"Live your Best Life!"

That's a phrase that Oprah Winfrey said on one of her shows that I have always loved. Her trainer Bob Green has this book that I like as well called "The Best Life". There are two quotes that I really like and I wanted to share them. They are really inspirational to me, and I hope that they are to someone else out there too. Here they are.

"Each day you take a few small steps, then build on them day after day. There may be set backs, everyone has them, but those victories will add up, and then pretty soon you'll be amazed at how different your life has become. And what could be more alluring than the prospect of waking up to your best life?
So roll up your sleeves and get to work!"

"Remember, every step you take toward reaching your weight loss goal is really a gift that you give to yourself. When you eat right and exercise, you are taking care of yourself, treating yourself with respect, and acknowledging that you deserve to be healthy and happy."

So, I have this binder that I put together that has a bunch of helpful tips from different health and fitness books that I like. I came across this one page where I had written a list of things to ask yourself. Here are the questions:

1. Why are you overweight?
2. What are you really hungry for?
3. Why have you been unable to maintain weight loss in the past?
4. Why do you want to lose weight?

I think these are some basic thought provoking questions that we all should ask ourselves about why we are in the situation that we're in. Here are the answers that I had for myself to these questions.

Answer to #1. I am (or was) overweight because I was lazy. I was an emotional eater and I ate to make myself feel better. Temporarily I did feel better, but then I would always become depressed again and then the cycle would start all over again. I realize now that nothing gets solved by behaving that way. The only thing that behavior accomplishes is that it makes your butt get bigger!

Answer to #2. I think that I was hungry for the love that I used to feel for myself, and the self esteem that I once had.

Answer to #3. I think that over the years of different things happening in my life, like when I got out of the military, and had kids, that played a huge part in my weight gain. I had a major change in life style and went from where I was physically active every day to going to being a stay at home mom. MAJOR metabolism change there! I also forgot about taking care of myself as far as getting exercise goes. That played a huge part in my weight gain also.

Answer to #4. The reason I want to lose weight is because I am tired of being obese. I want to put myself back on the "list" of people to care about, and I want to feel pretty and have some self esteem again.

I think that it would be a good thing if we all asked ourselves these questions. It might open up some insight to ourselves.

Also in my binder of "TIPS" are a list of things that has really helped me throughout my weight loss journey. Here they are:

1. Redesign your Food Environment If you feel like you are more prone to grabbing junk food when you need a snack, then redesign your food environment. Only have healthy things on hand so that you're not tempted by the junk.
2. Introduce new "Convenience" foods Instead of having chips or other junk foods on h and for snacking on, have healthy alternatives on hand to snack on. Things such as fruit: apples, oranges, bananas, healthy nuts, etc... You can also have other things, just make sure they're healthy.
3. Try to eat every 4 hours Don't go too ling in between meals. If you go too long in between meals, you'll be SO hungry that you'll eat anything. Instead, eat every 3 to 4 hours so that you can keep your blood sugars in check, and keep your appetite under control.
4. Keep your hands busy Keeping your hands busy with something other than food will help to keep your mind off of food to needlessly munch on.
5. Sop, Look & Listen Take 5 to 10 minutes time-out BEFORE that first bite to think about what's going on. Your body might only need more water to feel satisfied, or maybe you were about to eat something to soothe your emotions instead of your hunger. Remember these 3 words: STOP, LOOK, & LISTEN to your bodily signals to determine if you're truly hungry or not.
6. Figure out what you want If you've stopped to think about if you're actually hungry, and you really are hungry, then think of ways to minimize the binge. Make the calories count and make it healthy!
7. Bargain down the size Once you've decided what you truly want, ask yourself how much you truly need. Will a "fun-size" candy bar do instead of a "Kind-size"? Be keeping the size down - maybe to a taste - you will control the urge to overeat.
8. Interrupt before the next bite If you find yourself on Auto-Pilot mindlessly reaching into the cookie jar, stop for a minute. Ask yourself if this is really what you want to be doing, and if there is anything that you'd rather be doing, or eating, instead. Think "Healthier" or "Exercise"
9. Balance the Calories Think about how much your little indulgence will cost you in calories, then plan accordingly. You can compensate for the extra calories by eating less at another meal, or by getting more physical activity.
10. Defuse the High-Risk Times If you can predict the high-risk, or the high-stress situations and can ready yourself for them, then you can balance out the added calories the same way. You can always eat a little less before and afterwards.
11. Challenge the ALL-OR-NOTHING thinking If you DO find yourself eating instead of coping, don't despair. That doesn't mean you are a bad person or that you've ruined everything. Even if you still experience some over-eating, remember that you are making a change. It takes time. Don't lose sight of your bigger goal! To lose weight and become healthy, it takes time!

Those are all some really good pointers, and have all helped me a lot. I'm still not perfect but what matters most is that I keep going. Eventually I will reach my goal!