Starting Over For Life!

My goal is to prove that I, a 56 year-old woman, can lose weight and maintain a healthy level of fitness without spending money on a gimmick, pre-packaged food, extreme diets or (shudder!) surgery.

After years of searching, around mid June 2010, I finally found a healthy lifestyle that works for me. I love the Mediterranean diet. Not a diet but more like a way of eating that suits my entire family, the Mediterranean diet is full of juicy, colorful fruits and vegetables. I also use Michael Pollan’s Food Rules as an eating guide. In it is the wisdom of a thousand grandmothers and the findings of laboratories full of scientists. My husband and I meal plan and grocery shop together which also helps a ton! 

For food and calorie journaling I use the Lose It! app on my iPod Touch. I love, love, LOVE that little app! As my daughter would say, I want to marry it! Lose It makes counting calories super easy, so easy there is no excuse to cheat, none, and that makes a world of difference.

For exercise I do what I love, what feels good on that particular day. My favorites are yoga, run/walking on my treadmill and horseback riding. For you it might be gardening, bike riding tennis, golf, walking the dog, it doesn’t matter. What matters is movement every day. Choose activities you love. It will keep you young.

Finally, I, a psychologist, am learning that my mind can be devious and I need to keep an eye on its tricks that keep me lazy and overweight. To help me with this process I faithfuly follow Our Lady of Weight Loss, Janice Taylor, and others who advocate mindful eating and loving yourself thin. I’ve always been an advocate of using the carrot rather than the stick to influence behavior. It just took a village to get me to apply this loving, creative, divine philosophy to my weight loss journey. Now that I have, and continue to (it is a process, never ending, forever challenging) the weight is coming off and I am in awe.

My goal is 135 lbs and a 32″ waist (which I think is very reasonable since I’m 5’3″)

~***~

December 27, 2010 The Devil Has White Hair and Wears a Christmas Sweater

December 26,2010:  5 Ways to Put the All-You-Can-Eat Genie Back in the Bottle

November 20, 2010: 139.7 The Dreaded Plateau

November 1, 2010: 140.9 My Weight Loss Journey: The Day After Halloween

October 9, 2010: 142.7, 32″ Losing Weight by Saying YES!

Sept 1, 2010: 145.5, 32.5″  Losing Weight & Body Hate

July 30, 2010: 150 Eat, Pray, Ride

June 1, 2010: 160.0

Dec 14, 2009: 154 When Our Inner Child Behaves Like a Brat

Nov 8, 2009: 152.4 Thoughts On Rules to Live and Eat By

Oct 12, 2009: 151  Don’t Worry – Be Healthy

Sept 26, 2009: 150.2 ‘Diva’ Knows How to Make It Work!

Sept 19, 2009: 148.9 Three Benefits to Reining in Food Addiction

Sept 5, 2009: 150.6 3 Reasons Not to be Disgusted with Myself

Aug 31, 2009: 153.8 Trying Hard Not to be Disgusted with Myself

Aug. 24, 2009: 151.5  Eight Mental & Physical Fitness Principles

August 17, 2009: 152.4  My Swimsuit, Myself

August 3, 2009: 151.5 Comfort Food, My Crack Cocaine

July 27, 2009: 151 and 33″ Self-Esteem & the Great Weight Debate

July 11, 2009: 152.5 and 33″ 5 Tips To Avoid Vacation Weight Gain

June 19, 2009: 152 and 33″ Lose Some, Gain Some

June 13, 2009: 151 and ??? Positive Self-Talk: Worth 1000 Words

June 6, 2009: 152 and 33″ Becoming All We Can Be

May 30, 2009: 152.5 and 33″ Saturday’s Weigh-In: A Bullet Dodged

May 23, 2009: 153.5 & 33.75″ The Middle Aged Woman & The Little Italian Dress

May 16, 2009: 154 and 33.75″  Monday’s Weight Loss Confession

May 11, 2009: 154 1/2 lbs / 34.5″ waist  The Measuring Tape Doesn’t Lie

May 4, 2009: 154 1/2  lbs / 35″ waist  What I Learned About Food Journaling

April 5, 2009: 156  lbs / 35.5″ waist