! You can find them on Amazon.

Stay Active, Eat Healthy and Live Long

On of my recent commenters talked about how they didn't use to have to worry about gaining weight and how that has changed. I can relate to that, though I used to watch myself even when I didn't have to. The thing that many people don't realize is that our calorie needs change with age due to more body fat and less lean muscle.

Think about the daily life of a high school student. They're probably at one of the most active times of life. Many schools have stairs to clime to get to the next class, they hang out with friends, and in general move.

As a freelance writer, by fingers are in good shape. They move almost all day, but the rest of me pretty much sits in one place. The key to losing weight is to burn more calories than we take in. That's one reason exercise is so important for losing weight, but that shouldn't be your only motivation. Think about your health. Exercise helps build muscle and burn fat, and keeps our systems working, our arteries cleaned out, our hearts strong.

The sad fact is that today's answer tends to lean toward medication to reduce symptoms. Today's society is more medicated that ever. Kids are medicated at a young age to help them learn to sit still in school. Just what we need, teaching kids to be inactive! Part of me is joking, but another part of me is saddened by the fact that it's not just meds to help hyperactivity. A study out this month reports, "America's tweens and teens more than doubled their use of type 2 diabetes medications between 2002 and 2005, with girls between 10 and 14 years of age showing a 166 percent increase." You can read the whole article here at NewsMedical.net.

What do we older folks have in common with them? The foods we eat today are not usually healthy whole foods, but processed foods with way more calories than we need. Maybe we should start a diet called the "Hundred Year Diet" -- if it wasn't something people ate 100 years ago...then don't eat it. Think what that would do to your grocery bill. You'd save money and lose weight! And think of the hard work people did a hundred years ago just to put a meal on the table! That in itself was a form of exercise, but that topic I'll save for another day.

Stay active, eat healthy and live long and prosper. (Yes I'm an avid Star Trek Fan).

More Ideas on How to Not Gain Holiday Weight

I'm more than half way through my cleanse and just about 10 pounds down. Remember though, that when I start eating, some of that weight will come back. However, I have to say it really has motivated me. My clothes are fitting, I can bend over with out cutting off my air, and I can cross my legs and feel comfortable.

While my focus has been taken off food, I'm also considering my strategy for how I'll eat once I finish the cleanse. Portion control seems to be one key to keeping weight off, and for continuing to lose. Along with that is learning the habit of eating slowly. These are all elements to take with us into the holiday season. Instead of saying you can't have any holiday goodies, which tends to be unrealistic, allow yourself to have a little. Yes, little. For example, a tradition in my family is to make Christmas cookies. In recent years I've cut back to making two kinds of cookies instead of six or so. And my plan is to make them for other people. That way I can have a couple from a batch and give the rest away. And I'll savor my goodies, eating them slowly so I can enjoy them.

Our society is one of excess, and that's one of the reasons we have such a weight problem. We think nothing of super sizing, eating plates piled with food and then having dessert too, or snacking enough to equal a big meal and then still eating a full meal.

Portion control. Let's take a look at how much a serving is, and when in doubt, use your palm as a guideline. If it fills your palm, it's a serving.

Holiday No Weight Gain Strategies

As we look ahead to the holidays and plan our strategies not to gain weight, I thought I'd pass this bit of wisdom on contributed by one of my faithful readers, Roberta:

I don't know if it is practical for anybody else, but one of the things I do to control what I eat at Thanksgiving is to have the dinner at my house. That way I can make food that fits into my weightloss plan: I've learned how to make everything low fat, even the dressing and gravy. Nobody knows the difference until I tell them. Although cooking and hosting a dinner for a large family is hard work, I look at it as another opportunity to burn more calories. LOL!

If I'm going out to a party I bring my favorite low fat dish or desert to share, so I always have something to eat that won't pudge me out! As far as those delicious traditional goodies that others bring, I've found that all I need to satisfy me is a tiny piece or a few bites.

If any of the rest of you have tips you'd like to share feel free to comment. Let's plan now. Thanksgiving is just around the corner!

I'm starting the second week of my cleanse today and am thanking God that I'm in one piece as I had an...accident...eye opening experience...well I took a fall this weekend. I was racing my 11-year-old grandson full out when i felt myself typing slightly forward. My mind said, I think you're going to fall. you are going to fall. Don't put your hands out, you'll break your wrists! And then I slammed into the asphalt. Left leg, palm of left hand, chest, and then my head snapped forward and my face whacked the pavement! Phew! And I'm alive. With a black eye, skinned palm and knee, and that's all! Of course everyone reminds me that I'm not 12. :) Guess I need those reminders every once in a while.

Today's Plan Can Change the Rest of Your Life

It's a new week and a great time to make your healthy living plans for the week. What do you have in mind? If you don't have a plan, then you are probably doomed to reach that goal. For myself, I've decided to count calories this week just to make myself aware of what I'm actually taking in. It's so easy to justify what I'm putting in my mouth, but I know that I can even overeat on healthy foods, and if I want to lose this weight, I have to eat less calories than I burn.

I'm more motivated to lose now, since I plan to run a 5K in September. Now let me make this clear. I can't run for a block right now, so this is really a challenge. Last week I exercised 5 days and plan to do the same this week. Today's plan is to try and build some endurance. I'm going to warm up a little and then start to jog--for as long as I can. I'm going to time it rather than measure it in distance right now because that's easier. It will give me a baseline. I did some interval training last week where I ran (really should say jogged) for 2 minutes, walked 2 minutes and so on for about a mile. I'll be doing that again tomorrow.

If you're tired of talking about losing weight and ready to actually do it, make a plan. Today's the day! It can change the rest of your life.