One of the accomplishments of this year for me was finally reaching a goal weight. (I actually couldn't tell you the number, but I know it because of my clothing sizes). While I've never been exceedingly overweight, I always carried a few extra pounds, which my pediatrician would always comment on (rather rudely). At one point, I even had a nurse (at the same physician's office) tell me that she was anorexic for a little while and that it helped her drop the pounds without any side effects! (She should be fired for implicitly telling a pre-teen girl that anorexia is the way to go). It also didn't help that I grew up in a very health-conscious family that routinely thought it useful to drag eight-year-old me on 30 mile bike rides! No wonder I would wake up in the middle of the night with excruciating leg pain! Hence, my abhorrence of any physical activity that is not explicitly FUN.Needless to say, because my family is obsessed with eating healthy (a family member of mine goes to weight watchers so that she doesn't gain more than five pounds --whereas most of the people there have 20, 30, or more lbs to lose and most likely find her presence obnoxious and insulting!) I have always been trying to find equilibrium in this area of my life and lose the last 10-15 lbs that put me into the "slightly overweight" category.
I joined weight watchers last year and learned a lot about healthy eating from it. (I highly recommend using their online program - it is a great way to keep track of what you're eating! and if anything, it will help you realize that you aren't nutritionally balanced.) http://www.weightwatchers.com/plan/www/online_01.aspx?navid=onlineaag
Their plan works (I lost around 10lbs) and is followable, but it is not easy! That plan was ultimately not sustainable for me (i.e. I was a grad student on a budget - meaning: my diet consists regularly of pizza and beer and I don't always have time to enter that information (or want to) into the system and I didn't want to pay to keep up my membership).
Eventually, I came up with my own plan that combined elements of Weight Watchers and things I learned from the book "French Women Don't Get Fat" (http://frenchwomendontgetfat.com/) which was both enjoyable and successful for me. The key thing for me was creating a plan that was enjoyable and thus sustainable. I came to realize that any plan that makes you feel deprived is NOT sustainable. Healthy eating should not be a chore, but should be enjoyable!
Rachel's Weight Loss Tricks to follow!
