One thing at a time.

First off, an introduction.  I'm Lara, Hilary's friend, and I need to lose weight.  And keep it off.  So does my husband.

At the beginning of this year I lost 35 pounds.  But, a cross-country move in August, and preparations for it all summer caused me to stop paying attention to the necessary things to maintain that weight.  Add to that all of the stress of the move, combined with the stress of trying to learn a new area and make new friends and I've gained every bit of that 35 pounds back.

My biggest problem is sugar.  I have PCOS, which means I am insulin resistant.  When I go off sugar completely (and I do mean completely: no refined flour, no high fructose corn syrup and no sugar anywhere on an ingredient list), I drop weight fairly easily.

Only, it's not exactly EASY to not eat sugar.  The last 2 months, beginning with Halloween are the hardest months of the year to stay away from it.  So, my first line of attack is to quit cold turkey, which I have now been trying to do since the day after Christmas. My first successful day was yesterday, and boy did I ever have a doozy of a migraine.

But, one day down.  It feels good.  (And, 2.5 pounds lost in that same day.)

So, what is the one thing that you can do, that you know will help you be most successful?  We all have different issues to deal with and diets are not a one-size-fits-all sort of thing, unfortunately.  What is the thing you KNOW works for you?  And what will it take for you to actually do it?

What's your "thing"

So, my query to all my dear losing with lovers friends is, what's your "thing" that makes you want to eat, eat, eat. 
What is it?

How are you going to fix the "thing" rather than eat?

Mine is a lack of schedule, and too little sleep.

Obviously, I just need to go to bed at 9 pm (which I normally do -- I just need to keep with it), I am planning on waking-up at 5:30 3 times/week to work-out for 45 minutes'ish.  I do find that working out improves my sleep.  I haven't been working out since Christmas break (err, Holiday break, sorry) started and I've been an awful sleeper.  Booo....  I will add to that a couple of walks (P loves going on walks, as do most babies) and turning the compost weekly (booo) and the working out part should be covered.

I think when I'm tired or over-stressed, I need to bite the bullet and feed that "issue" -- if that means a little cat nap, then take it.  If it means reading a book that helps me cope, then do it.  I think I find food to be the thing that can keep me "on task" because it's quick and convinent and gives me a short burst of the will to live.

That isn't to say that I'm not going to eat things that I enjoy.  I will just eat them when I am actually hungry, along with combining it with lots of fruits and veggies.

So, what's your thing?

Oh, and yesterday in the temple I informed Drew that he was going to accompany me on this weight loss journey.  He wasn't particularly amused.  When he asked me how we were going to accomplish such a monumental task, I said "suffering"... perhaps we can chat further about my big plans. :)

It's Just Not Working

It seems like I always have a stress to account for the reason I can't lose weight, or as to why I am {gasp} GAINING weight.  I had a baby, Drew's job is iffy, I have a hang nail. 

I did it before, I can do it again.

But I have to do it with support.

I need it ladies, I need it from my husband, and my friends.  It's so inspirational to see people who are losing weight by doing the right things.  Move more, eat less.

If you'd like to contribute to the blog, we'd be happy to have you.  Tips, successes, failures.  It can help just to stay focused on what we really want.  And what I really want is to be able to stop shopping at Layne Bryant and be able to wear clothing that doesn't have animal print or snowmen on it.
That's all I want.

I don't want to be a supermodel, I just want to shop at regular store with regular clothes. 

I want you to want that too, or even if you want to be a supermodel, that's fine.  I'll just hate you when you reach your goal. :)  K?