Well, here I am, er was when I decided it was time to stop this crazy spiral into the potato chip bag. Now wait, don't leave. You may just now have thought, but I do not eat potato chips and well, that is ok I did not really either. I can't even remember all of what I ate "then" and it is not relevant to the posting anyway.

I first started with the book written by Dr. Phil The Ultimate Weight Solution: 7 Keys to Weightloss Freedom. Great book, great place to start if you are trying to not be the emotional eater. If you just want to lose a few pounds you can also check out his rapid start book, this outlines the food plan really well. What I liked most about the rapid start is the calorie values for the crap food we think is part of our daily right as adults to consume without thought or care as to the glycemic index, the fat to protein ratio etc. Oops, did that last sentence get to "techy" for you? Did it make your eyes glaze over and make you look at the "fat" me again and wonder where I was going and if I could offer any help to you? Did the mention of the word glaze cause you to think of a donut? Ok, sorry, keep reading I won't do that again for a little while.

Now...sit still for a moment while I softly say a word. Don't close the window or run away or think of that donut again when I say this word to you. Exercise. Ok, hush, wait don't leave...I know, trust me I KNOW! You have no time, no energy, no desire, no need, no motivation...yeah yeah I KNOW! I began with something as simple as Yoga and walking with my toddlers in the twin stroller two or three times a week. This was how I started. Let me tell you though, nothing motivates me more than having sore muscles from Yoga, I mean COME ON, this is a relaxing stretching routine done to center my spirit and mind. My mind and spirit were apparently crumpled up in the back of a dresser drawer for a very long time. Taking them out and stretching them looking for a center caused muscle pain. WOW, I was more out of shape than I thought!

So let me break down this post to you in simple terms. I ate roughly 1,200 calories a day and worked out gently EVER SO GENTLY for three days out of seven every week for 3 months.

Here is a diet example from one day

Breakfast

1 slice WHOLE WHEAT TOAST

1 teaspoon natural peanut butter

8 ounces low fat yogurt

Snack

small apple

low fat cheese stick

Lunch

large bowl fresh spinach salad

1/2 cup low fat cottage cheese

1/2 chicken breast

Snack

1 ounce feta cheese

small apple

Dinner

Large Salad

Chicken Breast

fiberous veggies like broccoli

Snack

low fat frozen yogurt

Here is me at the end of those 12 weeks, you can see the extreme difference in my face. I lost 37 pounds from this adventure so far. There are more details to add but I will write more about it later.

Stay Dedicated to the choices you make for yourself and you WILL see results!