Falling Off the Wagon

We've all done it. We've all stood in the kitchen and cleaned out the cabinets or emptied the fridge. We've all eaten a whole carton of ice cream, a whole bag of chips or my personal posions: peanut butter crackers and trail mix. Some of us feel like we're finally full, some feel guilty, some feel sick and some take this small slip as defeat and just give up on their diet entirely. Don't let one day of slipping up defeat you. Its a minor set back. We are human we are all going to have good days and bad days. Especially as women there are going to be days when we eat everything and days when we don't want to eat anything. The joys of riding the hormone roller coaster. If dieting and dealing with our cravings was easy then the whole world would be thin. Obviously the whole world isn't thin so we have to learn to cope. The hardest part is picking yourself up and hopping back on the wagon. Too many of us just give up and quit when the going gets tough. We all know that the things we have to work hard for are the things worth having. My little tricks of the trade in dealing with cravings vary depending on the craving. First you have to determine if you're really hungry or if you're just bored, emotional or something else. Some experts say to imagine eating a steak, if that sounds appealing to you then you're actually hungry so you can eat. Well, i hate steak so that doesn't work for me. My trick is drinking a large glass of water quickly. I do this for two reasons: 1) our bodies constantly confuse hunger and hydration. Hydrating can curb hunger and cravings 2) if you drink water quickly you get full quickly. Then you don't over eat or give into cravings as much. The best thing to do is to find healthy alternatives to your favorite things. The Hungry Girl cookbooks are my personal favorite. So many snacks and mini meals with 200 calories or less. I have so many healthy alternatives I could have another blog just dedicated to those recipes. If you want some options just email me at annieweir09@gmail.com and i will send you some. Basically what I want you to take away from this is there are healthy ways to cope with cravings and that just because you slip up doesn't mean you should give up on your goals of losing weight. Believe me I slip up all the time. Just ask my friends, they will give you one word... Nutella! That says it all right there. Love, A.

Through the Years

The Secret...

The main question I get every day from people, mainly women, who've heard my story is: "Oh my God! What's you're secret?!?!?" All of these women are dying to know how I lost half of me. They all want to hear a quick fix. They want the easy answer, a simple escape strategy. They want me to perform a miracle and make them instantly lose 10, 20, 100 pounds. Ladies (and the occasional gentleman) IT'S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN! You're not going to take a pill, have surgery or wish your way thin. It's impossible and you're fooling yourself if you think you can attain anything by sitting on your ass. The answer to this question isn't the newest fad diet, it isn't some crazy cleanse. It's what doctors, trainers and other health professionals have been beating you over the head with since the dawn of processed food...eat healthy and exercise. Its not a diet its a "change in lifestyle". Its not a gimic its true! We all know that its the truth we just don't want to hear it. We're Americans, we want the quickest, easiest way to everything! Why do you think processed foods were invented and why do you think they are stocked to the brim at convience stores, snack machines and snack bars? Because they're cheap and easy to make. They're quick and easy to grab as we munch our way through life.

Easy and quick should be taken out of your vocabulary when it comes to your health. Would you ask the doctor giving you an exam to do the "fastest and most simple" exam if you knew there was something wrong with you? NO! And if you're overweight, you know you're overweight. You look into the mirror everyday and you look back at yourself. If you're okay with the person that looks back at you great! Im still not always happy with the woman looking back at me. Now ask yourself can I be healthier? Will my diet and activity level let me live as long as I want? Will it help me live the life I deserve? That answer is up to you. In February of 2010 for me, the answer to that question was one big "HELL NO!" I was 23 years old and I felt like death all the time. I was sad and depressed daily. There were days I woke up tired from doing nothing the day before. There was something truly wrong with that. So I changed, it was a slow process but when it comes to a dramatic change "slow and steady wins the race".

The main thing Im trying to say today is you've got to want it! You've got to know that being healthy and in shape (notice i don't say skinny) is going to be hardwork! But everything that is worth anything in this life is hardwork! You've got to try because no one can do it for you, no one can make you. You also have to know you deserve it! You deserve to be the best you that you can be. You deserve to be healthy, happy and beautiful! That's a big lesson I had to learn. That I deserve this body! I deserve to be happy and healthy. I deserve the best out of each day that I live. That's the first big step in any change, knowing you are worth all the sweaty, bloody (sometimes hungry) moments that will make you the person you want to be! I promise you that you are worth it. It took me 23 years to figure that out. Hopefully you will start to see it too.
Love, A.