Surprisingly this last year was not the year with the least amount of posts...but that brings me to some simple observations!
The year with the most posts: 2008
The year where I reached my weight watcher goal: 2008
The year with my least posts: 2012 followed closely by 2011 and then 2017
When did I gain weight: 2011 was the first small gain 2017 was the second
Hmmmm is there a correlation???
Some lessons I’ve learned along the way....and by no means is this a comprehensive list.....there are way too many to post!! And the list is in no particular order.
1. Lose weight for yourself! That is the only way to lose AND maintain the loss.
2. Learn to love yourself....it doesn’t matter if you are 300 pounds or 100 pounds, love yourself for the awesome individual that you are!
3. Find a partner in life that loves you in spite of your weight! Someone that wants you to be healthy for your health but could care less if you have some fat rolls, or if the scales show some higher numbers!
4. Deprivation of all ‘fun foods’ may be necessary at times in life, but in the long run will only lead to disaster because eventually you will cave and you will be sitting there shoveling junk food in like you’ve been starving for a lifetime.
5. Your taste buds really do change and the healthier nutritious foods really do taste better....conversely when you start eating junk again they change back and you no longer crave the healthy stuff!
6. No matter how healthy you may be at any given time..the old habits are still buried deep and you will show up if you don’t keep up your gaurd.
7. Exercise really isn’t the devil reincarnated!!
8. Find the activity you like doing and stick with it. If it’s running...run. If it’s Zumba...then Zumba. Do what you enjoy...even if you only enjoy it sometimes because it’s a social hour (yes Zumba was a social hour....or rather pre Zumba and post Zumba times were a social hour for me)
9. Start now....if you say ‘tomorrow’, tomorrow may never come!
10. Start now....waiting until a certain time just gives permission to eat like a hog-head for the days leading up to the magical start date...and then you have a bigger hole to dig yourself out of!!!
11. Don’t force yourself to eat a food you hate just because it’s ‘healthy’
12. Reward yourself for your progress! A lot of work goes into creating a healthy version of yourself!
13. Food actually tastes better after you have ‘worked for it’. For example after a long hike I enjoy dinner so much more...earn your food!
14. I am the only one responsible for what goes into my mouth! No one has ever hog tied me to a chair and forced me to eat a donut! They may offer me a donut (insert any tempting non nutritious food in for the word donut) but they have never forced me to eat it...I am 100% in control!
15. Arthritis pain really does ease up with exercise! Yes it seems odd that it hurts so bad and someone tells you to go out and exercise...how because it’s painful...but it really does work!
16. My most proud accomplishments are the ones in which I have pushed though and completed what I set out to do.
17. The blood sweat and tears that go into this journey? Totally worth it!
And I’m here to say that year 13 is going to be spectacular!!!!
