I have always been, what I used to call as a youngster, “big boned” so as I was growing, I seemed to gain 10 lbs with every year. Obviously that topped-out but I can tell you I have been floating between 150 and 155 for years and years.
I did weigh 145 once when I was 26 and I had just gotten my very first apartment by myself after breaking-off a 6 year relationship. You know how it is, nothing like being single to get you to the gym! I remember I had this pair of Tommy jeans that I looked fabulous in (my butt had always been out of proportion, but at 145, in those jeans, look out!!) I have not worn those jeans in a long time but I have always kept them in my closet “just incase”!
So that was then and since then, I tend to float around 150 – 155lbs.
Over the years I have had personal trainers and work out buddies; I never really did the fad diet thing but at different times I have followed certain health regimes to heal different things and I have noticed with all of my reading and researching on weight loss and healthy eating that It comes down to a couple of things:
• Calories in- calories out • Avoid white sugar, white flour, salt • Limit or cut out alcohol and caffeine • Have limited fat in your diet but make it good fats (nuts, fish, olive oil) • Plenty of water • Plenty of vegetables • Plenty of sleep
Makes sense, sounds healthy, nothing faddy about it, it is pretty much what our bodies were made to be sustained on.
Makes sense, but is that enough to get someone to do it?
Perhaps, but not for me.
What it took for me was a great coach and a great plan, entrée Paul Koros and the Eating For Success™ Program!!
I met Paul at a training event in Vancouver and I was drawn in by his gentle, powerful energy. While I was developing programs around passionate powerful living, he was creating a program called Eating for Success™. We started sharing what we were up to over the phone in weekly meetings and I was so taken by his message and his own personal success story (he lost 40 lbs and kept it off!)
The Eating for Success! program gave me a basic food plan to follow that is not a diet but a way of life. I got that very early, that this is not something you do for now, ( the reason so many “diets” have people losing the weight only to regain it when they chill out) it is something you do forever and I can tell you, doing this forever sounds just fine for me. Here are a couple of highlights that I saw as foundations of the plan for me:
• I need way less food to survive on (and even be full) than I ever imagined • With portion allotment, I spent way less time lamenting over how I had over-eaten or feeling like I needed a nap after a meal • By focusing on what I do have to eat (a delicious chicken breast and vegetable sandwich with mustard on dark pumpernickel) instead of what it is not (a Big Mac) I can actually enjoy and savor what I am eating instead of lament that I am being “deprived” • By laying off sugar I can maintain a steady energy level all day (I was diagnosed with Hypoglycemia – which basically had me eating something every 3 hours because by the 4th hour I would be on edge and emotional – not any more!) • I was able to break food addictions (ie. Sugar, cheese etc) that I can now see have been dictating my food intake leading to unconscious and unhealthy eating. • Often what is interpreted as hunger is actually thirst and when it comes down to it, using a glass of water as your first defense instead of a chocolate bar, makes a difference • Rosemary makes a great topping for a baked potato (who would have thunk?!) • “You don’t have to be an athlete to have the body that is your birthright.” Paul said this to me one day and it stuck! Wow! Really?!
And so, here I am for the first time in 17 years, I am in the 130’s and a solid size 8!
(Traditionally I have been a 10-12).
I wanted to celebrate with you and mark this occasion even though I know it is not the end. You see, as long as I stick with my eating plan, which is just the way I eat now, I will keep shrinking. I can now see that I may very well be a natural size 6! In the meantime, I get to eat great, healthy, life sustaining food, I get to watch my body take a lovely lean form and while I will shortly grow out of them, for now, I get to wear my Tommy jeans before I have to trade them in for a smaller model.
And so I am extending this invitation to any of you who have... struggled with your weight,
who are....
tired of being run by your food addictions,
or would just.... like a healthier experience around food and your body.
