Ready, Steady, Go! Getting started with your weight loss journey...

Motivation is defined, according to m-w.com, as "a motivating force, stimulus, or influence : INCENTIVE, DRIVE." We also know it as ambition, inspiration, encouragement, desire, or even the catalyst to our goals. I'm going to be talking a lot about motivation, as it happens to be one of the most key words in weight loss, whether you have a few pounds to lose or a hundred (the latter being my case).

Now, think hard - what is your motivation? Are you doing this mainly for the health benefits? Do you have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, or do you just want to feel better? Is it because you're unhappy with how you look?

I know what my own motivation is: I'm borderline diabetic, I'm tired of not fitting into the clothes I like, and I really want to do some sexy cosplays. I've been overweight since I was a youngling and I've had self image issues for most of my life. Some motivation isn't as healthy for you, psychologically (and sometimes physically), as other motivation can be. Keep this in mind, because I've found it to be a very important factor. I think the difference between my motivation in high school and my motivation now is that I finally realized all of my problems won't be solved when I drop my weight.

If you want to lose weight because your boyfriend told you that you're fat, then alarms should be going off. It's important to feel secure about your motivation before beginning and to perhaps consult a doctor or a personal trainer. Don't do this for anyone else; this is something you do for yourself and not some jerk who thinks you're not worth their time because they can't wrap their hands around your waist. The same thing goes for guys, too. Not all girls find muscle heads attractive and you don't need to work out to be more macho. If you let other people - girlfriends, boyfriends, family members, friends - tell you how to live your life, then you're going to be unhappy even if you lose the weight. Don't starve yourself for someone's approval, because in the end, self-confidence begins in you... not in anyone else. So begin with your motivation; find a reason to do it for yourself and you'll find that you're feeling more confident already, even if it's just a little.

Now that we have our motivation, let's move on...

Getting a "before" picture is a great way to motivate yourself. Dig up a recent picture of yourself or take one with your camera phone, web cam, or camera. Put it somewhere easily accessible - maybe even somewhere visible. Weigh yourself. Take your measurements (chest, waist, hips, arms, neck, legs, and whatever else you want). Write this all down somewhere, along with your dress size, shirt size, pants size, etc. Make a journal out of this, if you'd like, and make sure you keep track of all of this throughout your weight loss. This is a wonderful way to encourage yourself to start and if you keep track of it, it will help push you forward.

Here's my "before" pictures:

I will definitely be updating pictures from time to time, along with my measurements (which I will give everyone next time when I get around a scale and tape measure). I know two weeks ago when I weighed myself I weighed 261lbs. More to come on that.

Motivating yourself to actually get up and go is one of the hardest parts of anything - term papers, small businesses, cleaning your room - but the most essential part of the process (obviously). Many people seem to sweep the importance of motivating yourself under the rug. Personal experience has taught me that telling yourself "I'll start tomorrow" or "this is my last fatty meal" is only going to hurt you in the long run. Why not start now? Just take baby steps! I'll give you a three-step method to moving into a diet.

1. Stop drinking so much soda!

Soda is one of the most major causes of obesity in the U. S. It has so much sodium and carbs that your body can't help but retain weight. I'm not saying never drink it again, but if you start holding back on the sodas, you'll immediately start to notice a difference. Trust me. If you're an avid soda drinker, or even juice (because a lot of juices are just as bad for you as soda is), say, drinking it with every meal... start cutting it back to once a day for the first week. Reduce it little by little every week. If you have it down to once a day, try once every other day. I would say a good goal is to work up to maybe two or three times a week. You're welcome to cut it out completely right now if you'd like, but if that doesn't sound appealing, then try it slowly. Also, while I don't recommend diet sodas, they're a decent alternative. They don't taste quite as good as the real thing, but it'll help stave off your cravings. If you're a juice drinker, invest in some Crystal Light. It's only five calories for a glass and most of the flavors are really delicious. They've come a long way in some diet foods since I started dieting back in high school. This leads me to my next dieting jump start...

2. Drink plenty of water.

The last thing you want to make sure you do is to drink plenty of water. I will stress again, DRINK WATER. I know so many people who "hate" water. How can you hate water? You need it to live. Most Americans don't drink enough water these days. Did you know that doctors recommend drinking eight 8oz glasses of water a day? That's for a healthy human being. If you're overweight and dieting they recommend drinking more like nine or ten glasses. People like to argue and say that if you drink a lot of water, you'll retain "water weight," but if you're eating a healthy diet, you won't retain that water weight. Water helps flush sodium out of your system. Too much sodium in your system will actually hold what little water you do drink in your body and also help hold on to fat. Also, if you're exercising a lot, you need to replenish the water that you've been losing through sweat.

3. Start moving more.

Even if you don't join a gym immediately, you need to get up and start moving. Americans are so used to instant gratification and driving themselves everywhere; this is another one of the main reasons I believe obesity rates in the U. S. have skyrocketed. If it's nice outside, go for a thirty minute walk. Do you enjoy bike riding? Get yourself a bike and take it out at least five times a week. Do you have Netflix? Search up exercise videos in the watch instantly section and you'll be surprised what you find: zumba, belly dancing, yoga... It's pretty much a goldmine for exercise videos. You need to get your heart rate up for thirty whole minutes if you're going to start burning fat. The very best method for exercise is coupling weight training and cardio, but for now, just get yourself moving for thirty minutes, three to five times a week or more.

So that's about it for now. Next week I'll be talking about finding a diet plan, food journals, good recipes to start out with, and my own measurements.

Ciao,
Steph