Blogger Spotlight: LifeBliss Solutions, Try a Food Attitude Adjustment.

Lisa Branscomb is a mom, wifey, pro bellydancer, lawyer, foodie, wild fun advocate, damn fool actor, sensual lifestyle goddess, not the typical wellness/weight loss coach and founder of LifeBliss Solutions. 

Struggling with Weight?  Try a Food Attitude Adjustment

by Lisa Branscomb

Which statement best represents your current attitude about eating well? (For the purposes of this article eating well means at least 75% fresh fruits and vegetables and less than 10% processed food junk)

1.  I hate nutritious food.
2.  What is nutritious food?
3.  Well I gotta eat right but it is dreadful and challenging.
4.  Eating well is a sensuous and exciting food adventure!

So many people struggle with weight loss and maintenance because of their attitudes towards eating fresh plant-based food.  Having a good attitude about eating well is the number one most important aspect of losing weight and keeping it off for a lifetime.  The good news is, you can change a bad attitude to good in less than half a second.

The Secret to Healthy Weight Success

I love food.  All kinds of food. But when I found myself 30 pounds overweight (looking fatter than a town bear) I knew I had to do something different.  The one size fits all common weight loss buzzwords didn’t work for me because sensuality is a huge part of my lifestyle, which completely rejects any kind of diet.  Although my favorite foods are donuts, cheez curls, and cookies, I had to expand my mind to accept fresh fruits and vegetables as delicious and attractive. Once I did that, I dropped the pounds with ease. The key here is expansion, not deprivation, and it’s all in your mind.

Bad Attitude Sabotage

Whenever someone loses a significant amount of weight by any means that are drastically far from their normal habits (lifelong maintenance plan) the weight loss is bound to reverse.  This is precisely why restrictive diet attitudes don't work, because be for real, who likes being on a diet?  And whether we want to admit it or not, fresh fruits and vegetables must be the stars of the show. I come across all kinds of poor food attitudes in my practice.  I’ve seen that judging food as good or bad and diet and fitness martyrdom just don’t work.  Wishing on a star to lose 100 pounds in 3 weeks while scarfing down hamburgers and french fries doesn’t work; Physically abusing our bodies with extreme exercise so we can eat whatever they crappy food we want and still lose weight doesn’t work. Choking down exclusively beige, packaged, fat-free, sugar-free, salt-free, gluten-free, flavor-free vegan diet sticks and stones for months on end, bragging about each sou l-killing meal on Twitter to impress others definitely doesn’t work!  None of these strategies, which are wholly based on poor food attitudes can work because they all make healthy weight loss unsustainable.

Thinking Forward

For healthy weight loss to be sustainable, the eating plan must both include mostly fresh fruits and vegetables and bear at least some semblance to the normal way you’ll eat for the rest of your life, after you’ve lost your desired weight.  In addition, each person has to find the unique balance between activity level and food consumption, which changes over time (a tricky topic to be covered another time) Having a cookie every now and then if you adore cookies while you are on your weight loss plan not only won’t hurt, but will do some good by keeping you sane as long as you move your body.  Lose the fear of going cookie crazy and it won’t happen. Developing a loving relationship with fresh fruits and vegetables is the most powerful and effective tool.

Where to Start

The following ideas will positively effect your attitude towards food and therefore your weight loss and maintenance goals:

•  Variety is good
• Forget the abstract concept of “moderation” and just have a cookie when you want one.
• Fresh fruits and vegetables are not diet food
• Fresh fruits and vegetables are beautifully colorful, fragrant, alive, and sensual
• Fresh fruits and vegetables can be enjoyed in endless  unique and exotic combinations
• Fall in love with adventures with new fresh plant foods
• If the food looks appetizing and decadent you’ll begin to love it. (You should see my fried chicken-wing-and-french-fry-fiend coworkers chase me around the office when they see me with my nutrilicious fresh berry/banana and yogurt parfait in a footed glass dessert dish)

You can visit your local farmer’s market weekly to seek out high quality fresh foods; join your local produce delivery co-op to be pleasantly surprised by new fruits and vegetables; take a cooking class that focuses on fresh local foods.  Finding a way to incorporate balance and variety into your lifestyle with the focus on fresh fruits and vegetables will keep you healthy (and happy!) for years to come.

Why I do this.

It's been an off couple of weeks for me, health-wise. (Ok, off month.) Going off my asthma meds has definitely messed with my head a little. I see I'm not the only one struggling with sticking to a fitness routine. I thought I'd revisit the reasons I'm doing this weight loss thing and see if that can make some motivation swing my way.

1. I couldn't walk across a room without being out of breath.
2. I couldn't sit in a chair without fear of it breaking.
3. I couldn't sleep without feeling suffocated.
4. I wouldn't leave the house in the summer, it was too hot to walk.
5. I couldn't bend down to tie my shoes.
6. I couldn't bend down.
7. I couldn't climb a flight of stairs.
8. I couldn't bear the look in my family's eyes.
9. I couldn't look at the size tag in my jeans or I'd cry.
10. I couldn't do half of what I can do now.

Tell me, dear readers, why do you do this?

Be Brave, Go Forward Giveaway!

Anyone who has ever tried to lose weight knows it's not an easy task. Eating healthy when those around you aren't takes some serious willpower. Exercising when all you really want to do is lie on the couch and watch bad TV is a testament to our commitment to lose weight and get healthy.

But there's those days that are so hard. The days when you want to pull the covers over your head and forget there's a workout that needs to be done. Or have that last sleeve of Thin Mints. This is for those days...

I was lucky enough to get an offer from the wonderful folks at Build A Sign. They have a new site called easycanvasprints.com. They asked me to test it out and get a sweet print on a canvas to boot. And you all have met the wonderful Michelle Nelson-Schmidt. She's been a Fitbloggin sponsor and all around amazing artist/blogger/author/runner, who also happens to be my coworker. It all came together to offer you this little bit of awesome. That's right, I'm giving away a canvas with Michelle's cute little doggie and words we all need to hear to one of you, dear readers.

Isn't that cool? Be Brave, Go Forward. How often have you needed to hear those words on your journey? Now you can have them hanging on your wall in a 11x14 canvas.

To enter, simply leave a comment. Or you can tweet for an extra entry (and leave a comment telling me you did so). There's even a handy dandy button here, for you.

Tweet

I'll pick a random winner next Monday, May 2nd. Happy commenting!

Blogger Spotlight: Fork You! No, Fork You!

Christina from Fork you! No fork you!

Hi Leaving Fatville readers! I’m Christina, from Fork you! No, fork you (www.forkyou-noforkyou.com). Leaving Fatville is one of my favorite blogs so there wasn’t a question in my mind when she asked for a guest post.  Since summer is around the corner I thought it would be nice to talk about a few healthy, fast and inexpensive meal ideas.

When the sun is shining and the temp’s reach a high nobody wants to slave over the stove! I’d much rather be outside, even if that means pretending I haven’t a care in the world and nothing to do. Something is soothing about the sun so let’s not miss out on it when it gets here, lord knows we’re dying for the summer to get to NY. It’s been freezing!

Breakfast during the work week can be tough. I’m sure we’ve all heard that it’s the most important meal of the day yet we’ll all settle for a quick coffee and a bagel from the nearest place. After gaining some weight I realized this wasn’t the best way to go. So, I tried to get creative with breakfast’s.

One quick fix for me was I bought plain oats and put ½ cup in a sealed container, tossed in some frozen blueberries, a dash of cinnamon and a pinch of salt (I literally made this combo this morning). When I get to work I add some hot water from the water cooler, cover and let it sit for a few minutes and that’s it. Trust me, they will be cooked and ready to devour.

When I have a few extra minutes at home I like to make a quick yogurt bowl (yogurt bowl - http://bit.ly/hiTrV0)  (if I’m in a rush I just take my yogurt and put my add-ins in a sandwich bag and put together at work). My favorite is ½ cup Puffins cereal, ½ cup nonfat Greek Yogurt, chia seeds and berries. This is so filling! It’s filled both me and my fiancé for hours at a time. One notable mention is that I also started going to the gym in the mornings (mornings - http://bit.ly/gxPhI5)

I love taking lunch and breakfast to work because it really helps me keep on track with my goals and saves a few bucks in my pocket.  However our lunches never end with breakfast and lunch, and while I wish I could eat out at a NY bistro every day, financially it ain’t happening. Have you walked out of your office and smiled because it was still light out? Only to be saddened by the fact that by the time you finish dinner it will dark? Yeah. That was me.

Until I made a 15 minute take out makeover . Enter my dinner/picnic /girls night/guys night (why do we have to cook for the guys night??) meal.

15 Minute Stir Fry, with optional add-ins

what you’ll need…

1 package of Frozen Vegetables, I used Trader Joe’s Harvest Hodgepodge 16 oz bag

½ package of organic frozen broccoli, also used Trader Joe’s

½ package of soba buckwheat noodles, regular spaghetti works well but soba is delicious

1 Tbsn vegetable broth

Sauce ingredients

½ Tbsn rice vinegar, white vinegar should work well

2 tsp sesame oil, this is vital for the flavor so definitely try to use sesame oil

1 heaping Tbsn lemon grass (lemon grass - http://bit.ly/hvVtgx), I bought this specifically for stir fry and I’ll never go back, if you don’t want to buy it you can just use ginger or omit)

1 tsp mirin

½ tsp lemon juice

1 tsp minced ginger

In a large pot or wok heat your broth and add your frozen veggies, let this cook, covered, on medium high. This will steam the veggies instead of frying them in oil.

Cook your noodles according to the package. Whisk together the ingredients for your sauce.

By now your ingredients should all be done, strain your noodles and add them to your veggies. Stir in your sauce and you are ready to serve!

Optional additions: grilled shrimp or chicken breast, grilled tofu, tempeh, the vegetable addition is purely on taste so add whatever you have! You can also add ½ a can of lite coconut milk and make this into a stew; or even serve in little Chinese takeout containers for guests or a picnic. Make this the night before and enjoy an evening out!

You don’t have to miss out on your summer because you want to eat healthy, all it takes is a little bit of time and some creativity.  The great thing about the summer is that you can visit your local farmer’s market and get produce for pretty cheap! I spend about $15-$20 on fresh veggies during the summer and I love it.

I hope you enjoyed this recipe as much as I have! Remember, healthy eating doesn’t mean you don’t have to treat yourself to your favorite dishes! This is one of my fav’s, what are yours?

The Episode of the Happy Plate.

We were sitting down to dinner recently and my 3 year old son turned to me and said he wanted to make a happy plate. At the time I didn't think anything of it and kind of said, good honey and went on with our meal.


As we finished up, E handed me an empty bowl and said, "Look Mommy, a happy bowl." I was a little taken aback. Our view of food is this: if you want it, great. Eat it. If you don't, then don't eat it. But you're not getting anything else. This isn't a restaurant. And I'll be the first to admit, my kid isn't an omnivore. He's picky about what he does eat. Unless ketchup is involved.

He goes to a neighborhood daycare 5 days a week. They're an awesome little school and the teachers really care about the kids. I know trying to get a class of almost 20 3 year olds to eat is no mean feat. I also understand watching food go to waste is the kind of thing that can keep you up at night.

I tried to play it off and not let it get to me. But the words that kept floating in my head. In fact, they came from my very first weight watchers meeting. They were this: "Today, you turn in your clean club membership. It is okay to leave food on your plate."

I couldn't get that phrase out of my head. Happy plate. Happy bowl. Happy cup. Why do these things need to be made happy when emptied? What if the kid is full? What if he doesn't like the food being served? Okay, that's not really a good reason. But if they aren't hungry, why the hell are they guilting 3 year olds to eat?

Now, I'll admit, I'm sensitive to food issues. I grew up poor. I am poor. Wasting food is not an option. But my kid will never know that. I will never force him to eat, especially if he's past full. (Which can vary from day to day depending on how active he is.) I don't want him to grow up with food issues. I don't want him to receive praise when he cleans his plate. That's not the objective of eating. You eat because you need fuel. Not praise.

I'm trying not to let this get to me, I really am. I can't exactly waltz in there at 200 something pounds and tell them, hey, I think you're pushing food issues on my kid, knock it the hell off. But I'm basically paying them to help brainwash my kid about happy plates. I hate that he announces it when he's cleared it as a happy plate. I try to tell him thank you for eating his food, but how can I keep this from staying in his brain?

I know I sound like a crazy mom. I'm totally aware of it. But having grown up with my own food issues and some others coming from the other side of the genetic fence, I'm not sure I want my kid screaming happy plate every time he eats. Moreover, I really don't want him feeling badly if he doesn't finish. We don't focus on it at our house, but how much do they? Do they shake their heads when he hands back a plate with most of the food still on it?

I wish I knew the answers. I need a crystal ball… or a magic 8 ball. Will this screw up my kid for life? I'd be hoping for outlook slim. I know I can't stop the school from what they're doing, but I know I can reinforce that his plate doesn't have to be clean at home. We put at least one or two things we know he'll eat without fail on his plate. We give him lots of new foods. Am I going to punish him for not trying it? No. And I'm going to guilt him and imply he's a bad boy for not cleaning his plate. No.

So, why the hell am I paying these people to do it to my kid?

Stability Balls review and Lemon Dill Salmon

18" Stability Ball by J-Fit

My first product review! Whoo hoo! Okay, my second if you count Jillian's Shred workout. I got an opportunity recently to review a product from the wonderful people at CSN.com. I'd heard great things about stability balls, and heck, here's my chance to get one for my very own.

Did you know stability balls come in different sizes? Yeah. Me neither. So before I even got to order mine, I had to do some research and some measuring. To find the right size for you, you need to have your back flat against a wall and have someone measure you in a sitting position. The height of your knees at a 90 degree angle all the way down the floor. That gives you the right circumference for the ball you'll need. (Didn't think that high school geometry would come in handy, did you?) No surprises there, I was pretty dang short. So I measured for a short or small stability ball.

I knew to look for a few features. One being a slow deflate if it gets punctured. The last thing I wanted was to sit on it and have it pop underneath me. Ouch. The other was the weight testing. I needed something that was going to keep all 200-something pounds of me on top of it without any issues.

I found all the things I needed in this.

It was surprisingly easy to pump up and figure out the best air pressure to keep it functioning properly.

Now it was time to use it!

Okay, so my stability ball skills are lacking. I tried to do some of the moves and I face-planted a few times. Those moves are no joke! A simple push up was hard as heck to do! Planks…forget about it. I'm still trying, but it's obvious, I have some work to do.

I do however use it for little stuff. Like folding laundry. And eating on. You know what? One full day of sitting on my ball instead of the couch and the next day, I had sore abs. Seriously.

While I may not be able to use it to its full potential yet, it's definitely got some benefits to using it in everyday life. I highly recommend adding it to the tools. Once I master some harder moves, I'll come back and tell you about those, too!

And here's a little healthy recipe I snuck in on the family this weekend. It's super easy, super healthy (even though it doesn't sound like it) and it's super tasty.

Lemon Dill Salmon

1 lb salmon fillets
1/4 c of butter (or about 3 tbs, but don't freak out, it doesn't all end up on the fish)
5 tbs of fresh squeezed lemon (use 3 tbs if it's the stuff in the bottle)
2 tsp of dried dill weed (hehehehe)
1 tsp garlic powder
salt & pepper to taste.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

Lightly grease a baking dish and lay salmon skin side down. Melt the butter and mix with lemon juice and dill weed. Pour the lemon, butter and dill on the salmon and allow to pool around the fish. Sprinkle with garlic powder, salt and pepper. Cover the baking dish with foil.

Bake for 20 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.

Serve and enjoy!

Tales From A Fashion Industry Insider.

My career life of a graphic designer has taken me to some interesting clients over the years. But none more telling than the fashion industry. They are harboring some very dirty little secrets from the general public.

Did you know a 36C bra is considered plus size? That's right. Say goodbye to all the cute colors and lacy goodness after that size. God help you if you're approaching DD or DDD. Those only come in nude or rose. Oh, and that lower price? Buh-bye. Anything above the magic size os 36C "costs more to make."

Here's another good one, those size charts you see in lingerie changing rooms, the ones that tell you how to measure and what your size is? They haven't been updated in over 25 years. That's right, they are using the same sizing charts from when you're mother was probably bra shopping. And what's worse… so is the companies MAKING the bras. Bodies have changed drastically in the last 25 years, but an update is just not happening. It would cost too much money to change the forms of the bras.

Size 12 is considered plus size in the fashion industry. Yep. Size 12. What's still smaller than the national average for women is considered plus in fashion. (Size 14 is the national average.) All those models you see on the plus size sites and store windows, they're more than likely a whopping size 16 at the largest. (Casting calls are usually for size 12 or 14.) In fact, one model we used revealed that she "ballooned" to a 16 while she was six months pregnant during a photo shoot. Did I mention we were shooting her that day for a clothes spread?

Here's another kicker. All that extra money we pay for those sizes has very little to do with the extra fabric. In fact, that's overall a very small cost increase. They are making more profit on the clothes they sell to plus size women than they do to regular size. Not only that, but they aren't sized to plus size women. Those patterns are just increased by a percentage in inches. It still assumes the body shape of a smaller woman, just in proportion to what the size is. That's what leads to such drastically different fits in clothing.

In my time in the fashion industry, I saw more than a few market research groups conducted. All of the women fit a basic look and feel that more often than not, matched the ladies conducting the groups. It looked like a table full of clones. Not exactly a wide base of opinions either, I might add. Very rarely did I see a variety of body types sitting at those tables.

Now I realize not all of this applies to every company out there. There are clothing manufacturers that "get" the plus size customer. This is my reflections from the company that I worked with, while a very large conglomerate at the time, who shall remain nameless.

Here's what I know now. (And I wish I had known then.)

1. Even at my goal size, I'll still be "plus size."

2. Regardless of what these companies say about showing real women or varied body types in their campaigns or photo shoots, they are still way smaller than most of their target demographic.

3. You are not your size.

4. You are not your size.

That's right. I put the last one twice. No matter what the size is, it should fit your body. You aren't going to be a perfect 36D or size 16 across the board. It's impossible. Each company has their own secret formula for sizing and none of them are consistent. You can walk out of a department store with size 16 jeans, a size 20 work pant and a M top. It's completely possible. No matter what the number says on that tag, remember this:

You are not your size.

A short thank you.

The pity party balloons have all been popped. The cake put away and the streamers taken down. No more whining about bad food choices. I ate like crap. I was sick. I'll get over it. It's time to get back on track and stick with it as long as I can.

Thank you for all your kind words and your support, my dear readers. They hit me right where I needed it and lifted me back onto my feet. (Especially the ones with F-bombs.)

I can do this. I will do this.

You just watch.

My almost 8k.

Today's blog should have been about how awesome I did at my 8k on Saturday. My body had other plans. Strep throat to be exact, with a side of laryngitis. I had to miss my 8k and it broke my heart. I feel like I failed at being healthy. I know that doesn't make any sense, but I was so looking forward to this race. Even if I was only walking, it felt like such an accomplishment to get this far. I felt that first tug of an addiction. One I could admit out loud to people. I feel like I missed an opportunity to be a race addict.

Instead of walking, what did I do? I ate. And ate. And ate some more. Intuitive eating went out the window. I ate carbs by the truckload. I stopped at McDonald's. Twice. I hate McDonald's. I got weak. I can't stop eating bad foods. I had popcorn for dinner one night. I even melted butter to pour on top. There wasn't a single good food choice for 4 days.

I ate my way through my disappointment and sickness. I have no excuse. I ate my feelings. And had seconds and in some cases, thirds. I was seconds away from jumping in my car and buying a cake at Publix. If my husband hadn't hidden the keys, I would've been face deep in buttercream frosting.

I was so close to breaking that 240 lbs mark a week ago. Now I'm five pounds heavier and back to square one on eating. I have all this good food in my house, and there's nothing I want to eat. I have to tell myself it's okay NOT to do something. It's not failing. It's taking care of myself.

There's so much about this weight loss journey that's hard. The physical exercise isn't the really tough part. It's learning your body, learning how and why you eat the way you do that's hard. And it's about how you learn to treat yourself. It's something that adjusts every time there's a milestone. Every time there's a setback, there's a lesson in there to learn.

I just wish I could find mine this time.

Recipe: Garlic Pork Chops.

The finished pork chops!

Here comes another Leaving Fatville family favorite for your table! This is a nice, lean meal that can go with just about any side. We usually serve with some couscous or sauteed sweet potatoes and steamed broccoli.

I use about 4 pork loin chops about .5" thick. (Usually comes to about a pound and a quarter.)

Ingredients:

Pork Loin Chops, .5" thick

Garlic Powder

Salt

Pepper

Dried Thyme

2 tbs Butter

1 tbs Olive Oil

2 tbs flour (for dredging)

Take pork chops out and score the fat on the edge in one 1" increments. (Keeps the chops from curling up and cooking unevenly.)

Sprinkle salt, garlic powder, dried thyme and pepper over both sides of pork chops, coat fairly well.

Let sit out for 10-20 minutes to bring to room temp.

Put 2 tbs flour in a bowl or plate and heat 2 tbs butter and olive oil in a stainless steel pan (not non-stick, you want a nice crust) over medium heat.

Wait for butter to melt and turn slightly brown and give off a nutty flavor. Dip pork chops into flour, just enough to coat both sides and place into pan. Shake off excess flour and place gently into the pan. 

Sautee for 4 minutes each side or until internal temp gets to 160 degrees.

Let rest for 5 minutes, then slice and serve.

(Serving size is usually one pork chop and a two sides at our house.) 

Going Off My Meds.

photo by: e-MagineArt.com

For those of you that have been reading for a while, you'll remember I was diagnosed with asthma recently. (For those of you that haven't, well, now you know.) I'd been going through a whole host of medicines to try to find what worked for me, and finally come to rest on taking a daily steroid. While that wasn't the best solution, it was one that also addressed the issue of having possible adrenal fatigue. You see, I get tired. A lot. Bone-weary kind of tired. The kind of tired that takes too much out of you to lift the remote. It goes right down to the core of your being and just stays there no matter how much rest you give yourself.

For the last three months I've been on a daily steroid, and it's been great! My energy level has been high, I've been able to exercise on a daily basis, and mostly importantly I could breathe. All the things I've been wanting to do, but my body wouldn't cooperate with me before.

Now, I'll admit I'm a weird lady. Drugs and I don't react well to each other. I have the odd side effects. That ones NOT in the stupid pamphlet the pharmacy gives you. Codeine has me wired for days. (Nothing like having a cough and not being able to sleep. It's awesome, I tell you.) For me to find that the steroid worked without the typical (or odd) side effects, well that was a dang miracle.

It took more than three months, but the side effects began. Headaches. Restlessness. And this one was my favorite: an extra monthly visitor. Who the hell needs that? I immediately thought, I have to get off this stuff. I feel great, lung-wise, but there is no way in hell I'm dealing with an extra period every month. But, I still paused. I had been doing great with the weight loss for the last three months. I was on this steady roll of losing. My food habits were good. I had enough energy to work, cook, clean and then have some computer time each night. What if that goes away?

What if I start to gain weight?

That kept rattling around in my head. I considered whether going off the steroid was for me. What if I start to backtrack and I don't see that forward momentum? What if I can't keep walking and working out?

What if I can't keep up anymore? That was what the first question morphed into. Then, suddenly it was:

Will I still be able to stick with it, if I don't see the progress?

Oh, that one was a killer. What if I keep seeing no loss after no loss, or worse, a gain. Will I still be able to stick with it? Will I still have that willpower, or will it end in a loaf of warm bread and olive oil? (My go-to comfort food, if you're wondering.)

Is any of that worth dealing with what could be the beginning of a whole host of nasty side effects?

The answer is a resounding: No. None of that is worth battling my body. I might have to deal with some backsliding, but I won't make my body unhappy. That's what it is ultimately telling me, that it's not happy. It's my job to listen to it.

Momentum.

Welcome back, dear readers! I know it's been a while since you've seen a fresh post that didn't have to do with the giveaway, but I'm back and ready to share a new feature here at Leaving Fatville! Every Friday is going to be special. I'd like to shed some light on our wonderful healthy community by hosting a guest post or a closer look at one of our members. This week, is Colleen of Goodbye, Fat Girl.


Maybe you’re just beginning your weight loss journey or maybe you’ve been at it a while (or perhaps, even, you’ve met your goals).  No matter what stage of the game you’re in, you know that momentum can be a cruel mistress.  The bright lights and optimism of the start of journey eventually fade and you’re left with the real work of it all.  And it ain’t pretty.

We all start out the same, really.  “I’m going to do this!”  “I can do anything!”  “I won’t let anything stand in my way!”  But all too often, those battle cries are replaced with, “What the hell am I doing?” “Where’s my food?” and “I know I’m going to fail.”  Momentum shifts like this can be the death of any lifestyle change.  And let’s face it, folks – if you don’t change your lifestyle, you’re not going to change your life.  What most of us need is a complete change in our life. 

I very clearly remember my “mourning” phase.  It settled in about three weeks into this year after I had totally recommitted myself to my program and it started a downward shift in my weight loss momentum.  I started thinking, “I will never enjoy food again.  Ever.”  I hate to sound dramatic here, but it’s the truth.  I GRIEVED my old lifestyle.  I mourned not being able to stuff anything my heart desired into my face.  I felt like nothing would ever comfort me again.  It took the better part of three EXCRUCIATING weeks before I turned things around.  I spent all those weeks in a lull because I felt like I was being punished for becoming fat. 

What did I do to change my momentum?  I cried.  I screamed.  I let it all out.  I knew that if I didn’t deal with a things, that I would never overcome this.  I discovered things about myself after a long talk with my brother and I really did a lot of soul-searching.  Over the course of several days, I got my spark back.  I realized that all that really separated a “bad” day from a “good day” was my attitude.  I wrote about it in my post Good Days, Bad Days and writing that post helped me through SO MUCH.  After that, I was on my to my biggest momentum shift – the one that STAYS.

I’m not saying I don’t have the days where all I want to do is eat every last morsel of food in my house.  I’m not saying there haven’t been days that I’ve binged.  And I’m not even saying that I’ve lost weight every single week.  There are days where I feel that momentum shifting in the wrong direction again.  The difference between me now and me then is that even if I stumble, I’m ready to get back up.  Before, I just wanted to lie down and die.  And really, what kind of life is that? I’m going to keep on keepin’ on because I don’t have any other choice.  If I want to achieve all my goals, I have to work for it – I have to keep momentum on my side. 

About Colleen: 

A 35 year old wife of one, mother of 2.  I was raised in upstate NY and have lived in southern central IL for the past dozen years.  I am a licensed in home child care provider and most days am slightly crazy by the time 5:30 rolls around.  I love to watch hockey (even if my beloved St. Louis Blues insist on breaking my heart every year) and I truly believe that 2011 is MY year, even if 2011 doesn't know it yet.

If you're interested in guest posting on Leaving Fatville, email me at fatville at gmail dot come and put guest post in the subject line.