Therefore, it’s guest post time! A good guest post from Cynthia, who has lost the weight and kept it off!

Cynthia’s Story

I was one of the lucky ones. When I decided to change my unhealthy, junk food all the time, no exercise, barely able to breathe while walking lifestyle for a healthier one I lost weight quickly. No fad diets or starvation…just whole foods and moderate exercise instead of cookies for dinner and falling asleep during prime-time TV. The change was a welcomed surprise to my body and I dropped weight…fast.

My weight went from approximately 270 pounds (I didn’t own a scale at the time) to 175 in 6 months time. Almost 100 pounds…insane I know. I avidly counted calories to ensure I was eating enough for what I was burning. I had been sick on past crash “diets” and I didn’t want a repeat. My body got with the healthy living program and I steadily lost several pounds a week.

Losing weight that fast set me up for the dreaded plateau and regain problem. My ability to lose weight fast had given me such a big head that I thought I could adapt any situation without missing a beat. I firmly believed I’d hit my goal weight before Christmas that year. Boy was I in for a rude awakening.

That fall I entered seminary and my life was flipped upside down. I’m a creature of habit that learned to cook my own healthy meals and schedule my workouts to best suit my timeframe. In seminary it was entirely different. My schedule was set by the school and meals were in the cafeteria 6 days a week. I held to the attitude “I can handle this.” My life was crazy as a teacher yet I lost weight…why can’t I do it now?” With so much bravado it was bound to be a disaster. I didn’t realize I had to change my habits.

Meals in the cafeteria weren’t portioned controlled or labeled. I had no idea how they were cooked so I chose what looked the healthiest and lots of it. Mistake number one. I scheduled workouts for after classes but failed to plan for when deadlines were looming or extra things for school were tossed in my lap. Instead of moving forward I got frustrated at my dwindling fitness level. Mistake number two. Mistake number 3 was just giving up on weight loss all together. After six months of annoyance I bought larger clothes with the idea that I would lose the weight after school when everything was in my control again. I was miserable to see my hard work vanish as the scale slowly moved up.

The following January I decided to do something about it. Friends from seminary were joining Weight Watchers to loose the “Seminary 15” and I was game because obviously my current plan wasn’t working. Weight Watchers was similar to calorie counting but just enough of a change to jumpstart my weight loss mojo. At my first weigh in I was 25 pounds heavier than I had started seminary. Guess my seminary 15 had been the seminary 25 J

I relearned portion sizes and the importance balancing diet with exercise. With those changes I started losing weight…only much slower this time. My body was no longer on the fast train but instead taking a nice stroll along my Healthy Living Journey. Of course there were times I got frustrated with the slight gains after a few weeks of losses or when I couldn’t exercise due to a back injury…but the over all progress was what counted. Over the course of 6 months I lost 35 pounds. Six months seems to be my lucky number

Weight Loss Lessons

It was less than the first go-round but this time I learned a lot of lessons…lessons that would carry me through the maintenance phase of this journey instead of turning into a yo-yo.

1. Healthy Living requires work.

It takes work to lose the weight and it takes work to maintain it. Hitting a goal weight does not issue a license to return to prior bad habits. Instead you need to maintain the good habits you have learned with a few fun and frivolous days
thrown in.

2. Make it interesting.

New foods and exercises or activities to challenge you are at every. When you are bored with your food choices and exercises it is time to change it up. Otherwise you’ll spend more time avoiding your new healthy habits rather than putting them to work.

3. The scale will fluctuate.

No matter how diligent you are in your Healthy Living Journey the scale will go up one day and down the next…sometimes multiple times in one day. You cannot base your success on the scale because that is not what it measures…it measures weight for just an instant.

4. Set unique goals.

Goals that have nothing to do with your weight. Your weight does not define who you are. Try setting goals for how your clothes feel or how far you can run or swim. Set goals that will make you proud of your accomplishments even when the scale fluctuates.

5. Don’t be afraid of set backs.

Injuries, illness, and busyness can all derail your efforts. You can’t really plan for these days or weeks and just have to roll with the situation. Being aware that set backs happen won’t make them as much of a shock. You WILL get through them…because you have learned healthy habits to keep you moving.

I was blessed to lose the majority of my weight easily. Otherwise I may have given up as I had many times before. However the struggles I faced regaining some then slowly achieving my goal weight made me appreciate the healthy life I now enjoy. It was not handed to me and I don’t take it for granted. No matter the struggles the Healthy Lifestyle is so much more rewarding.

Thanks for sharing Cynthia! Everyone make sure you check out her blog It All Changes! :)