Secrets of Success

Become a clean freak

Staying busy is a good way to stop boredom eating. When you are cleaning out your closets or organizing your christmas decorations, you arent thinking about food. At the end of the day, you've been active, avoided boredom eating and have a visible accomplishment

Be Patient

It is so easy to get discouraged when you have a week or so with no visible progress. Be patient with your weight loss progress, it helps me to remember that it took decades to add the weight, it just isn't realistic to believe it is all coming off in a month!! You may not see it, but your body is changing with every good choice you make!!

Losing 5 lbs at a time

This year I started with the goal of losing 5 lbs per month. I have never been a fast loser so this is really realistic and something I can stick to. After all 5 lbs a month tallys up to 60 lbs in one year.. Who can do without 60 lbs extra?... The goal is simple but effective. So many people set out to lose 30 lbs in one month , but when they don't achieve it they get frustrated and give up. Consistency is what counts. Slowly but surely...

secret from dr. oz

This isn't my secret, it's one of his weight-loss rules that I thought would be very challenging but instead am finding it to be very helpful. Stop eating 3 hours before bedtime.

Those hours are when I tend to eat the most junk! By following this rule I am literally cutting out probably a third of my food intake for the day!

Salad plates

When serving your food, put your portions on a salad or dessert plate, the plate looks as though it is full of food, sending a message to the brain that there is more than enough to eat.. You will actually find yourself feeling full before your plate is empty!

sparkpoints are great but...

Don't allow yourself to get too caught up in points. Instead, go for a walk or do something active. You are learning more by exploring the site, but, remember you are most likely sitting down while you are reading this.

Change Your Focus

The best advice I got on weight loss was from my doctor last year. I hadn't lost a pound in 6 months but was running 3 times a week. She said, don't focus on the scale. Stop weighing yourself. Don't focus on the size of your clothes. Instead focus on your fitness. Instead of doing more 5K's, train for a 10K. Change your focus to living healthy and the rest will follow. I did just that. In 1 year I've lost 20 pounds AND ran the Boston Marathon!!

When I want to snack

When I want to snack, especially at night when I'm not even really hungry, I paint my nails. Cant stick my hands in a bag of chips or popcorn if my fingernails are wet. :-)

If you can't taste it... Don't waste it

For example; if you are eating a sandwich and you can not taste the cheese on it why put in on there. If you can't taste it don't waste any of your calorie, fat or carb. allowances. Save it for something you can taste and savor.

GO FOR THE 'MINI-GOALS'

We all try to 'GO FOR THE GOAL', but it always seems so far away. If we choose 'mini-goals' for which to work, it sure makes the process more enjoyable. If you have 75 lbs to lose, it can mess with your head because we think that it will take us a long time to reach it, and get totally bummed. However, if you choose a mini-goal to work for, you have more joyful occasions that will help keep you motivated to work toward that ultimate goal.