I have been thinking about compiling my own personal list of top weight loss tips, things I have learned along the way. Hopefully they can be helpful to others. They are totally in no particular order….Im not that organized.
1.Park at the far end of the parking lot. I thought this one wouldnt be possible with me having two little kids. But one day at preschool my son asked me to ‘back up’ like Daddy does. Well my backing up skills suck in my giant land yacht so I picked a spot at the very far end of the parking lot and he was thrilled. We walked in and ever since then I park as far away from the entrance to wherever I am going as possible. Everything from full on grocerie shopping to just dropping off a package at the post office. I want the furthest spot available! I usually haul my 30lbs 2 year old in my arms for added safety (and a better work out!!) Make it a habit, even if it burns 20 calories a day, everyday that adds up to 7300 calories a year- it takes 3500 calories to burn one pound of fat, with that theory you can knock off two pounds a year- but doing very very little extra work.
2. Eat meals and snacks on smaller plates. I am a habitual plate cleaner. I hate to throw away food, but when I take a smaller plate I automatically take smaller portions. A baked potato looks HUGE on a little plate, add in some veggies and you have barely any room left for the steak. Same with snacks, I like to snag my kids little plates and bowls. Im not great about measuring out every morsal I eat. When I do that I get really obsessive so I just dont do it. So taking a smaller plate or bowl helps control the portion sizes I give myself. I have a lot less issue with being a member of the ‘clean plate club’ when the plate and portion is half the size I used to use.
3. Exercise. The old me would have run away screaming and then stopped 30 feet away winded and die of heart failure. I tried dieting my way to being thin, I tried starving myself to being thin, yah it doesnt work. Youve got to have muscle to burn that fat off! Getting a good work out really helps boost my mood too, if I can get out the door or on my elliptical or treadmill and get moving a little my urge to emotionally eat gets stomped on.
4. NO EMOTIONAL EATING! This is an ongoing struggle for me. I am an emotional eater, I know I am and its very very hard to stop this cycle. Gotta just take it one day at a time!
5. Make yourself accountable. Grab a friend and recruite them to work out with you, or start a blog, tell your friends you are working out, getting fit and kicking some weight loss butt! After youve told all these people you wont want to flake. I actually remember reading that in one of those ‘crush your self confidence’ magasines as a teen. I actually still remember the cover, how crazy is that! It had ‘tips from skinny girls!’ Oh PUKE So here is a tip from a slightly overwieght mom who wants to be fit and strong-not fit into a size 0- make yourself accountable!!
Watch for 6-10 next time! Ive got a sick baby who just woke up.