Maintaining the Weight

I've been blogging about some of the tricks I've used to lose weight. But what I have done to maintain the weight? I exercise 6 days a week for about 30-80 minutes a day. It depends on my energy levels. Sometimes I'll go for an hour long walk other times I'll go for a 20 minute jog. I try to stay active and move my body whenever I can (I make sure to fidget often). There are times when I just don't feel like doing anything, so I don't. And that's okay. The key is not to skip too many days because if you decide to skip a week it'll be easy to skip another week and then another and another. So skip a day or two and then get back to your routine.
I also watch what I eat. I don't deprive myself of my favorite foods. As a matter of fact, there have been times when I overdo it. We're all human and I think we are allowed to splurge every once in a while. I just make sure not to do it every day.
I have managed to keep off the weight just by exercising and eating right. It is hard and there have been times when I feel like giving up and just going to the fridge and eating everything in sight. But then I see my fat picture next to my skinny picture and I remember how big I used to be. I remember how awful I felt about myself. I remember being so tired all the time. I remember the rude comments from friends, family, and strangers. I remember that I didn't like being fat, and I remember how much I hated myself for allowing myself to get so big. And that's what keeps me going.
This past year, I was given the opportunity to join a health blog. An old high school friend of mine and her cousin and their friend started this group and I was invited to join. This has been the most wonderful experience for me. I've learned so much about myself and my eating habits. I am able to go back and see what needs to be changed. The best part of it all is I have a group of girls who are there to motivate me and inspire me. I hope I have done the same for them.

If you have the time, please stop by my blog and read my story. I start off by telling why and how I lost the weight. After that I start keeping a food journal. I counted calories for a while but realized (just recently) counting calories wasn't working for me. All I really need to know is what I am eating, how much am I eating, and what was I doing or feeling at the time. So my recent posts have a little more dialogue about my life and my battle to beat the bulge.


I am so much happier looking like this:


than looking like this: