2010 Goals--Onward and Upward!

As the new year is upon us, I have to smile. It's been a challening year and I have made it through some difficult trials. My thyroidectomy scar is fading nicely. :) I am so proud of myself for not giving up and giving in when things got hard!

In my former (fat) life, I would have made every excuse to eat whatever I wanted and stop exercising, but with the support of family and friends, I was able to get through it, even stronger than before. Sure I'm still learning, and occasionally I overeat or eat emotionally. I'm certainly not perfect--but I learned so much about myself this past year and what I'm capable of, and here's one thing I know for sure: Change IS possible!

For the second year in a row, I' not thinking about losing weight as a New Year's resolution! It really feels amazing to have maintained my weight and instead, have a focus on health and fitness goals for the new year.

Barbara at Refuse to Regain wrote a fabulous post about the thrill of transformation--the "high" we get from compliments and attention after losing weight. Read it here. Although I don't think anyone loses weight just to get compliments, it's still nice and they make us feel great. There's nothing wrong with this at all, but if your only goal is losing weight and the reactions of friends and family...what will keep you going when you've reached goal and the compliments taper off?

Why not set some motivating goals for 2010--dreams with deadlines? Goals that refect you becomming a better, stronger person? What do you want to look like? How do you want to feel when you look at yourself at the end of the day? What do you want to be able to do this year that you aren't able to do now? Where do you want to "go" this year?


This past year I tried rock climing, karate, got certified as a personal trainer and weight management coach, started offering workshops and submitted my story to a few magazines. A few years ago I was only dreaming of doing these things. Because I believed in myself, I made them a reality.

Need help to get some ideas flowing? Here's a great list! (#10 is my favorite!)

Ten Steps to Goal-Getting by Zig Ziglar
1. Make the commitment to reach your goal. “One person with a commitment is worth a hundred who only have an interest.” —Mary Crowley.

2. Commit yourself to detailed accountability. Record your progress toward your goals every night, and list the six most important things you need to do the next day. Daily discipline is the key to reaching your goals.

3. Build your life on a solid foundation of honesty, character, integrity, trust, love and loyalty. This foundation will give you an honest shot at reaching any goal you have set properly.

4. Break your intermediate and long-range goals into increments.

5. Be prepared to change. You can’t control the weather, inflation, interest rates, Wall Street, etc. Change your decision to move toward a goal carefully—but be willing to change your direction to get there as conditions and circumstances demand.

6. Share your “give-up” goals (e.g., give up smoking, being rude, procrastinating, being late, eating too much, etc.) with many people. Chances are excellent they’re going to encourage you.

7. Become a team player. Remember: You can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.

8. See the reaching. In your imagination see yourself receiving that diploma, getting that job or promotion, making that speech, moving into the home of your dreams, achieving that weight-loss goal, etc.

9. Each time you reach a goal your confidence will grow so that you can do bigger and better things. After accomplishing any goal, record it in your journal, weekly planner or portable digital device.

10. Remember, what you get by reaching your destination isn’t nearly as important as what you become by reaching your goals—what you will become is the winner you were born to be!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

wii fit plus, for the days when it's too cold to workout in my basement!
my new boots, hat and my 25# kettlebell!


This Christmas I am feeling especially blessed with my family and friends and my health! I don't take any of it for granted and I'm so grateful for all that I have. Merry Christmas to all of you!

Maintenance Manifesto

Ok, Sunny, you asked for it and here it is! This is the first reader suggestion post. It is dedicated to those of you who are just entering the waters of maintenance, those who are there but treading water, or those who will be jumping in soon!

When I officially entered maintenance in June 2008, I had a little panic attack, ok maybe a BIG panic attack. I was so scared to gain back the weight--I'd never "done" maintenance before. I knew how to lose weight and I definitely knew how to gain it back--but I didn't know how to keep it off. Yes, the process of weight loss felt different this time, but I was still nervous and apprehensive. One of the things I did to combat the fear was to start this blog.

Like a lot of people, I used to think that keeping the pounds off was the hardest and most tedious part of weight loss. It honestly sounded painful. Having gone on countless diets over the years and always gaining back every pound and then some solidified that myth in my mind. Yes it takes work, vigilance and effort, but what I've discovered, to my surprise, is that it's really not that hard--how can I say that?

Well, here's my secret:
I don't do anything different now to keep the weight off than I did to lose the weight.

I discovered that the more extreme the diet, the harder it was to go back to "normal" eating when the diet was over. I know that for me, if it's not a balanced plan that I can live with long-term, it doesn't work. So, this time as I lost weight, I created solutions and healthy lifestyle habits instead of making excuses and finding problems. In other words, I was laying the ground-work that would serve as my foundation to keep the pounds off. Instead of only focusing on the scale, I focused on behavior techniques and tools for success. I realized that there is an ebb and flow to most things in life, including weight loss and maintenance, so I settled in for the journey and didn't let every little challenge derail my efforts.

If you are a parent, there are times when you truly don't like your children. They misbehave, talk-back, throw temper-tantrums, etc. But you don't give up being a parent. You work through the tough times even though you might not like it. It's the same with relationships, marriage, school, work, etc. Life is full of the good times and bad. You don't give up on those things because you've created a strong enough belief that they are worth fighting for, worth the time and effort. Well you are worth the time and effort too.

Here are my maintenance tips, or the things that have helped me the most. I call it my Maintenance Manifesto because they are things I live by and believe:

1. Attitude is everything. If you go into maintenance thinking it will be hard, it will be. If you know you will face challenges but have a positive attitude and a willingness to learn and grow, you will be successful.
Here's a great poem to illustrate this point:

If You Think You're Beaten

If you think you're beaten, you are,
If you think you dare not, you don't.
If you'd like to win, but think you can't,
It's almost for sure, you won't.

If you think you're losing, you've lost.
For out in the world we find -
Success begins with a person's will,
It's all in the state of mind.

If you think you're outclassed, you are,
You've got to think high to rise.
You have to stay with it,
In order to win the prize.

Life's battles don't always go,
To the one with the better plan.
For more often than not, you will win,
If only you think you can.

2. You absolutely must have a plan and a passion--a reason to keep fit and keep the weight off. What is your motivation? What new goals can you set? What new things can you try? What will keep you going during the tough times and keep you from going back to old behaviors? How can you reach out to others and share your story? What have you always wanted to do but never had the guts to do while you were overweight? You have to continue to set short and long-term goals.

3. Make a YOU-turn--forgive yourself quickly and move on when you make a mistake or over-indulge. I've said this many times, but it deserves an encore: The battle on the scale is not won or lost in one night of over-indulgence--it's the cascade of behavior that follows that will make or break your plan. Don't let yourself get caught up in your old sabotaging thoughts and behaviors.

4. Weigh yourself regularly. Daily to weekly weigh-in's keep you on track and can be a signal to stop things before they get out of control. Have a weight range that you stay within and if you go over, have a balanced and effective eating plan in place when you hit the "emergency" weight. For example, my weight range is 123-127 lbs. If I go over 127 lbs, I know I've got to do something before it gets out of control. I cut out all excess sugar and processed foods, and cut back on daily calories to 1300-1500. I pre-log ALL of my food for the day in fitday, print out a copy and check off my meals as I go. If it's not on the list, I don't eat it. Depending on my work schedule, I'll try to increase my exercise and do more interval training for a few days. I usually drink 3 liters of water a day, and during this time I'll try to increase that as well. This always works for me. I know my body and what to do.

5. Have an outlet--journal, blog or write down feelings and experiences instead of eating them. If you're like me, you eat for emotional reasons and it really helps to have some sort of creative outlet when you're feeling stressed and overwhelmed. Other things you can do: exercise, play games, talk to friends, art work (I know a lot of people like scrap booking, painting, knitting), etc. Find what works for you instead of eating.

6. Renew your commitment daily to your new and healthy lifestyle. You cannot go back to old behaviors and expect them to work. As Einstein once said, "insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." You know what doesn't work--it's the things that have been keeping you stuck and overweight for years. If you've reached maintenance or almost there, I'd be willing to bet you changed most, if not all, of these things.

There will be times when you feel so confident and empowered, times where nothing could make you stray from your plan. There will also be times when you feel like everything is pulling you down, times when you feel the fear of gaining back the weight. After the initial shock, I felt very strong for about 6 months after I reached maintenance--then it hit. The fear and the panic of gaining it back. Why? I don't really know. I'm sure something triggered it, but with the help of friends and other maintainers, I got through it. Then it happened again after a few more months, but I was better prepared and knew that it would pass, and sure enough it did.

What should you do? Expect these feelings and have a plan in place before it happens. You might want to write yourself a motivational letter to read when times get tough, or maybe you have your support system write you pep-talk letters too. Know that these feeling are normal and they will pass. Keep working your plan and don't give in to the panic and fear. Remember that maintenance is just the beginning, not the end. You can do it!

If you've maintained a 30 pound weight loss or more, for more than one year, join the maintenance study at the National Weight Control Registry. Click here to get started!