Book Coming!!

I've decided instead of writing a blog, I am going to put all the information in an e-book for you guys. I am writing individual weight loss programs for specific personality types. Unfortunately, with work and everything else..I don't have much time to update this! Sorry :(

Lauren

Coming Soon...

Here are titles coming sometime this week:

The Cardinal Rules of Weight Loss: Be Positive!
The Cardinal Rules of Weight Loss: Timing Isn't Everything...
The Cardinal Rules of Weight Loss: Get Some Support!
The Cardinal Rules of Weight Loss: Change It Up To Avoid Boredom!
The Cardinal Rules of Weight Loss: Move That Booty!

The Cardinal Rules of Weight Loss: Be Reasonable!

I see it happen all the time: people setting their final goal weight to whatever it was when they were at their skinniest in high school or college. Heck, I'm guilty of it! For my first couple months on Sparks, I thought I wanted to return to the higher end of my weight range in high school (I ranged from 120-125). Well, there's a lot of problems with that. For one, obviously my body has changed since high school/gaining 72+ pounds. Another thing is that I never strength trained in high school and did cardio at the gym very inconsistently. I probably had a very low percentage of muscle in comparison to what I do now.

I don't know about you, but I know I also had some very unattainable weight loss goals in my life before finding SparkPeople. For example, when I was in college and wanted to be 112 pounds (I was right around 135 at the time). This would have been close to impossible for my medium frame (without starving myself or working out all day every day). Once again, I have a large chest and thick legs...no matter how skinny I get. 112 pounds is just an extremely unrealistic weight for me (my new goal for my 5' 3'' medium frame is 130-135). Set a REASONABLE goal for yourself, not something based off a past weight. 

Like I have said before, I have broken up my weight loss goals by percentages of 10% and getting into healthier ranges (obese to overweight and then overweight to normal). My next goal is 140.9 (normal for my height) and then I'm going to analyze where I want to be from now (I suspect 130-135, but this isn't a for sure number for me). Personally, I would prefer if your goals were small with maybe a REALISTIC ballpark figure of where you where you want to be.

Along with this, your means of getting to your goal weight should be REASONABLE as well. If you know you aren't going to burn 800 calories a day because you are usually exhausted after work and have to take care of the kids, DO NOT set your goal to do so. Same with your calorie levels, you are not going to be able to eat 500 calories without going into starvation mode, so don't even think about it!

Try to share your goals with someone else who is somewhat educated on healthy living (not someone who thinks Victoria Beckham is the perfect ideal weight). Do they think your goals are REASONABLE? 

Things Everyone Should Consider Prior To Trying To Lose Weight: Calories Are Not All Created Equal

As much as I wish I could eat 1,200 calories a day in donuts and pizza and have my body respond the same exact way as if I ate 1,200 calories a day in fruits, veggies, and lean proteins, this is just not the case my friends. It’s not just about calories in versus calories out. That is just the simple way to explain how to lose weight. It is so much more complicated than that.

I’m no nutritionist, but obviously fat, carbohydrate, and protein are all serve different purposes in the body. I could get all into the science, but instead I am just going to link you to an article that I feel explains it pretty gosh darn well. You can find it: here!

So, obviously..as you can see..calories are not all created equal. I lost wayyy more weight when I upped my protein and lowered my fat grams. I aim for a diet high in complex carbs, moderate to high in protein, and low in fat. It works pretty well for me :). And no, I don't think carbs are evil; you just need to be getting the right kind.

Things Everyone Should Consider Prior To Trying To Lose Weight: You Are Going To Mess Up…Get Over It (NOW)

Guess what…no one is perfect, especially when it comes to losing weight. Chances are, your goal weight is going to take months or even years to get to. How likely do you think it is that you never going to mess up? Very unlikely. Food is too good and not exercising is too easy. There are holiday parties to attend, cocktails to be had, and life that happens which will get in the way of your weight loss. This is just the way it is. You have your whole life to lose weight, who cares if you mess up every once in awhile? You aren’t perfect, no one is!

Take it from me, an OCD perfectionist; you have GOT to forget about this part of your personality if it’s an issue. I’m one of those people that it takes forever to do almost everything because it HAS to be perfect. Probably one of the millions of reasons why I always failed whenever I tried to lose weight before I got involved on the SparkPeople website.

I would be eating great all day..maybe even for the whole day. Then the night would come and I would get everything I needed to get done for the day done. Then came watching TV…followed by thoughts of all the food that was in the cabinets just feet away from me…followed by me stuffing my face…followed by me feeling guilty because I ruined everything I had worked for ALL day in a matter of 20 minutes for no reason other than the fact that I was bored. This, more or less, led to me thinking I was a failure with no self-control who could never possibly lose weight. Eventually, I’d give up on losing weight and completely not care about what I was putting into my body (I’m sorry, body! Haha).

A great deal of me giving up on myself is because I expected pefection..which is the last thing that’s going to happen while trying to lose weight. Food is unlike any addiction (even if you don’t have one), because no matter what you HAVE to eat…it’s not like a drug or cigarettes you can cut off cold turkey. It takes a tremendous amount of training yourself in order to resist all the delicious food that is in this world, especially when you KNOW how good it is. Lucky for you, eventually after you stop eating that junk, you start to CRAVE healthy food and unhealthy food isn’t as appealing. It gets easier, I promise. 


I can't even begin to tell you how many times I've messed up. There have even been a couple of full weeks I haven't worked out or ate healthy. Now I'm getting more into a routine, but what would have happened if I had given up? I wouldn't be almost 45 pounds down since March...that's for sure. You are perfecting habits (eating healthy, portion control, working out consistently) that are going to prove to be so useful for the rest of your life...give yourself some sympathy if you mess up!! You are changing your LIFE for the better...and there's nothing greater than that!

Anyway, the whole point of this is to make sure you do not completely freak out every time you have a “bad” day—you literally have the REST of your life to lose weight. This is a lifestyle, not a diet. Think of it as a metabolism booster…after all, if you restrict calories for too long, your body gets used to running on that many calories. When you amp up your calories, even for a day, it keeps your body guessing. That’s how I look at it whenever I go over my calories (especially when it’s a lot). It’s OK and it’s not the end of the world, I promise!!!

As far as when you mess up…instead of saying “I’ll get back on track tomorrow (or next week or next month)”—get back on track NOW. So you had a bad meal, who cares?! Why sabotage yourself even more? Autocorrect and start eating healthy the VERY next time you eat. That way you will prevent a downward spiral from happening way before it’s even a possibility. Remember, YOU are in control of your journey!

Things Everyone Should Consider Prior To Trying To Lose Weight: Stop Comparing Yourself to Barbie, Your Sister, Sister-In-Law, Mom, Grandma, Britney Spears, Adriana Lima, OR WHOEVER

I am going to point out the obvious because many people do not get this one. YOU are NOT your sister, sister-in-law, mom, grandma, Britney Spears, Adriana Lima, or Barbie. Everyone’s body types are different so you can (and have to) stop comparing yourself to these people right now. Focus on YOUR body type and what is ideal for YOU. Remember, this journey is ALL about YOU. The sooner you realize this, the sooner you make your journey A LOT easier on yourself (and much more likely to be successful).

I’m going to get into celebrities later—that’s a whole other bag of issues that society started. But, If I had a dollar for every time I heard one of the people I know compare themselves to their skinny sister or sister-in-law or how their mom/grandma used to be when she was younger…….I’d have close to a million dollars I’m pretty sure.

Here's the deal, if you haven't noticed...you are NOT anyone besides YOU. So quit comparing yourself to other people, you are only sabotaging yourself and forcing yourself to feel sorry about your "predisposition." Take my "predisposition" for example--I have a medium frame and I'm 5' 3''. Like I have said before, I have always (even as a little girl) had thick thighs and a huge chest (those developed later-haha). My sisters on the other hand? Welp, one of them is 5' 7'' and 130 pounds with an extremely small frame (no boobs, butt, or thighs either) who never has to watch what she eats or workout and the other is 5' 3'' and 120 pounds with a petite frame (but does have to watch what she eats). So yep, I'm the fat sister. Does it bother me? Not at all. haha. And I'm being honest.

Here's why...even though my sisters may have what society deems to be "better" bodies--there are a lot of other qualities that they are jealous of that I possess. That's just how it is. No one is 100% happy with who they are and that is the #1 reason why I created this blog. I want people to be as happy as possible as they are with themselves. So while you are thinking someone has it all...don't...no one does. And let's pretend that they do..who cares? You feel like you are missing something--so let's work on that...not waste time thinking about how someone else is SO lucky to not have to worry about it. Who cares? If you do...let's cry about it and move on (pause here to cry). The sooner you do that, the sooner you'll be successful on your journey to happiness (and weight loss). 

Secondly, as far as celebrities…just STOP. If your goal is to look like a celebrity, you crazy girlfrand. No seriously, those bitches are like 0% body fat. Plus, my guess is you aren’t going to ever have a personal trainer or a personal chef that makes sure you are eating healthy (or a cracker-whichever) and working out EVERY single day for 2 hours. In most regular people’s  lives, this just isn’t feasible. Ever notice that tons of these celebs eventually end up with eating disorders? Ahhh...yea, we want to avoid that. I personally would rather eat and weigh a healthy 130 than starve myself everyday to weigh 108 (SICK). 

Not only this, I know you’ve heard it before, but the average model is 5' 11'' and 117 pounds. That's a 16.3 BMI (UNDERWEIGHT PEOPLE). They are probably eating a cracker a day so they can be that thin (or they are freaks of nature, but highly doubtful). Either way, this height and weight only represents 2% of the population. So you’re not a part of that 2%, big deal..neither am I or 98% of American women. They are the freaks—not you! Shame on the entertainment industry for making us think otherwise. Don’t buy into it—use your brain! A BMI of 16.3 is NOT healthy according to any standards. So why is it so many people want ridiculously low body weights like these?

Even if you aren't talking models...take a look at this: Celebrity Heights and Weights ...look at how many of the celebs are UNDER weight (or super close to it). WHY on Earth would anyone want this to be their motivation???

Bottom line, don't buy into it...be realistic with your weight loss goals so you don't set yourself up for failure. These celebrities have to watch every morsel of food they stick in their mouths and work out for hours each day...even after they reach goal weights. Their bodies aren't supposed to drop that low in weight most of the time, so they can very easily gain weight (as we see all the time). I don't think it would ever be worth it....

Things Everyone Should Consider Prior To Trying To Lose Weight: As Jillian Michaels Says: “Results Aren’t Coming For Free”

You want this…right?! Like really, really want it? Well, guess what?…no diet pill or quick fix out there is going to get you the results that you want. So forget about it. Quit being one of the people that contribute to the billions of dollars that are spent on weight loss products (food, pills, “do-it-all” equipment, etc.) each year. Losing weight is not going to be easy, but I will tell you it’ll be worth it.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, however you look at it), you are going to have to WORK for your weight loss and you are going to have to work HARD. So if you don’t think losing weight is worth the time and effort it takes to get there (contrary to what the infomercials at 3 AM tell you…it DOES take time and effort), you might as well stop reading this now.

Your results are not coming for free, as my favorite celebrity fitness trainer (and girl crush-haha) puts it. You are going to have to eat healthy (most of the time), you are going to have to burn some calories by working out, and you would be doing yourself a big favor to strength train. I understand, there are going to be some people with limitations who are not able to do all these things, but if you can do these things…by all means DO THEM.

I look at it this way, especially after joining Sparks…by not giving it your all when you don’t have limitations, you are literally slapping the people in the face that DO give it their all and DO have limitations. So think if it that way the next time you don’t want to work out…not everyone is BLESSED (that’s right!) with the ability to get a really good workout in. Don’t take it for granted, and get that butt moving!

Bottom line, forget everything you’ve heard about quick weight loss fixes…they are all a bunch of BS in some way shape or form. Remember, instant gratification doesn’t exist in the world of weight loss. When it comes to what causes weight loss, USE YOUR BRAIN…fruits and veggies = good, processed food = bad, water = good, soda = bad, etc. etc. etc.

This is what I try to do when I am considering whether or not I should eat something….I ask myself the question: “Could I have eaten this 1,000 years ago?” If the answer is no, chances are my body is going to have somewhat of a hard time breaking it down and digesting it. Our bodies are still not evolved enough to digest processed foods properly (that’s why they don’t make us feel too hot)…remember this little tip.

Your results may not be free, but they will be worth every single second of hard work IF you stick it out. That’s a guarantee.