The numbers are in!

Hello everyone in the blogging world!

I've been on Take Shape For Life 17 weeks.  Started 10/22/12. 

My starting weight was 261.8 and as of 2/18/13  it was 215.  That's a total of 46.8 pounds!! Woohoo

Even better are my measurements.

                     Start                    as of 2/18/13      Total inches lost

Bust               48.5                    45                       3.5
Upper stom     44                      38                        6
Waist              43.5                   37.5                     7
Hip                  53                     47                        6
Thigh              29.5                   25                        4.5
Calf                17                      15.5                     1.5
Arm                16.5                   15                        1.5

TOTAL INCHES 30 INCHES!!!!

I simply cannot believe it.  God is so good!  He lead me right to this program. He's given me the will power and strength to endure.  I feel like I'm going to make to the end!

There are so many little things I'm starting to notice. I can feel my collar bones starting to emerge!
I can cross my legs a lot more comfortably.  I can go up and down the stairs at work and not even be short of breath.

And EXERCISE!
Walking is of course, the easiest to do.  We have a couple of walking tracks near where I live and when it wasn't freezing cold-I've walked laps.
I've started a zumba class! That's definitely something I could have never done at my starting weight! 
We've been painting our den, kitchen and spare bath. We've sanded the floor boards. Now THAT was lots of exercise! Climbing up and down step ladder, bending, squating, sitting in floor, brush strokes-boy-it adds up!

It's all about moving more and I'm doing that.

Here's my new photos of myself:

Week 13-reached 40 pds lost!

Here are my pictures from week 12. Wearing size 18 pants and 1X shirt (fit like a XL)

I haven't been blogging well lately. Wanted to track weekly on here.  The pics are from week 12. My weigh ins are on Mondays.  January 21st I was at 223.4.  Yesterday at 222.4!!  That was right at 40 pounds so far!  

I'm feeling GREAT and still following plan.  I can't keep up with the inches yet. I have little pieces of paper at work & home with measurements and dates!  I'll gather them together soon and try to get a tally recorded here.

I've been walking 3-5 days per week at our local Jack Dalton Park.  My hubby has gone with me a few times, my furbabies, and my BFF.  Sometimes it's just me. It's a great way to clear my thoughts and be with God.  

I've read chapter 11 in our workbook.  It's about moving more.  Learning to incorporate any movement in every day life.
I'm adding:  squats while I'm waiting 2 minutes for my medifast to cook in the microwave, side to side wiggling while I'm blow drying my hair, more stair climbing at work to get my water, walking around while I'm on the phone (headset).

My health coach has tracked my losses and says I'm averaging 2 - 2.4 pds per week.  Totally awesome!  I'm looking forward to being at goal (148)

I can't close without telling you all the credit for my weight loss goes to my Lord and Saviour!  He's giving me the strength and grace and wisdom to pursue this lifelong goal.  Without him I am nothing.

I praise God with all that I am!  I thank him for leading me to my health coach-Alisha Reynolds.

“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” James 1:5 NIV

Have a blessed and happy day! Stay warm!

Happy Dance!!! Still losing weight!

I'm starting to really look forward to Monday's -which is weigh in day.  I lost another 1.8 pds. My total Monday was 235.8.  total lost 26 pds.

I think secretly I keep thinking-I'm going to wake up and it's a dream and I still weigh 262.  Crazy sounding? I've just never had success at losing weight.  I've never stuck to any program longer than 1-2 weeks.  I've never had a program that was so EASY to do!

I'm getting to pull out clothes I haven't worn in awhile.  It's very exciting!  My husband even asked me where all my new clothes from!! LOL  I told him-out of my closet! LOL

I continue to try new recipes for my lean & green meals.

*******************************************************************************

Spaghetti LEAN & GREEN

-cut spaghetti squash in half & microwave for 10 minutes on a dish with 1/4 cup water.

-Using a fork flake out the "spaghetti" strands.  1/2 squash yields 1 1/2 cups.

One whole squash makes 3 meals.  Stores well in the refrigerator.  Only use 1 cup in your meal.

Sauce:

Mix 1/2 cup skim ricottia cheese, 1/2 cup approved salsa or sugar free spaghetti sauce (found Ragu @ Krogers)
2 T shredded parmesan cheese, 4 ounces cooked ground beef or turkey.  If you like spices like I do, you can add a sprinkle of garlic powder, basil & oregano.

Mix together & put 1T of the parmesan cheese on top. Bake @ 350 till bubbly. apprx 20 minutes.

Daily Living with Good Choices

Can't believe the days have gone by so fast!!  I have been eating my new food & have had some delicious stuff.

Vegetarian Sloppy Joe, Chicken Noodle soup & pancakes!  That's right pancakes!  The packet makes one nice size pancake.  Very tasty. Can use sugar free syrup.

Thanksgiving was successful-I had turkey, green beans & deviled egg.  Was completely satisfied. I knew I'd get my dessert in 3 hours-a peanut butter bar that tastes like reese cup!

When I'm off work I have a harder time getting all my water in.  Went to Mom's Saturday-took 5 empty water bottles and filled them with good ole well water.  It's so much better than the filtered city water at my house!

I got a little off schedule Saturday night-had a pity party.   I'm not sure why I let the bag of potato chips mess with me-but the chips won!  I felt like a dog when I was done and Sunday.
With my new habits of health, I've been thinking about why I allowed the urge to eat over power my common sense.  I simply didn't listen to the good angel on my shoulder!

Up till then, when I thought about eating I asked myself -am I hungry?  The answer is always no.
I then started mentally listing the benefits of NOT eating when it's not meal time.  The urge to eat would pass.

This time-I pushed the good thought to the rear of my brain and simply ate.

I didn' beat myself up.  Now that I know why I've been able to withstand the temptation to eat, I hope next time I'll listen to my reasoning better.

AND I'm making me a list to put on my mirror so I'll see it every day.

It's almost a relief to get the "cheat" over.  I've been dreading it since I started the program.

I'm just moving on....one day at a time....one meal at a time.

Hope you have a super happy day!


Colossians 3:12
Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves,
you must clothe yourself with
tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility,
gentleness and patience.

Doctor Approved!! Yeah!

I went for my physical today and I quickly shared with her about being on a diet program.  She was really pleased I was losing weight and did ask a couple of questions. 

Could I stick with it long term?  Oh-I gushed out how satisfying the food supplements are and they taste good. I don't feel deprived at all. Even had a bar that tastes like a Reese Cup!

Did it involve exercise?  Yes! Not a lot, but a decent amount that she approves of.


It's time to order my food again! I was able to get a little different items this time.  One is a 4 pack of chocolate items!  Brownies, chocolate chip cookies, chocolate pudding & Hot chocolate.  My co-worker said "you don't have to give up anything!"  That is so true! 

Last night I had turkey meatballs.  I made up the recipe myself! Can't even tell you the "dashes" of seasoning I put in them! I put a little finely chopped onion and celery.  Then baked them in the oven.  They were really good!

I was reading my Habit's of Health book and it wants us to set goals. I started thinking about in just 3 weeks how far I've already come.

• my rings & watch are sliding around
• I can lift my leg to my knee and put my socks on without grunting
• I can bend over and pick something up and not shine the world (my pants stay put)
• I no longer feel bloated all the time
• I don't get sleepy during the day
• I have much more energy
• I don't sweat all the time
• My confidence is growing-I shared my blog address on the facebook group
• My double chin is almost gone
• I'm starting to look forward to getting dressed in the morning

That's all I can think of off the top of my head & I'm so thrilled to have stuck to something for 3 solid weeks!

I look forward to even more great changes!

Words of the wise:

A faithful friend is one of life's greatest assets.
No problem is ever as dark when
you have a friend to face it with you.
Christ Jesus laid down His life
for you, and His promise is: I will hnever
leave thee nor forsake thee.

Have a blessed day!
Karen C

Miracles Do Happen :o)

I've been bad! Haven't journaled since Wednesday.  I've thought about it-just haven't taken the time.

Have been following the program really well.  Today is weigh in day and I'm down on the scales again.

DRUM ROLL..............245.2!!!!!  That's total 16.5 pounds in 3 weeks!!!!

This is the easiest weight loss program I've EVER done! I just can't get over how it works.  I hope I don't find out in 5 years that it's really unhealthy and I'm going to die 20 years early or something! LOL

I fixed a turkey breast this weekend and that is really tasty.  Haven't had turkey in a long time. 

I also made a new recipe that a guy on our facebook group posted.  I changed it a little-didn't have almond milk.  Here's my version:

Squash Soup
3 large yellow squash
1/2 large onion
3 cups low sodium chicken broth
salt & pepper
garlic powder (called for real garlic/didn't have any)

Cook that until tender.

Put in blender and pulsed until smooth.  Added 2 tablespoons cream cheese to both batches. (called for half and half/didn't have any)

Turned out yummy-of course, I love soups.

My annual physical is tomorrow and I can't wait for them to weigh me. Can't wait to see the look on my doctor's face.  She's been trying to help me lose weight over the past 3 years.  She feels quite responsible for me being obese! Ridiculous!  Last year at this time she suggested I talk to a surgeon to have the lap band procedure done.
I was depressed for weeks.  I knew I wouldn't do it unless my weight became life threatening.  But just knowing she'd given up on me was VERY depressing.

This program Take Shape For Life was the answer all along-I just didn't know it.
My health coach is so supportive.  Can't wait to talk to her after work. 

Hope you have an excellent week!
I'll try to post like I'm supposed to!


Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart's desires.  Psm 37:4

Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it,
and it will be yours.  Mark 11:24.

I asked God for a miracle-that's the only way I'd lose weight and he sent me Take Shape For Life!

Blessings to you!

Karen C

Donut Melt Down!

Yesterday when I went in the kitchen at work to fill up my water bottles I spotted a BIG box of donuts on the table.

I asked my coworker where they came from -one of our company reps.
I said "donuts are my favorite" and tears started welling up.
I said we need to get them out of the building!
The receptionist walked up and they both said "we aren't eating them". She said she'd give them to our customers.
She looked at me and said "do you want a donut?"
I busted into a full fledged -hysterical-fit!  I went in the bathroom & boo-hooed for 5 minutes!

I don't even know what came over me! I was shocked at my response at just seeing some donuts. I haven't feel deprived on this program at all. I get "sweets" with my delicious food bars & cereal.  I simply couldn't control it.

I went to see my health coach at lunchtime. She had some VERY WISE words.

She said "Karen, you could have eaten a donut". (I was shaking my head no the whole time!)
She said "look at it this way" You could have eaten it, but you CHOSE not to.  That's part of the healthy habits we're learning about!

I'll have to admit-that never entered my head!  I was just thinking I couldn't eat a donut-it would blow my whole last 2 weeks of doing good.

After more thought-she is -of course-right!  I felt so much better.

My day:

7AM Peach Tea
10AM Chicken soup
1PM Broccoli soup
4PM Cinnamon Crunch cereal
8PM   5 ounces stewed chicken on top of lettuce, tomato, jalapeno with Vidalia Onion dressing.
         1 ounce cheddar cheese
9:40PM pretzels


While I'm working on the outside, I'm also concerned about my inside!  My encouraging verse today is:

Be confident of this, that he who began a good work in you
will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
Phil 1:6

Have a great evening!
Karen C

Losing For Life!

Today is weigh in day-I was down to 250.8!!  That's a total of 11 pds in 2 weeks!  I'm so thrilled.  I've never stuck to a diet this long.
God is my strength!  We talk every day about it.

My eating schedule gets out of wack on the weekends and I know I didn't get enough water yesterday.  I'm still trying to figure out how to get it worked out.

7:30am Orange drink
11:30am Peach Tea
3PM cinnamon cereal
5:30pm 5 oz chicken & boiled egg
             tomatoes & celery
            2T cream cheese & 1T mayo
            Pepper
Stirred it up for chicken salad & it was delicious!
7:30pm cheese pizza bites
9:30pm Parmesan bites

It's pretty cold outside this morning. I love the colder weather!
Hope you have a blessed day!

The Lord will work out his plans for my life-for your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever. Don't abandon me, for you made me.

Psalm 138:8 NLT

Hugs!
Karen C 

TGIF!!

Boy, the thought crossed my mind this morning-I'd like to have some pizza from Hema's.  Then I thought-NO! 
Stopped thinking about it right away.

But the last 2 nights-I've dreamed of cheating!!  Not on my husband-that would be normal.  I've been eating non-diet foods in my dreams!  I woke up thinking-oh no! I cheated.  Then I realized it was a dream.  Crazy huh?

Yesterday's Plan:

7AM broccoli soup (I can have it any time I want it! I love it!)
10AM broccoli soup (that's right- I can have it any time I want it! I love it!)
1PM Cheese Pizza chips
4PM Peanut Butter Bar
7PM Lean & Green:   4 oz roast beef & 1 oz LF cheese
                              1c lettuce, 1/2 c tomato & cucumber.
                              2 T vidalia onion dressing (healthy fat)
9:30PM oatmeal-YUCK!  It was awful. I tried putting an optional snack-walnuts in it-didn't help. Won't be buying that again!

Felt good all day. Seems I get a little hungry in the mornings. I just drink more water!  I'm hoping that is going to pass. 
I'm looking forward to being able to exercise a little.

Have a blessed Friday!!

Begin each new day as if it is the
 beginning of your life, for truly it is the
beginning of what is left of your life.

Karen C

Energy-I found you!

My energy levels have went up! I'm soooo glad!  I don't get sleepy during the day at work, I don't feel exhausted when I get off and this past weekend I was cleaning, painting, visiting a friend, cooking, and never got wore out!

It's amazing what eating the right food does for you.

Yesterday menu was:

7AM    Peach Tea
10AM  Chicken Noodle soup
1PM    Broccoli Soup
4PM    Chocolate Mint Bar
7Pm    Turkey Balls *recipe below (4oz)
          1 cup lettuce, 1/2 c cucumber
          Healthy fat: salad dressing 2T
          1 oz 2% cheddar cheese
9:30   cheese pizza sticks


Turkey balls:
98% lean ground turkey 1 pd
1/2 c diced onion
1/2 c diced green pepper
1/2 tea each:  garlic powder
                     chili powder
                     poultry seasoning
                     season salt
                     pepper
                     smoky paprika

Baked 35 min @ 350% until brown.

I feeling great and drinking WATER! Lots of it! 

The Lord gives his people strength.  The Lord blesses them with peace Psm 29:11

Hope you have a happy & healthy day!

Doing it One Day at a Time

I'm still following the plan!  My normal pattern is -I'd have already given up & stopped following a diet.  I cannot tell you how easy this TSFL plan is for me.

It's so convenient. I don't have to think about what can I eat? What do I need to take for lunch to work. I just grab a food replacement & have a "meal".  The are already formulated with the right vitamins, protein, carbs, fat grams for me.  I don't even have to think about it.

You mix 1/2 cup water to most of it. The most amazing thing-they taste good!  I simply can't get over it!

I only have to think/cook for one meal. How easy is that? 

I got up late yesterday-yeah! Good weekend sleep.  Was slightly off schedule, but shortened my time in between and I still got my 6 meals in.

9AM Hot Cocoa *****
11AM Southwest eggs *****
3PM Orange Blend drink *****
5PM Tomato Soup ***
7PM Lean & Green  5 oz tuna, 1 hard boiled egg, 2T cream cheese, chopped dill pickle spear, 2T chopped onion, 1T light mayo mixed together for tuna salad. Ate on bed of 1 cup lettuce, 1/2 salsa & 1/4 c cucumbers.
9PM Honey mustard pretzels*****


I've had loads of energy. My husband & I painted our hallway Saturday-I had to do 3 coats with a roller. I crafted in between coats & danced to Elton John music while painting!  Had a lot of fun!

Looking forward to my weight in this morning.  I'll probably do a second post with my results.

The hurricane Sandy is having affects here. 30MPH winds and rain.  The temps have dropped. We have a winter storm coming in from the north east.  Calling for blizzards in the mountains! It was 85 degrees last week!

Verse today: The Lord will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right.
psalms 84:11b

Yeah Weekend!

I never had time to journal yesterday. I slept till the last minute to get to work-was crazy busy at work all day-was exhausted when I got home.  I took my lunch hour and went to the grocery store for lean & green supplies.  I hadn't read enough of my materials to trust myself to do that yet.

Thursday my legs ached really bad. I found out yesterday that sometimes happens due to low sodium or potassium.  Simple solution-drink powerade zero or chicken bouillon.  I pushed thru the pain-yeah me!

Friday found me in a much more ENERGIZED state and no pain!  I felt great yesterday!
(You'll see I've started rating my medi food. I want to be able to know what to order next time)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Scale: * awful, ** probably won't order, *** can tolerate for a different flavor, **** pretty good, but I want to add something?, *****wouldn't change a thing!
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

7AM    Hot cocoa***** mixed with caffeine free coffee.  Why? because my mind still wants my coffee. I've changed over the last month from drinking 3 doubles cups of regular coffee with cream & 2 sweet & lows per day to watered down caffeine free coffee with scant creamer & 1 sweet & low. I'm pretty proud of that.  When I mixed the HC in with the coffee (didn't add sweetner/creamer) I felt like I was in heaven! LOL

10AM Peanut butter bar-*****  LOVE IT!
1PM Cinnamon pretzels *****
4PM Banana Pudding **** (had a slight after taste)
7PM: Lean & Green-4 oz leanest hamburger ($5.38!!), 1 cup lettuce, 1/2 c cucumber, 1/2 diced tomatoes, 1 oz shredded 2% cheddar cheese. ( I had to put a few jalapenos on the salad-I hope it doesn't hurt my results!)  It made a yummy salad!
9:30PM: Cinnamon cereal **** had a slight -real slight funny taste?

Another truly successful day!  I totally love my health coach.  She's a true inspiration!  She's almost at goal and started almost exactly where I did.  Of course, she's 20 years younger than me! I know that my weight loss won't go as fast as hers, but I'm SO HAPPY for her!

Till tomorrow!
Karen C

Food Replacements-Yum!

I made it thru the first day of my TSFL & I was pleasantly surprised at well the food replacements tasted.

Weight: 261.8

Measurements;
Waist        43 1/2
Hip            53
Upper Waist 44
Bust          48 1/2
Upper Arm 16 1/2
Right thigh 29 1/2
Right Calf   17

7AM Chocolate Mint Bar
10AM Cappachino
1PM Broccili Soup
4PM HOney Mustard Pretzels
7PM Lean & Mean meal: 5 oz chicken, 1 cup cauliflower & 1/2 c green beans
9:30PM Parmesan puffs

Had a slight headache yesterday after 5PM-but it could have been where I forgot to take my meds yesterday morning! 
All in all I thought it was a GREAT start! 

Weighed in this morning.......257.6. 

I'm not going to get excited-I know my past "diet" record. Hasn't been too good.  So I'm going to stay forcused & keep my eye on my goals.

It would be so nice to polish my own toe nails again! Minor thing-but I get a leg cramp in my right thigh & lose breath after 1-2 toes. Not worth it. So I go for a pedicure!  Look at the money this program is going to SAVE me!

Already: no fast food & no forced pedicures!  That's going to pay for my food replacements easily.

My verse today: Proverbs 27:9-The heartfelt counsel of a friend is as sweet as perfume and incense.

Action Plan-Have to start somewhere

I enrolled on my health care sight & took a Health Assessment. 

My weight 263.  BMI 41.2.  They say it's "markedly overweight"

Says I'm @ high risk for: heart disease, stroke, diabetes

Successful Weight management consists of 2 parts:

                              Healthy Eating
                              Regular physical exercise


An Action Plan for You:

1. Define your goals. Ask yourself, "What weight could I realistically see myself reaching?"
2. Set a date that you will begin your healthy changes. On this date, start exercising at least 2-3 times per week in the beginning.
3. Try one new healthy recipe each week. Make sure to include healthy ingredients like fruits, vegetables, and lower-fat items such as skim milk.
4. Make healthy food substitutions. For example, try wheat bread instead of white bread. Use olive oil instead of butter. Replace whole milk with skim.
5. Cut calories. For most adults, cutting back 50-100 calories per day may prevent the gradual weight gain that comes from aging. To lose weight, you may need to reduce your food and drink by 500 calories or more per day.
6. Find extra calories that are easy to cut. Eliminating one 20-ounce (600 mL) sugar-sweetened cola each day can add up to over 3,500 calories in 2 weeks, and 3,500 calories equals 1 pound (.45 kg).
7. Increase exercise. For health benefits, adults should moderately exercise at least 30 minutes most days of the week. To prevent weight gain or to lose weight, adults may need 60-90 minutes of exercise most days of the week.

Remember: To lose weight, calories in should be less than calories out.

Find out how many calories you need, visit:

• http://www.choosemyplate.gov/

100 Ways to Lose weight & keep it off!!

My name is Karen Conner and I'm addicted to food.

There-I've said it.  I love food.  I love to eat.  I eat for comfort, for fun, when I'm bored, nervous, sad, happy, watching TV, driving to work, you name it.

I've been on hundreds of diets.  Well, in my head-I've said "your on a diet"-but over the years that really doesn't mean anything.  My deep inner self still makes excuses to eat what I want.
Therefore, I've NEVER lost any weight while I was on a "diet".

Today I stumbled upon-that's really what it's called "Stumbled Upon"-ha ha
#39 says to do a blog.

My plan is to blog about all 100 ways & see if it helps me or anyone else!  GOOD LUCK!!


100 ways to lose weight effectively & keep it off.  Here they are:

Tips and tricks for losing weight

1. Drink one pint of cold water when you get up – This kick-starts your metabolism.
2. Don’t skip breakfast – Having breakfast tells your body that it is day time again and that there is no need to slow the metabolism because you are sleeping.
3. Use cinnamon – Add to an apple pie or other desert, it is the perfect spice to speed the metabolism
4. Steer clear from creamy, coconut based curries – If you have to eat curry have something tomato based or something from the Tandoori oven. Skip that naan bread too and go for plain rice.
5. Eat spicy food – The spicier your food the more calories it takes to digest, making it lower in calories than the same food with no spic.
6. Drink Green tea – This can boost your metabolism, is high in anti-oxidants and is caffeine free.
7. Stop eating three hours before bed – This goes for drinks that aren’t water also. Your sleeping body will struggle to digest and burn off all those evening calories when your metabolism is slowest.
8. Do yoga – Not only does it help you to lose weight, you’ll also be more flexible, improve your posture and feel more energised.
9. Metabolism is better in the morning – Do all your exercise and heavy eating in the morning to maximise how much you burn off.
10. Don’t just stick to cardio – Include strength training in your workout, if you can build more lean muscle your body will lose the fatty bits quicker. You’ll also stop yourself from getting loose skin.
11. Go for a walk during your lunch break – Don’t sit and stare at the TV in the coffee room for an hour, get outside, go for a walk!
12. Walk the dog – Walking the dog is fun and great exercise. If you don’t have a dog, get one or go walk a friend’s.
13. Don’t starve yourself – If you let your body go into starvation mode your metabolism will slow and losing weight will be harder.
14. Try and eat five to six small meals – Doing this will keep your metabolism active.
15. Eat wholemeal foods – This includes pasta, cereal and bread. These sorts of carbs will keep you sustained for longer and contain less calories.
16. Go light – Try eating light mayonnaise and salad dressings, every try low calorie bread an cheese!
17. Bake or grill instead of fry – Usually fry those burgers or bacon, grill it or bake in the oven, a much healthier option.
18. Track your weightloss progress – Just trying to lose weight without monitoring things like your start weight, current weight and goal weight will lead you to just feeling hungry with no return.
19. Avoid very restrictive diets – Don’t go on a diet that leaves you feeling hungry and craving foods because you’ll just give in a binge. Go on a diet that allows you to eat some of the foods you love in moderation.
20. Use a measuring tape – Just because you aren’t losing the pounds doesn’t mean that you aren’t losing inches. Measure your waist, hips and any other bits you want to lose on when you weight yourself. Keep track of all of it.
21. Build healthy habits – Don’t just eat loads of fruit, exercise and eat healthily when you are on a diet. Even when you reach your goal weight keep these healthy habits to maintain that weight.
22. Join online weight loss support forums – There are hundreds of forums and communities online that will give you support, weight trackers and dieting buddies to keep you motivated.
23. Read labels – Keep an eye on your calorie, fat, protein and carb intake, especially if your diet restricts one of those things. Note down what you eat, how much of it and the nutrition content.
24. Tell people – If people know that you are on a diet then they are less likely to suggest MacDonalds for lunch. Some may even give you support, tips from their diets and will also notice when you do lose weight.
25. Buy a Wii – Get a Wii, play Wii sports and play Wii fit. These games are fun for all the family and certainly help you work up a sweat.
26. Set realistic goals – A good amount it to lose 1-2lbs a week, any more then you will start losing weight unhealthily, leading to a weight rebound. Set a goal you can realistically achieve and you will feel so brilliant when you reach it.
27. Take supplements – Often when you are dieting you might miss out on essential nutrients that may help the weightloss process, take a simple multi-vitamin once a day.
28. Create a motivation sheet – Create in paint, on paper or in photoshop a sheet containing photos of yourself you hate. Pictures of people you aspire to be like and statements saying why you want to lose weight and what you will be able to do. Make it your computer desktop.
29. Find your ideal weight – There are loads of calculators online that will look at your height and build to determine your idea weight.
30. Don’t ignore your BMI – This is your body mass index, great for normal people who want to get to their ideal healthy weight. Less good for body builders with loads and loads of heavy muscle. It takes your height and weight into account; you need a BMI of around 25 to be healthy.
31. Don’t eliminate the foods you love – Eliminating foods you love with cause you to over eat when you can get to them. This will undo all your hard work. Treat yourself but do it in moderation.
32. Find a diet buddy – Having someone to talk to about your weight loss plight will help you to both keep on track.
33. You aren’t in this alone – Finding others with a similar amount to lose will help you keep on track. This is especially useful if the people in your day to day life aren’t dieting, you can end up feeling lonely.
34. Don’t keep junk food in the house – If there is junk food in the house then it will be harder to restrain yourself.
35. Try something new – If a friend asks you to go belly dancing then try it, it is a brilliant way to lose weight. Doing new and exciting things will stop your weight loss from becoming boring.
36. Set small goals – After setting your goal weight set small goats, perhaps monthly. You’ll be so motivated at hitting that small goal that you’ll be spurred on to get to the next one.
37. Look at yourself in the mirror – Get a full length mirror and look at yourself every so often in a variety of clothes, note how they fit, how you are looking better and how you will look even better when you get to your goal weight.
38. Create a look book – A look book is a series of pictures of you in different outfits. Taking a photo every other day or so will help you to keep track of how you are looking. You can then compare the old photos and new and revel in the fact that you now look brilliant.
39. Start a blog – Keeping a blog is a great way of writing down what you eat, how much you are losing, what you are trying and even posting photos of yourself. This can keep you motivated and on track by keeping the diet plan at the forefront of your mind.
40. Muscle weighs more than fat – If you find that one week you haven’t lost or have even gained then don’t forget that all your exercise could be building muscle. Measure your waist, if you’ve lost inches then great.
41. Drink water – If you feel hungry then drink a glass of water, the brain sometimes struggles to tell the difference between hunger and thirst.
42. Eat slowly – Easting slowly will give your brain more time to adjust to the fact that you are getting full. If you wolf down a meal very, very quickly then you will find that after you will feel bloated. Only eat as much as you need to.
43. Cook with non stick pans – Doing this means you won’t need to use the butter and oil to stop your food sticking to the bottom of your pan.
44. Create a menu as a shopping list – If you can plan exactly what you are eating on a day to day basis you won’t buy food that you then feel the need to eat.
45. Satisfy your sweet tooth – Don’t deny yourself sweet treats, have a small bar of chocolate just take its calories into account. For a healthy sweet treat try microwaved apples with a sprinkle of cinnamon.
46. Add apples into your diet – Apples are full of fibre and can help to curb your appetite better than any food supplement. Cheaper too.
47. Walk to work – If you don’t live too far from work then walk or bike in, you will burn around 300 calories more than if you drove for 15 minutes in rush hour traffic.
48. Never leave home hungry – Even if you are going out for a meal you should have a small snack of fruit, this will stop you from overeating when  out.
49. Start saving for that new outfit – Having money to buy your new size 12 jeans will keep you motivated to get to that goal weight.
50. You don’t need to finish everything on your plate – If you feel full stop eating.
51. Be smart then it comes to Fastfood – When going out for fast food, be clever about what you eat. Stay clear of the fried foods and huge portions, go for a small hamburger or baguette with a diet soda.
52. Stay focused on being healthy not becoming thin – If you obsess about your weight then you’ll never see a change. Focus on being healthy and the weight loss will follow with out all the stress.
53. Start on high calories – If you are calorie counting, find out what you need to lose two pounds a week. Start as high as 1700 calories a day and when you start to plateau you can drop it down to 1500, your body will also have time to adjust and won’t think that you are trying to starve yourself.
54. Watch your portion sizes – It is okay to treat yourself to steak and chips but have a small grilled steak and a few chips, fill up on fresh veg and water.
55. Don’t skip meals – People think that skipping a meal will lead to less calories and therefore weight loss but you’ll find that your body goes into starvation mode and your metabolism slows down making it harder to shift the calories when you next eat. If you find you aren’t hungry just have a small, healthy snack such as a banana.
56. Buy new clothes – If you buy new clothes when you’ve moved down a dress size or two then you can throw away the old clothes. This means you will be less likely to go back to those old sizes.
57. Don’t give up – You are bound to have bad days but get over it and move on so you can continue with the diet and exercise the next day.
58. Add a fruit or veg serving – If you add just one serving of fruit or veg a day then you can slowly build this up to get your five a day without a big diet change.
59. Have a salad for lunch – Doing this means you can have a dessert with your dinner because you’ve saved up on calories.
60. Do the housework – Doing work around the house or in the garden can help you to move and work up a sweat, great exercise.
61. Stop eating out – Of course don’t cut this out of your social life completely but think about hosting a dinner party once in a while. It’ll be cheaper and you can control the amount of calories you consume.
62. Take your kids out – Running around with your kids in the park is great exercise, break out a football
63. Don’t obsess – You can keep an eye on what you are eating and how much you are exercising but don’t obsess, it will lead to stress and you feeling miserable.
64. Limit your intake – If you have to give in to that craving then limit how much you have, just one scoop of ice cream or two segments of that chocolate bar.
65. How does your weight affect you life – If you could get down to your goal weight what would you be able to do that you can do now? Play with your kids, shop in your favourite clothes shop or simply fit into that perfect wedding dress.
66. Don’t feel guilty – If you get full and don’t eat all of your meal don’t feel pressured to finish it just because it’ll be thrown away otherwise. Think about your waist line.
67. Take time to cook a meal – When you are fussing more over a meal then you will probably eat less when you come to meal time. Also moving around and cooking will burn more calories than putting something in the oven and leaving it.
68. Chew sugar free gum – This keeps your mouth busy so you won’t be tempted, plus most foods will taste awful after all that minty flavour.
69. Try out the clothes that are too small for you – You’ll either find that they fit or that they don’t, if they don’t keep dieting and exercising if they do then celebrate with more clothes in that size and move on to your next goal.
70. If you feel the need to eat call a friend – This will take your mind off what you wanted to eat and will give you something more productive to do instead. If you can’t get hold of anyone go online and chat.
71. Give yourself different reasons to lose weight – Of course you want to lose weight to be happier, healthier and better looking but what about losing weight so your trousers don’t wear out between your things or so no one ever called you ‘that big girl,’ again.
72. Substitute – Swap mayonnaise for mustard, start drinking semi-skimmed milk instead of full fat, eat wholemeal pasta and brown rice as opposed to their plain versions.
73. Keep reminding yourself – If you keep reminding yourself that you need to lose weight then you won’t stray from the path. Have something on your desktop reminding you of your goals, if you have an iPhone use an application that tracks your weight, update your blog with everything you are doing.
74. Flavour your own water – A lot of people don’t like the taste of water and steer clear from it. Don’t do this, water is so, so good for you, flavour it with a bit of lemon on lime.
75. Remember that being over weight reduces the chance of getting pregnant – So if you are trying for kids then try and shed some pounds!
76. Don’t crash diet – If you crash diet and lose 10lbs in two weeks or something else ridiculous then you will have a weight rebound which will put you right back to square one. Lose the weight steadily and it’ll stay off.
77. Drink a glass of water before a meal – This will make you feel fuller, stopping you from over eating.
78. Buy a bottle of water – If you are in a shop about to buy a drink, opt for water and nothing fizzy.
79. Eat Fresh fruit – Eat fruit instead of drinking fruit juice, more or less the same flavour without the additives but with more nutrition!
80. Try new vegetables – You may think that you aren’t a fan of veg but there’s so much on offer try something new like asparagus or rocket instead of peas and lettuce.
81. Drink black tea or coffee – Cutting out the milk and sugar can cut out loads of calories, if you need your caffeine fix then without milk or sugar these drinks have practically no calories.
82. Chocolate is a luxury – Have chocolate and other sweet fattening foods as a treat every so often and savour them as you have them.
83. Embrace vegetarianism – Not every meal has to have meat in it, try and put a few meatless dishes into your weekly menu.
84. Use sweetener not sugar – You can’t taste the difference in tea or coffee and certainly not on cereal so you’ll be cutting calories and not even noticing!
85. Go easy on salt – There’s no need to put salt on a meal, if you’ve cooked it properly it should taste just fine without adding the extra salt at the table.
86. Boil your veg – Doing this is so much healthier than baking them. If you can then even eat them raw all the nutrients get lost upon cooking.
87. Reward yourself – If you see a change in your weight or waist size don’t reward yourself with chocolate but buy yourself something nice or go out with a friend.
88. Get it yourself – Instead of asking your partner / child / housemate to get yourself something get up off the couch and get it yourself.
89. Get up during the adverts – Get up, get a glass of water, stretch, you don’t need to see the adverts, get moving instead.
90. Exercise at your desk – Having a job where you are sitting all day makes it difficult to burn calories, move as much as you can, stretch at your desk, go for a walk around the office. Get up to speak to someone rather than using the internal phone system.
91. Park a little way from your destination and walk the rest of the way – If you have to drive for half an hour to get to work then you can’t really attempt to walk it but you can drive for twenty minutes then walk the rest of the way.
92. Run up the stairs – Don’t move slowly up the stair case, try and run up as fast as you can or take two at a time.
93. Go swimming – Swimming is a fun way of exercising, especially if you have kids that you can play with. Although it is best to do lengths messing around and playing can be very beneficial.
94. Exercise during your morning routine – For example when brushing your teeth don’t just stand there; lift yourself up on your toes, stretch the back of your legs and down again. Do this until you are done brushing.
95. Don’t slouch – Sit upright, tuck your tummy in and retain good posture.
96. Stay Comfortable – Don’t over do it, if you find that your exercise routine is making you ache and you are in pain and unable to move then step it down a little. Do ten minutes less a day or take on a more sedate kind of exercise. You need to be able to feel that it is working but don’t hurt yourself.
97. Organise an exercise plan and stick to it – Set something you can realistically stick to so you aren’t missing sessions. If you are new to exercise try ten minutes a day to begin with and then build it up.
98. Go over your food diary – Pinpoint where you’ve lost the most weight and if you’ve put on anywhere, then try and work out why to improve your diet.
99. Go to your Doctor – If your weight is wildly out of control and you don’t think you can manage it with healthy eating and exercise then go to your doctor they can advise on calorie intake, an exercise plan and maybe even some pills.
100. Limit alcohol intake – Limit your intake to one glass a day and be smart about it, clear spirits and dry white wine are the healthiest options.