I have nothing and no one else to blame except myself for my weight gain.  I take responsibility.  I spent much of my youth skinny, and then really started to pack on the pounds in High School and College.  I have the will power to make changes.  I just get lazy and don't. 

Two years ago I got fed up with my weight and decided to make a change.  I was tipping the scales at 315lbs and I spent three months working hard to lose weight.  It was the most successful I had ever been.  In all my previous efforts, I had quickly rewarded myself with a chili dog each time I lost some weight.  Two years ago it was different.   I was doing it. I set an impossible goal for my Birthday a few months later.... and I met it.  I got to surprise my parents and it was great.  I had gotten down to 265 lbs.  Which isn't amazing.... but it was amazing for me.  I learned lots of healthy habits... many of which I continue today.  Unfortunately though, I got lazy.  I slowly started to gain the weight back, by getting back into old habits.  A year later, I was back to 310 lbs.  It was a slow creep.  All of a sudden, all the benefits I had felt from the weightloss [more energy, easier to move and breathe] were gone.  So I made another crack at it.  This time I focussed more on the exercise and less on the eating.  I have had mild success.  I am sitting around 280.  I know what I need to  do.  I know where I want to be.  I just have to do it.  I know...easier said than done.  I however CAN do it.  I know I can.

Some things I learned the last time around:

  • Cutting out Diet Dr. Peppers [or any other sodas] works.  Water is my drink of choice.
    • I was heavily addicted to this drink.  I loved it.  I could easily drink 8 cans a day... if not more. 
    • This is the one thing that I can say I truly kept up with.  I haven't had a Diet Dr. Pepper in two years. 
    • I occasionally will treat myself with a frozen coffee drink but 95% or more of my beverages is pure water. 
    • I love it.  Some people have a hard time swallowing it and drinking it.  I can't get enough.  I am a bit picky when it comes to water, but I have trained myself to be less so and I drink it all the time.
  • Having both short and long term goals/challenges works for me.
    • I know where I want to be, and I keep my eye on that goal.
    • However, shorter term goals are much more attainable and are easier to accomplish.  I ofetn will set many challenges and goals for myself.  Like, no eating out for a month... or no friend chicken[my favorite meal] for 3 months.  I reward myself with completeing it and then immediately set another similar goal.  :)
  • I like to Move it Move it!  DANCE can be fun!
    • Zumba is quite a bit of fun... and one hell of a work out.  I love doing it.  I have several Zumba games  on my xbox 360.  Zumba World Party is my favorite.  Something about seeing real people do it, rather than their animate counterparts made it seem much more possible for me to do it.  I love it!  I may be slower than them and I may not always do it perfectly, but it is fun and effective.  I have also gotten a few of the DVDs and they are even better.  There is no one telling me I am doing it wrong.  ;)
  • WALKing is my favorite exercise!
    • It isn't the most effective, but it is something I am good at.
    • I have been into long distance walking for years.  When I first started walking long distances a couple of years ago, I remember walking 2 miles and my feet hurting and getting blisters and really having a hard time with the seemingly impossible task.  Every once in a while I would push myself and do 3 miles... or six miles.   I would have blisters all over my feet.  It was pasinful and disgusting, but I could do it... and it helped me shed some weight and I got better little by little.  I didn't give up. 
    • A few months into it, a friend changed my life.  She told me about the power of proper socks and shoes.  I rolled my eyes at her when she talked about the socks.  She said they would change my life.  I laughed at her.  She gifted some Balega socks to me for my birthday, and I am a true believer now.  I can't afford to wear them all the time, because they are expensive socks.  I have found cheaper socks [Perry Ellis, Fila, Reebok] that work just as well for me.  I still love Balega the best and will treat myself to a pair every once in a while.  They are quite magical.  Getting sports socks truly saved my feet.  
    • I now walk miles and miles.  I generally aim for atleast 12  miles a day, but sometimes push myself to 26 and 30!  I don't always walk very fast, something I work on.  I also have been trying to add in jogging and running.  This is something I continue to struggle with.  The more weight I lose though, the easier I find it.  I just keep pushing.
    • I used to get bored walking, I would try to remedy it with music, but I would get tired of seeing my neighborhood over and over.  I live in College Station, the home to Texas A&M University.  I work on campus and would do longer walks on campus.  One day very early on in my walks, before I had figured out the socks magic, I had pushed myself and walked over 2 miles several days in a row.  My feet were killing me, so I had decided to go easy that evening.  My feet needed a break.  I was going to go on a quick 45 minute walk, one that I had done many times.  When I got to the point where I would normally turn around, I decided to go a bit further and told myself I wanted to see where a certain path led.  I had never gone that way and was feeling adventurous. Little did I know, that path led about 2 miles away across the west side of campus and into a park.  I quickly fell in love with the path.  I could make the walk a nice round 6 mile walk and I loved it.  I have been doing it almost every day sometimes several times a day for two years now and I don't get tired of it.  
    • I do hate the time it takes.  I even find myself resenting other activities [like work] that get in the way of my walking time.  Sometimes I just enjoy the view, but I have found that I can make use of the time.  Sometimes I listen to music.  Sometimes I take pictures along the way.  I love photography... so  I often let it distract me during my walks.  I have renewed my love for reading.  Sometimes listening to audiobooks, and I have even been able to read books on the Amazon Kindle app on my phone.  I know the walk so well, I know when I need to pay attention [like crossing a street or walking across the stone path acrss the water ;)] I have even done some crochet while walking.  
    • I change it up.  I still change my walks up here and there.  I have my favorite places, but I will often visit new parks or go for a walk in a friends neighborhood to change the scenery up if needed or desired.
  • Counting Calories tends to be the best diet for me.
    • I have tried several diets in the past, but none of them have worked as well as simply counting calories.  Using an app to keep track of my calories has been great.  When I keep up with it... it works!  It was actually what got me to stop drinking empty calories.  I saw how many calories a Diet DrPepper was and decided that was where I needed to make a cut.  Simply knowing what I am putting in my body and being aware helps.  I thought after 3 months of counting I could simply just make the better decisions and count in my head, but I was wrong.  Little by little I would cheat.  It is easier to cheat when you aren't keeping up with it.  Also, all the calorie counters I have give you a daily allowance.  If you work out more, you get to eat more. So seeing that is a great motivation.  I can be quite competitive with myself.  Push myself to do the extra workout to earn the dessert, and then not eat the dessert so that I can lose the extra weight.  It is what works for me... I just need to keep it up!

I worte all that to share my story.  To say that I know what can make me successful.  I know I have more to learn, but I also KNOW I can be successful.  There are #NoExcuses!  I am here to be successful!  Who is with me?