My Realistic Weight Loss Journey

Hey! Who ordered all this loose skin? It took a little while but I started noticing how my skin was beginning to loosen up almost everywhere! My upper arms and my stomach are the worst! Yes, loose skin. I mean really loose skin. It gets looser the more I lose weight. All the exercise in the world is not gonna completely tighten up all that stretched out skin. As a matter of fact you probably won't notice much tightening at all! Well, I'm going to have to get used to all this extra skin because surgery simply isn't an option for me. I'm 60 years old and nobody has to be bothered with it but me and that's just fine. I've been big all my life. So my poor skin has been stretched for around 60 years. That's just not fair is it? The abuse we subject our bodies to because we love food and won't discipline ourselves. Overeating becomes a norm to us and we cause all kinds of medical issues. Many times we cause our own mental issues as well.  So now that we know b

Take your time, but hurry up! This is a line that someone I  knew loved to tell any and everyone! Running a little late? No, problem. Take your time, but hurry up. He'd use this line on every occasion it applied. It would catch people off guard and often after digesting what was said, they would chuckle. He was kidding but not really. It was his humorous  way of saying hurry up! It's time to go! When it comes to changing your lifestyle to live healthier, I say, take your time, but hurry up! Time is against us. There is no time to waste, so let your journey begin today. Not everyone who needs to change their diet to a healthy diet is overweight, obese or morbidly obese. But what you eat everyday is unhealthy. You have a diet full of sugar, fried foods, red meats, processed foods and so much more. You don't have a balance of fresh fruits or vegetables. Some of you don't eat fruits or vegetables at all. How could you possibly be healthy? You don't even drink water. You

My weight loss journey has been long and slow. I don't go to the gym. I do my own exercises. Sometimes in life things can become so overwhelming that exercise has to go to the bottom of my list. The  work I do 7 days a week, 12 hours a day is very demanding both mentally and physically. It's God that keeps me going. Even when I'm exhausted I know I can never give up and never quit!  My weight has come off slowly. The more weight I lose the harder it is to lose. For the longest time, I couldn't even see the weight loss. I still struggle with that everyday. I look in the mirror and I could swear I'm bigger than I was yesterday. I know it sounds ridiculous but the mind can play many tricks on us. I struggle to see how much smaller I am now than when I began this journey.  These days I'm thinking about putting myself in maintenance mode and giving myself an emotional break for a week or two. Maintenance mode is no intentional weight loss or weight gain. Just maintai

Bad Company. The Bible even warns us about keeping bad company.  3 3 Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.” 1 Corinthians 15:33   This also applies to your weight loss journey. What you need is support from those around you. You don't want to surround yourself with those who do not respect you or your new life choices. Pay attention to what people do and not necessarily what they say. Actions speak louder than words!  We all have people in our lives that make poor choices when it comes to food. So, we have to use wisdom in how we spend our time around these people. I wouldn't plan to go out to a meal with someone who will constantly consume foods that may be my weakness. Those who constantly encourage me to have a cheat day or consume foods that are not healthy, nor are these foods a part of my new diet choices. Some people will be offended by your new lifestyle and food choices. That is not a problem that you need to contend with, let them be. Why chase trouble?

I used to say that I was an emotional eater. Food is not a comforter. It does not relieve stress. It does not remove anxiety. Food cannot make you happy in life. Eating food in excess, however, will kill you! Yes, food can kill you. Excessive food intake means excessive pounds on your body. Excessive pounds can cause many health issues that can lead to an early death.  My Comforter is the Holy Spirit. I am a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. Food cannot offer me peace. If abused food can only offer me grief and suffering. We should all have the mindset to eat to live and not live to eat!  Unhealthy food choices can also cause many health issues. Daily intake of fast food, greasy fried foods, high in fat, red meats, pork,  sugary foods,  and desserts can also lead to many health issues as well. A healthy daily diet is important. Eating fresh fruits and vegetables contribute to a healthier you. A balanced diet is needed and necessary to help maintain a healthy lifestyle and a healthy yo

6 things you may not know about water Makes up about 60% of your body Keeps your skin healthy Supports the function of your cells and organs Regulates body temperature Boosts alertness and supports brain function Aids in digestion Drink plenty of water. I endeavor to drink more than 64 ounces of water daily. The more water I drink the better. I have to admit I do love water enhancers. I prefer liquid Crush Orange and Pineapple, but I also indulge in other flavors. I do use the enhancers in moderation. A nice lite flavor is good. A little flavor goes a long way! I don't drink pop or soda pop at all. There is no real nutritional value in soda pop. I don't drink sugary juices. I no longer drink coffee. I do like to make ice blended drinks using sugar free flavoring and unsweetened almond milk. Drinks that are yummy and refreshing, especially during the summer months. Using fresh fruits in these blended drinks is nice as well. I don't use sugar to sweeten my drinks. I use some

There have been days that I had to look at my daily diary and think, did I eat that? Many times, it's not the amount or portion size of what we eat but the value of the food we consume. You can have one slice of coconut cake. That's right one slice but that slice of cake is equivalent to a full meal in calories. You've already eaten a meal worth of calories for a dessert. These are not wise choices and can cause you to constantly go over your daily allotted calorie count.  Being hungry unnecessarily because you didn't say no to a piece of cake makes you realize pretty quickly that those aren't the food choices you want to make often. MyFitnessPal Application gives you the ability to input your personal statistics into the application. Allowing the proper calculation for calorie count and nutritional needs for you daily. One pound gain means that you consumed 3,500 calories more than your body needed. Yep! Take it one day at a time. Don't be too hard on yourself.

The Struggle is Real every single day.  You will feel tempted to make poor food choices. Somedays you will give in to the temptation. Remember, tomorrow is a new day. Start afresh and keep going. Never Give Up and Never Quit! I've had many unsuccessful days, but I refuse to throw away my many good days for the bad days. Forgive yourself, pat yourself on the back and focus on your weight loss journey. Yes, you will get tired of not being able to eat whatever you want to eat when you want to eat it. Eating that way is what has gotten you to the point you're at now and that's endeavoring to lose all those excess pounds you've piled on your body over the years. Living a gluttonous lifestyle in any way is a sin against God. When it comes to a gluttonous eating lifestyle, you're literally killing yourself with every excessive bite of food you take. We should eat to live and not live to eat.  Food is not a comforter but a means to provide our body with necessary nutrition

I started my journey counting calories. I still count calories via an application, MyFitnessPal ( Playstore Link ) and ( Appstore Link ). MyFitnessPal allows me to track all kinds of information about my nutrition and so much more. Check it out. Having the ability to know how many calories my body needs daily is crucial to me for my weight loss journey. Knowing that number helps me set the application for the appropriate weekly weight loss goal that I desire. Whether it be to maintain my current weight or lose 1/2 pound to 2 pounds per week. It also keeps track of my exercise calories I burn every day. This process of counting calories has helped me tremendously. Thanks to God I've been able to stay focused and lose well over 100 lbs. Eventually I'm going to step on the scale this year. I'm in no rush.  I was given a pair of size 18 jeans.  That's a pretty large size to many of you. However, when I started this journey, I'd been given a pair of size 26 jeans. When I

Weight Loss, and a Lifestyle Change are choices I made with determination. I had to decide to change my mind and eat healthier. I also have to eat less. I'm not looking for a magic pill or a surgeons knife to help me out of my lifetime of poor choices. I've been overweight my entire life. Chubby child, overweight adolescent, obese teenager and morbidly obese adult. I put every bite of food into my own mouth. I ate for pure enjoyment without the slightest thought about healthy food choices. So, I should also do what it takes to make the great change. Lose the weight, eat healthier and do a bit of exercise myself. I've decided that I'd like to share this Journey with anyone who is interested in reading about it. I'm not a professional writer, just someone who wants to share with others. I hope what I share is helpful. I am not at the beginning of my journey. I'd say that I'm about 5 years into the journey. My weight loss journey started with me deciding to cut