That's Fit

Whether you've got 10, 20 or 100 lbs to shed, weight loss is hard. Taking Off Ten is about the journey to lose 10 lbs -- there's more to it than you think!

The concept of losing 10 lbs is simple--just eat healthy and exercise, right? Well, I already do these things. I read articles and magazines that promise if I cut our soda, I'll lose 10 lbs effortlessly--but I hardly ever drink soda so that won't work. Switch from white bread and pasta to whole wheat? Did that years ago. Rid my kitchen of potato chips? I don't even like potato chips. Take a walk three time a week? I take a run three times a week--minimum. So what gives?

Finally figuring out what would work for me involved a lot of self-reflection--I had to be brutally honest with myself to figure out why it was so hard for me to lose a small amount of weight. At the end of the day, losing weight is about burning off what you eat ... and then some. And if was truly a healthy eater, I wouldn't be lugging around an additional 10 lbs. Something's off here. I even asked my doctor to check my thyroid levels and was dismayed when they appeared to be completely normal.
So after a while, it occurred to me that while I was eating healthy, I was eating too much healthy stuff. My portions were too big. For example, a serving of chicken for me was the whole breast, when ideally, it should only be half a breast. A serving of whole wheat pasta would take up half my plate, when it should only take up a quarter. And my mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks were great at keeping my metabolism going, but if I'm still eating three big meals a day, I shouldn't be snacking too. I was under-estimating my calories.
Another problem? I like to treat myself on special occasions. Which is fine, except I have to re-work my definition of a special occasion. Just because it's Friday/the first of the month/my third cousin's birthday, it does not make it a special occasion worthy of blatant gluttony. I'm just not blessed with a high enough metabolism to do that.

Coming to these realizations was a difficult--but necessary--step in taking control of my weight. If, like me, you're scratching you're head trying to figure out what you're doing wrong when you seem to be following all the rules, I suggest you have a long, honest sit-down with yourself to figure out what you're doing wrong. Because unless you have a medical condition, you probably are.