A-B-C's of Healthy Weight Loss | The Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans LLC

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This past week there has been A LOT of talk about weight loss and the “healthy” way to do it. It made me start thinking about healthy weight loss, so I’m going to share some of the basics or ABC’s of weight loss with you. There are many ways to lose weight and every where you turn there are products that promise they can make you lose weight IF you will purchase their program or their pills!  But, today I am going to tell you some of the most basic ways to lose weight that won’t cost you one single penny outside of the healthy groceries you purchase weekly!

I’m calling this the A-B-C’s of weight loss:

  • A:   Always drink plenty of water. Experts suggest that we drink 1/2 of your weight in water every day! I know it sounds hard. I know it sounds BORING and sometimes you just want something with some flavor to it. Try adding mint or cucumbers or lemons to your water if you have to have some kind of flavor in your water, but make sure you drink pure, clean water. I know it sounds IMPOSSIBLE if you weigh more than 200 pounds but it really is something that can make a world of difference in your weight loss journey. Start with keeping a large bottle of water with you at all times. You can get big refillable bottles from Target or Walmart and that really makes it easy to get enough water. This is your first tip in healthy weight loss.
  •  B:   Begin moving and don’t stop!! If you are drinking enough water I promise you will begin moving even if it’s just moving to go to the bathroom! 🙂 But the point is EXERCISE!! North American’s are so sedentary in our lifestyles that we have to MAKE OURSELVES MOVE!! Once you start moving don’t stop. It really is important if you are just starting out on your weight loss journey to NOT do too much, too fast though! Most people start their journey with trying to overdo it and then they hurt themselves which then causes them to want to stop (or forces them to stop because of injury).  Start with the basics of walking. If you are not accustomed to doing anything you should start slow. If you are accustomed to doing a little, add to that. Walking is the most basic form of exercise and it doesn’t COST ANYTHING to do! You can even walk in your home. Walk around your neighborhood, walk in your local mall, walk around the grocery store!! You could park in the back part of the parking lot and walk from one end of the store to the other multiple times and you will be amazed at how much exercise you can get just doing that!  Begin moving your body and build up to where you are exercising a minimum of 30 minutes a day 5 days a week. This is your second tip to weight loss.
  • C:    Choose foods wisely! Most of us are busy and we use that busy-ness to make excuses for not eating properly. This is how most of us gained the weight in the first place. But, let me tell you something….come close…this is IMPORTANT!! Healthy food is easy to prepare, too! It just takes a bit more thought. Did you know an apple is just as easy to eat as a bag of chips? It’s crunchy and all it takes to eat it is a good scrubbing once you get it home from the store!  I know a lot of people say but it costs more to eat healthy foods. Does it really? I bought a bag of chips this weekend and it was 10 ounces. It cost me $2.99. I went over to the produce department and NOTHING cost me as much as $2.99/10 ounce or a pound….not even organic fruits! I bought a 3# bag of ORGANIC apples for $3.99. Which do you think is better for me us? The 3# bag of apples or the 10 ounce bag of chips?  Yeah, that’s what I thought too! The apples are a better choice and I can do a lot more with them and feed more of my family!! This bag of apples has 8 apples in it. There is NO WAY I’m going to get 8 servings out of that bag of chips….Shop around the perimeter of the grocery store for the healthiest and wisest choices for groceries. Determine to buy less processed foods each week and watch your grocery budget and waistline go down! If we choose our foods wisely we can feed our family economically and lose weight in the process! This is your third tip to weight loss.
  • D:    Don’t delay!! Don’t put off what we can do today, for tomorrow!! I hear people say all the time “I will start Monday”. Why wait till Monday? Is there something special about Monday’s for your weight loss journey? Did you start gaining on Monday? Is Monday the day that if we eat right or exercise properly we will find the magic potion and lose 20 pounds but if you start TODAY you will only lose 10 pounds? Yeah, sounds silly when I put it that way, huh? So, don’t delay!! Start today (oh wait today is MONDAY, haha!!)!! Tomorrow is just another day for you to find another excuse!! TODAY will always be the best day to start losing weight and getting healthy again! This is your fourth tip to weight loss.
  • E:    Encourage others!! I always find when I encourage others I am encouraged, as well! You’ve all heard “you reap what you sow”? It works….when you reap encouragement you will sow encouragement. Our private Facebook page is a great place to find encouragement and to offer encouragement. If you aren’t a Facebook person, find someone in your own life and find a way to encourage them. It really helps to have the support of others in whatever you are doing in your life! The encouragement of this site is what brought me here back in 2008 and it is the reason I became a writer for it. This is your fifth tip for weight loss.
  • F:    Face the truth!  Years ago I did everything I could to blame others for my weight gain and lack of ability to lose weight. I blamed my family, my lack of money, my lack of spare time. I blamed everything but the truth — the truth was I was LAZY and unmotivated to take care of myself until I was faced with the fact that I was responsible for my weight gain and lack of weight loss! I finally got my act together and started losing weight in January, 2013 and lost 45 pounds in 6 months. Then I got lazy again!! I have gained 10 pounds back and I am feeling sluggish and “fat” again. The truth is I started eating junk, drinking soda, not exercising hard enough and making excuses! I am facing the truth again and have decided the truth hurts but it is the truth!! I know what it takes to lose weight for me. It takes exercising daily. It takes getting 8 hours of sleep. It takes eating fruits and veggies. I am facing the truth even if it hurts. This is your sixth tip for weight loss.

I could supply you with many more reasons and supply you with each of the letters of the alphabet but I think you have enough information to show you it really isn’t as complicated to lose weight as we make it out to be. It really is as easy as the A-B-C’s and you will soon be a success in your journey to healthy weight loss.

xoxoxo,

Ann

P.S. I can’t leave this post without saying a very happy birthday to my mom! Happy birthday, mom! I hope you have a great day celebrating your 70th birthday!! Love you!!

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Ann is a wife, mom to 2 sons; a 24 year old Marine and a 10 year old who home schools. Ann has been “working” at losing her baby fat for 20+ years and is beginning to find success in that journey. Ann is a huge walker, and walks the Susan G. Komen 3-Day every year to help fight against breast cancer, a disease that killed her grandmother long before she should have died! She’s excited to be a writer on the best support group online, The Sisterhood of Shrinking Jeans.