the "w" word

For girls, the subject of weight loss is huge. (No pun intended.) We never seem to feel satisfied with our bodies, no matter what. I've tried to stay away from the subject of weight loss because people always get a condescending tone with me and ask me why I'd want to lose weight, because I'm "healthy." I've been insecure about my body for quite some time but I avoided that by simply not looking at it. When I started this blog, however, things changed and I started using pictures of myself. It became quite a problem! I'm not going to disclose my weight here (sorry to those who may be a little "nosey") but I will say that in the past few months I've lost almost 20 pounds, and even better than that, I feel great. You know better than anyone would about how you feel. I've always been average, never thin, always a tiny bit cubby. I'm losing weight because I want to actually like the way that my clothes lay on me instead of trying to hide things. If you're losing weight because you want to be "skinny" stop right here and try to assess your priorities. With eating disorders so prevalent, you don't want to fall into the trap of "not beautiful enough." Before you begin your quest to lose weight, you need to learn to love your body the way it is. Once you can do that, here are some of my personal weight loss tips:

1. Lots of water. If you're trying to lose weight and you're not constantly peeing, you're doing something wrong. The rule of thumb that I always heard was to take your body weight, divide it by two, and that's how many ounces of water you should be drinking every day. Try to stay away from other drinks like soda and such, they put on more calories quicker than you know! To keep it interesting, try making some fruit-infused water. If you must, try drinking your coffee black (my favorite) or your tea without garnishes. 

2. Accountability. Find someone to hold you accountable. CJ does this for me! He makes sure that I'm not only adhering to my diet but he also makes sure that I'm not taking it TOO hard. He makes sure that I'm not talking down on myself and he always has nice positive things to say to me.

3. Eat your greens! Even if you're not following a vegan diet like I am, greens are extremely low in calories and high in nutrients and a make great snack!

4. Technology can be so helpful. I've been using an iPhone app called "LoseIt!" It's been extremely helpful! It keeps track of your calories and exercises. You can set goals to lose or maintain weight, it's like a game! A lot of brides that I work with use it to slim down for their special days. It REALLY works.

The last thing that I can say is to make sure that you're getting the proper nutrients. DON'T starve yourself. Know what your body can handle. Read up on nutrition so that you don't deprive your body of important vitamins, which can be more damaging than anything in the long-run. Stay safe, stay healthy.

xo, e.m.