It won't be easy, but it will be worth it!

Two weeks ago I shared some bullet points that I had used when I worked for Weight Watchers. Last week I went a little deeper on the first few points. I want to expand on some of the other points today.

SLEEP…it is NOT over-rated!

Here is one of the more recent articles I have read about sleep and weight loss. I know from personal experience that sleep is crucial to weight loss and weight management. When I am tired I find it much harder to make healthy choices, exercise, etc.

Now before you say there is NO WAY I can get more sleep, examine what you do with the time between dinner and bedtime. Can anything be eliminated? Or at least reduced?

We all have things in our day that consume A LOT of our time. We have to decide which of these things can be changed. Maybe it is our online time that needs reduced…just sayin’.

HYDRATE

I have read that dehydration slows metabolism AND I know it can make us think we are hungry. So DRINK. YOUR. WATER. Many times I encountered members that would claim to be starving all the time and I would ask them if they were drinking their water.

Often times we are not really hungry, we are thirsty.

And while we are talking about hydrating, don’t forget to drink milk. Not only is it good for our bones, it can count towards our fluid intake too.

WRITE IT DOWN

Many of us are willing to journal our thoughts. We put who knows what out there for all to see on Facebook, Twitter and our blogs…but write down what we eat? You have GOT to be kidding!

Well, no I am not. My most successful members kept diligent track of what they ate. When I lost my weight I tracked ALL. THE. TIME. Occasionally, I still write down what I eat. For me, it is a good reminder of what is going in my mouth!

So whether we are tracking points, calories, whatever…take a day or two and write it down. We might be surprised at what we are eating. If nothing else, it might make us aware of the mindless eating we all do.

Please remember, I am NOT a weight loss expert, nor am I am life coach, certified dietitian or certified anything. Although, some might say I am certifiable! *grin*

All I am sharing with you are things that I saw work with members of my class when I worked for Weight Watchers and what I know worked for me.

I am certainly not trying to imply that losing weight and achieving a healthy lifestyle is easy. Because it isn’t.

But breaking habits is NEVER easy and many of us with a weight problem have a weight problem because of unhealthy eating and exercise habits. We have to replace those old habits with new, healthier versions.

Change takes time.

Change take work.

Change is hard.

If lifestyle change were easy, it would not be called

change…it might be called easy.

The last bullet point is the SMART goal setting system and I will post about that next week.

Friends, I hope you know that my heart is in the right place. The Lord placed this burden on my heart and I am desperately trying to follow his lead and his will with these Wednesday posts.

I am joining with Mary Beth for her Work in Progress Wednesday link-up.

Lord, I ask that you bless those that read this blog and especially these Wednesday posts devoted to weight loss and working to achieve a healthy lifestyle. I know it is hard Lord and I know sometimes we think we cannot do this. NOT AGAIN. But, I know that YOU want us to have healthy bodies, because our bodies are your temples. I know that with your help, we can achieve and maintain healthy lifestyles. Please give me and those working at a healthy lifestyle the courage to continue to press on and look up!

Until next week…try just one new thing this week…please? I promise, it will be worth it.

12 Comments

Barbara on December 12, 2012 at 12:23 pm

Every point you are making is so true and so helpful; thank you!

Mary Bonner on December 12, 2012 at 12:27 pm

Oh, Barbara, thank you! I found myself wondering if anyone would GET what I was trying to say. You have truly blessed me this morning. Thank you!!
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Kathleen on December 12, 2012 at 12:55 pm

Certifiable! That's a great one. I drank a lot more water last week and I definitely ate less and had more energy. I really have to work on getting to bed earlier though. Too much TV and computer, like you said. Great post Mary. Have a great day.

Mary Bonner on December 12, 2012 at 12:59 pm

Thanks, Kathleen. The water is really important!! Good for you!
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Carlie V. on December 12, 2012 at 1:20 pm

I think everyone on this journey has heard these tips so many times that we're almost deaf to them in our own lives. We know we should drink more water, we've heard food journals help, but we pass over them in our struggles because they've become rote. Sometimes all a person needs is for someone to say "Journalling. Do it. It helped me. If you do it, it will help you." It makes a faceless turn of phrase fresh and gives it a face.

Thanks for being that face. I'll be checking back.

~Carlie

Mary Bonner on December 12, 2012 at 1:40 pm

Thank YOU Carlie!! You are right, we have all heard these things over and over. So much so that we tune them out…thank you for stopping by and commenting…it really means a lot to me.
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Mia De Vries on December 12, 2012 at 5:34 pm

Hi. Mary
I suffer from Fibro/CFS and have read in an article that people with this illness gain up to 30 lbs. I had to get used to eating very healthy. Before the illness I could eat what I wanted and didn't easily gained weight. Now it is another matter altogether!
Thanks for an informative post.
Hugs XX

Mary Bonner on December 13, 2012 at 11:17 am

Oh, Mia…I'm sorry you suffer from these afflictions. I can see how this would be such a struggle. I am glad you found this post helpful.
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