My Weight Loss Story

When I was gaining weight I never knew how much weight I had gained until I could not fit my clothes. I was constantly tired and did not have a lot of energy. I ate out most of the time. I did not eat in moderation. I ate what I wanted at all times. I began eating things just because I knew it was there. In some cases I knew I had a candy bar so I would eat it just because I knew that I could. Also, I became an emotional eater. I did not come to the final realization that I had gained a huge amount of weight until I was at a doctor's office and stepped on the scale.

Elementary School

I was a child involved in everything. I stayed active in dance class. My mom had me taking ballet, jazz, and tap dancing. So it did not come as a surprise that I was a very skinny little girl up to the age of about eight. My family and I went out to eat to  fast food places such as McDonald's but it was not an everyday thing.

Junior High School

I developed at a young age so I has curves by the age of 11. And I also began to gain weight. I was not getting the proper amount of vegetables so my doctor placed me on a fiber regimen for my digestive system to function properly. The doctor also noticed a darker pigment of skin color below my finger nail and used that to determine that I might be prediabetic.

High School

In high school I was curvaceous as well. I was sometimes picked on or even harassed by people because of my curves, but I embraced them because they made me different. During that time I weighed about 135-140 pounds at a height of 5'2, so I was slightly overweight. My eating habits consisted of eating a lot more junk food and eating out. I absolutely hated vegetables and my favorite fast food restaurant was Captain D's. Their specialty is fried fish.

College (First Two Years)

Okay so my school does  not have the greatest food, so the only thing I ate from the cafeteria was pizza, burgers, and fries. On nights when I had late classes and could not make it to the cafeteria I would order Chinese takeout and from pizza places. My roommate would always convince meet to split cheesy bread with her and I could finish an entire pizza by myself. I was eating out of control and not thing about it. But I suffered the consequences of my actions by gaining 30 pounds in two years. This weight gained placed me at 170 pounds my sophomore year.

College (Now)

I joined Weight Watchers the summer of my sophomore year. I joined because my mother had joined in the past and rejoined to lose weight once again. At first, she was hesitant to allow me join because I was at a young age, and she felt as if I would not take it seriously. But Weight Watchers motivated me to lose the weight and in 6 months I lost 50 pounds. I am 117 pounds and I have maintained for two years. I cook more, exercise more, and I am more conscious of what I eat.

Veggies are Awesome!!

A lot of people do not like vegetables. But there are a lot of fun ways to include vegetables within your diet in a fun way delicious way.

•  Broccoli and Cheese is one of my favorites. Of course I also believe that cheese makes everything taste a tad bit better, but of course in moderation. I will eat broccoli and cheese with a grilled chicken breast and a starch such as corn.

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• Chicken and Vegetable Soup is another way to enjoy your vegetables. I tend to eat this for lunch when I am at school. I pair the soup with a  grilled cheese sandwich that contains low fat cheese, low calorie bread and sometimes a sprinkle of olive oil and garlic.

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• Chicken fajitas is a delicious meal that I love to make. It contains mostly vegetables as well. I enjoy this for dinner. I prefer to pair this with homemade salsa containing cilantro, garlic, salt, tomatoes, green pepper,onions, jalapeno pepper, a red pepper. Sometimes I like to throw in a mango for a sweeter taste.

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• A Vegetable omelet is a great way to start the day. I love anything with eggs so this is my ideal breakfast if I had time to cook in the mornings. This can be paired with anything. I probably would add something simple like a piece of toast with a low fat butter spread. And for an omelet I prefer to use egg white.

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There are of course many ways to enjoy your vegetables. These are only a few ideas that I hope are helpful. I have found that the trick to enjoying vegetables is to find a way to pair it with something you enjoy eating.

There are Many Ways to Exercise

So there are many ways to exercise. People exercise for different reasons whether tone the body or to lose weight or just to be healthy. Now, I exercise to maintain a healthy lifestyle and tone my body. So listed below are different exercises and what they can do for your body.

Planking is a great full body work out. I really enjoy doing this because I am trying to tone my abs and this exercise does just that. Planking consists of holding your body up in the push up position on your elbows making sure that your back remains flat. I tend to do this three times during a workout in one minute intervals.

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 Jumping jacks are another great workout. I tend to do jumping jacks as a warm up. It is a great way to tone your body as well. Jumping jacks consist of starting with your legs slightly apart and your arms by your side. You jump with your legs spreading outward and your arms leaving your side and coming up and outward and above your head. You then jump again and return to the starting position. This is repeated. I tend to do about 100 jumping jacks as a warm up.

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                                                                    Squats are awesome for toning. For this workout you only need a low surface such as a chair or a slightly raised surface, such as step. Squats can be done with weights to do even more toning for your glutes and thighs. With squats your back is turned towards the chair with your legs slightly apart. If you are using weights your arms or not your arms are at your side in the starting position. Then you bend your knees keeping your back and core straight and pushing your buttocks back towards the chair, slightly tapping the chair with your buttocks. If you do not have weights, place your arms in front of you when bending. With weights, keep your hands at your side. Then raise back up to the starting position. I tend to do this in sets of 25 squats three times in one workout.

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 So these are only a few of many exercises that I incorporate in my workout. These exercises are simple enough to get started in exercising once again if it has been a while since you have exercised or if you just want to tone up your body or if you just want to live a healthier lifestyle.

                                 

Yes, There are Benefits to Exercising

As I mentioned before, going to the gym is not really my ideal thing to do; however, I have a gym membership so I am in the gym at least once a week. Being active does not mean you have to be in the gym (read my posting on being active outside of the gym). But being active is a necessary part of life if you would like to live a healthier lifestyle.

Benefits of Exercising:

• Keeps Disease Away.Exercising helps lower the risk of heart disease, osteoporosis, high blood pressure and diabetes.
• Lowers Risk of Obesity. Exercising gets rid of those unwanted calories and thus lowers the chance of being obese.
• Helps Lower Stress. Exercising can be used as a way to relax. And it can also help you feel better about yourself, and give you more confidence.
• Improves the Mind. There are studies  that show that exercising can help with depression and other psychological disorders.

Exercise At Home
Below is a video of some simple exercises that can be done at home.

 Video from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_HWEoGoxgI

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