Weight loss success story

I hope you are all having a great weekend! I felt inspired to write another success story today-I hope you enjoy it!

How did the holidays go for you? Did you gain weight? Maintain? Lose, possibly? I am on your team and I hope that the holidays didn’t set you back too much!

However, as I’ve always stated, there will always be parties, celebrations, and the holidays to deal with in life. I am not a believer that anytime of the year should be used as an excuse to modify your habits drastically.

I also believe that regardless of age or where you are in your life, you can lose weight if you want it enough. Now, some of you may be thinking “Okay, Jeannette, what do you know about being overweight?”

You are right-I have never been overweight in my life-but I do know enough about the science behind losing weight and what it entails. I also know that with enough drive and determination, you can have the body you desire, but it does take work-and sometimes a lot of it.

Yes, your body will change with age, there is no escaping that. However, there is no reason that you cannot enjoy a healthy body that you can maintain for the rest of your life.

I have been working with a particular lady for about three years now. Debbie Wells is an extremely dedicated exercise enthusiast and has a great desire to stay strong and healthy for life. She definitely struggled to lose the last of the weight that she had been working to take off. She tried a few different plans and nothing seemed to mesh with her busy lifestyle (plus, her desire to indulge every now and then).

Debbie decided to go on Weight Watchers, and she stuck to it through and through. Within months (holidays included), she is down 15 pounds and is able to stick to the WW program because it suits her lifestyle.

However, she also has changed a few other things that I thought I should mention. She eats more organic food and buys hormone free dairy and meat when possible but doesn’t obsess about it (yay! much easier and cheaper if you shop at Trader Joe’s), keeps a careful eye on portion sizes, does not allow HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP (in so many products-keep an eye out), and has stayed clear of drinking out of plastic water bottles. What does that have to do with anything? Although the jury is still out, numerous studies have shown that plastic water bottles contain BPA (Bisphenol A), which is known to be an endocrine disruptor. Read the excerpt below:

Plastic Bottles Release Potentially Harmful Chemicals (Bisphenol A) After Contact With Hot Liquids

ScienceDaily (Feb. 4, 2008) — When it comes to Bisphenol A (BPA) exposure from polycarbonate plastic bottles, it’s not whether the container is new or old but the liquid’s temperature that has the most impact on how much BPA is released, according to University of Cincinnati (UC) scientists.

Scott Belcher, PhD, and his team found when the same new and used polycarbonate drinking bottles were exposed to boiling hot water, BPA, an environmental estrogen, was released 55 times more rapidly than before exposure to hot water.

The full article can be found at:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080130092108.htm

I know that this may seem far fetched to some, but I don’t want to take any chances. I don’t worry myself to tears about this stuff anymore, but I am definitely careful.

Back to Debbie’s story-I am very proud of her achievement and because she is going through a very hard time in a woman’s life, I feel that her story is good for others to hear. She is sticking to her plan because it works for her.

I urge you all to find the plan that works for you, too, whether it be Weight Watchers, logging your food every day, counting calories-whatever works for you! But be detailed about it, don’t just “wing” it.

I asked Debbie a very important question-did she feel that she was eating correctly before she started WW? And her answer was “yes”. Although she intuitively felt that she was possibly overeating, she didn’t truly know how small her portions sizes needed to be in order to drop the weight.

I think that this is KEY , and the reason why many are having trouble losing weight. The underestimation of one’s own caloric needs is very common.

She still enjoys her wine; however, in moderation!!! Life doesn’t have to end, and she’s living proof!

I hope that each and every one of you reaches your goal in 09! I am rooting for you through and through!

With Love,
Jeannette