Twelve steps to weight loss

With so many weight loss commercials from Jenny Craig to Weight Watchers appearing on TV, or in magazines, many women are beginning to feel that they can't lose weight without the help of an expensive and flashy weight loss plan. That's not entirely true, however. We are fully capable of losing weight on our own.

Listed below are ten suggestions to use to healthfully and mindfully lose any extra weight.

Mindful eating skills:

1. Check all the side-effects of each prescription you may be taking for weight gain as a side-effect.

I have 40 years of experience with losing and gaining weight; however, my weight gain has become even more aggressive with each new prescription my doctors give me. Because I have been diagnosed with depression, bipolar disorder, hypothyroidism, and several GI problems, I am taking about 10 different prescription drugs. When my weight began to increase nearly daily, I began looking up the prescriptions I was taking in terms of which ones caused weight gain.

The biggest offender was Nortryptiline, a prescription meant to help my GI system, One of the first 'side-effects' listed was weight gain; what to do? Once I discovered this relationship I spolke with my GI doc.,and my psychiatrist, and together we all decided that I wean myself off of this prescription. I did and I lost a wopping 10 pounds in just one week. I know that most of the weight loss was water, but seeing my scale showing a 10 pound decrease in my once-advancing weight gave me the enthusiasm to find other ways to lose more weight.

2. Exercise every day for at least 30-minutes.

You don't have to go to the gym to exercise; you can walk around your neighborhood, each day increasing your time by 5 minutes and your speed by 5%. Wearing a heart monitor that is easy to use will help you increase your speed. A pedometer will help you increase the distance you walk each day.

If walking is not for you, you can purchase exercise dvds online. My favorite source for exercise dvds is Collage Video's guide to exercise videos. You can find Collage on line at CollageVideo.com Though the company name includes the word 'video', Collage has most exercise material on dvd. Collage divides fitness dvds into three sections...Aerobics, Muscle Toning, and Stretch/Yoga/Tai Chi. And you can either buy online, or request a paper catalog, which describes, rates, and categorizes each dvd in terms of beginner, intermediate, and advanced. The average price for each dvd is around $15.00. Collage also has a section that provides music to walk by. Additionally, Collage employees workout to and report on each dvd.

Do not beat yourself yourself up if you miss a day of exercise; we all have days when we just can't get up the necessary energy (both physical and mental) to exercise. If you take one day off you will be that much more energetic the next day.

3. Analyze your diet.

Consider keeping an eating journal so that your can track your eating behaviors. This is just like keeping a 'dream journal'; what you're doing is mindfully chronicaling your most important relationship...the one between you and your body. The more consistent your are with your weight loss journal, the more successfully you will lose your extra weight.

Are you eating food from all five food groups at each meal? Do you even know what the five food groups are? They are a. Protein (meat, eggs, fish, etc.) b. Grains (bread, cereal, etc.), c and d.Fruits/Vegetables (asparagus is great for water retention, and apples satisfy your sweet tooth). e. Dairy (yogurt is one of the best sources of dairy and if you're allergic to lactose, try soy or rice yogurt).

Determine through your eating journal that you are eating enough protein, and not mostly eating starchy food, or snack-food. Because my greatest comfort foods are starchy and sweet, I now make an extra effort to eat more protein than carbohydrates. In essence, carbohydrates are a trigger food for me; the more I eat, the more I want, and the more I want, the more I eat. So I make certain that even my desserts are a mix of protein, carbs and fats. Also measure what you eat, e.g., get to know what 6 ounces of chicken looks like; get to know what 3/4's of a cup of cereal looks like.

4. Check your body in the mirror.

By regularly looking at your body (your fatness, and by being kind to yourself as you do, you will begin to connect with your body. In order to lose weight (both mindfully and healthfully) you have to connect to your body in order to keep your weight at a healthy balance.

Don't hate your reflection; instead, re-learn how to love your body at any weight. Remember that we want to re-learn our body/mind/spirit relationship in order to find and love our true selves.

5. Weigh yourself once a week on the same day and at the same time.

I know that most weight loss 'experts' tell us to throw our scales out, but our scales provide us with essential information; that information helps us decide how we might adapt our daily behavior in order to construct our mindfull relationship with our bodies.

6. Do not buy 'new fat clothes'.

Keep all of your skinny clothes because by doing so you are telling yourself, and your body, that you are going to make your thin weight again. But what do you wear in the meantime, as you're losing your weight. I wear many of my husband's sweat shirts and sweat pants. For going outside I wear my own stretch yoga pants, which stretch enough to cover my thighs, buttocks, and abs, and I wear my husband's shirts to cover up how big my stomach is.

7. Find something you can do with your hands in order to distract yourself from over-eating.

My most difficult time for watching my eating behavior is in the evening after dinner. What I want to do is eat dessert all night long, so I have taken up jewelry making, crocheting, knitting, and guitar playing.

If having a hobby isn't quite enough, add a little bit of sugarless sucking candy to that hobby and you will have stronger staying power to remain on your plant.

8. Tell your spouse, or significant other what you are attempting to do.

By telling the person (people) closest to you, and by asking them for their support they should help you continue to eat mindfully and healthfully. For example, my husband reminds me each day that I want to be done with all eating by 7pm.

9. Sit downand eat with your other family members for meal time.

This is an especially difficult way to eat for many of us who have 'eating disorders'. One of the core behaviors of someone with an eating disorder is not wanting to eat in front of others. Not only do we eat 'in hiding', but many of us eat our meals while standing in the kitchen above the sink.

Make your eating more of an experience in which you are involved completely rather than a mindless binge that you will have to own up to later.

10. Do not make yourself stay hungry.

Your body's metabolism will slow down if you starve yourself, but more importantly, we burn calories by metabolizing them; in other words, the more 'good for you foods' that you eat, the faster your body's metabolism will return to its proper 'health'.

11. Meet with a Registered Dietician for healthy ideas unique to your lifestyle. Generally speaking, Registered Dieticians are much more educated about food, and eating disorders. Nutritionists not so much. Don't waste time and money on someone who knows less than you do about eating and not eating.

12. Try not to take your weight gain and weight loss too seriously. I've found that it isn't the end of the world to be fat, and once I'm thin again, I will still have the same life problems that I had when I was over my ideal weight. Just relax and take it all in one moment at a time.

I have even more tips than these; they too can be extremely helpful with losing weight. My next post will list and describe them.