It honestly is about the small steps. At my heaviest I was 175 lbs. (November 2005, I'm 5'4") and miserable. Food was my comfort and TV was my friend. I decided in December of 2005 that I was going to lose 2 lbs. I didn't really change what I ate, I just started walking about 30 minutes every day. If I got upset or bored, I had to wait 30 minutes before I ate anything or I'd let myself eat all the pickles I wanted
. That 2 lbs. came and went and in January I set the goal of 2 more lbs. and I was going to drink 2 bottles of water every day. It took a couple of years doing this (and I'm still a work in progress
) but I'm now 135 lbs., NEVER emotionally eat and I've pretty much lost all desire for "junk" food (reading labels and good books on how the chemicals in the crap we're eating is effecting our bodies will do that).
I love how I feel now and it all started with little steps. I actually crave things like ripe blueberries or roasted broccoli like I used to crave cake, ice cream, etc. I drink a lot more water than I used to (still working on that...
). And now I watch about 2 hours of TV a month!
I'm not a "moderation" type of person though so I can never just have "1 or 2 cookies" and I'm ok with that. Really, what's the point anyways? So my tastebuds can have 30 seconds of joy?
Also another BIG boost to my weightloss was not focusing on weightloss. I found an activity I loved (at first kayaking, then pilates, now running) and just made it about enjoying the activity and getting better at it. It was never "I guess I need to go do about an hour of kayaking today to get some exercise" it was always "I can't wait to go kayaking, I'm going to take pictures and see how fast I can paddle across the lake, etc.". Or after work I started going for a walk with my Mom for about 3 miles. I don't even consider it exercise because it's so nice to walk with her and talk and relax from the day.
Good luck OP and everyone who wants to change their lives. Little changes really DO add up!
