Maintenance - I thought we'd never meet!

In all my years of battling my weight, I never thought I'd have a need to learn how to maintain my weight. I've always been either losing... or gaining.... or losing.... or gaining. In fact, people would say to me, "Losing it is easy, keeping it off is a whole other story." Their words went in one ear and out the other, because I believed in my heart I'd never lose all the weight I needed to lose; therefore I'd never need to maintain. So much for positive thinking!

Well guess what.... maintenance and I have met.... and we're getting along quite nicely! Yes, I went through a couple of weeks of pushing the limit with my eating. Just like our children, I wanted to test the waters to see just how much I could eat without getting in trouble. I gained four pounds during that "trial period" and just as a child, I learned the lesson from my consequences!

Those four pounds gained are long gone and I feel as though I've found my groove! I would disagree that maintaining is harder than losing. Every single day of my life I am sooooo thankful for the 86 lbs I've lost! I do not lose sight of the hard work it took to lose that weight. I let that fuel me to make good choices every day! The cool thing is that I can still have my Dew. I can still have my Panera Bagels. I just continue to do so in moderation. I still eat only when I'm hungry and I still play the game of "how much can I leave on my plate!"

A lifestyle change is the only way to experience long term freedom from the bondage of food!!! I've had people ask me, "How did you do it?" as if it I could sum it up with one word. I did it by following through with alllll the tips I've shared in my blog. All of them together lead to my breakthrough!!! And it's the continuing practice of those tips that keeps the weight off!!!!

Every bit of sacrifice is worth it my friends - every bit!!! I have never felt so great in my entire life! Thanks to my weekly personal training sessions I've done for the past four months, I have muscles in places I didn't know muscles existed!! I have seen myself move into smaller size clothing, even though the number on the scale is not decreasing. This lifestyle change is one of the best decisions I've ever committed to in my life!

Tip #20: Fuel your mind, first!!!

I'm to the point now where I've pretty much met my weight loss goals and I'm ready to maintain. Well let me just tell you that maintaining is a whole new mindset. I've always been big on goals... easily measurable goals. Well... when your goal is to maintain... and that scale stops moving - something just doesn't seem right. It didn't SEEM like I was accomplishing anything anymore.

Add that to an extremely challenging week last week - the most challenging I've had in over a year since I began my journey. I felt like my life was very out of balance and I found myself turning to food for comfort - just like I had for the previous 20 years of my life! It's VERY scary to think that after all the work I've done to lose this weight, I could so easily slip into my old ways!

I took my own advice and confessed to Josh four days into the week. He gave me a pep talk, but it didn't help. The day next four days I continued to turn to food for comfort. I was MISERABLE! I had flashes of my "old life". I was scared to death that I would give up like I used to......

I had such an urgency in my heart to ask God for mental strength and stability! Last week, I was reminded of the importance of having a strong mind!!! My mind was so weak that when I went to my aerobics class I literally felt like I couldn't make it through one song. It wasn't because my body was weak... I had been faithful in my personal training and aerobics classes for months.... but my mind was weak. That experience showed me that I MUST MUST MUST feed and fuel my mind with God's Truth, inspiration, with positive music, books, media, with positive and encouraging people, with anything I can get my hands on that will strengthen my mind. We must guard our minds as if we were guarding the lives of our loved ones from the evil one!

I'm happy to report I am 100% back on track and feeling stronger than ever. It's as if last week never happened... but it did.... and I'm GLAD it did. It reminded me the need to fuel my mind FIRST, then fuel my body! I know with everything in me that my life depends on it!

Tip #19: The truth will set you free!

I used to think that when I "slipped" and overate that I had blown the entire week. I honestly in my heart of hearts thought I had blown it by making one wrong splurge. That is soooooo far from the truth! We all splurge, we all slip, we all make wrong food choices and we always will! But one slip doesn't mean that all the hard work you've done is for nothing. On the contrary, all of your hard work has made it so a slip here and there is NO BIG DEAL!!!

Here is the catch.... start over A.S.A.P!!!!! Do not allow yourself to tailspin out of control. I'm sure most of you know exactly what I'm talking about when I say "tailspin." It's that mindset day after day after day that says, "I blew it again... and again.. .and again... oh well.. oh well.. oh well!" A gain of 2 lbs turns into 5 turns into 10 turns into 30 turns into 50.

The key is to stop the tailspin before it even gets started. We all need to find out how we can stop our tailspin. I can just tell you what stops mine.... and that's confession. Yep... confessing to Josh in particular of the condition of my heart with regards to where I'm at in the battle. The bible says the "truth will set you free" and I believe it wholeheartedly! By just confessing I'm taking a step towards FREEDOM!!!! When we keep things secret... keep things in the dark - there is NO HOPE for freedom!!! This applies to MANY areas of life, food is just one.

It was a couple of months ago I had made a week's worth of "bad choices." I had gained four pounds. That is the most I have gained this past year. The "old me" would have kept that secret to myself many many months. And as a result I would have gained a tremendous amount of weight. What I've learned about myself is that I'm either pressing TOWARDS the goal of staying healthy or I'm binging myself back into darkness. It's all or nothing for me.

Once that week had passed, I knew I needed to confess the state of my heart. I didn't want to go down the dark road of bondage ever again. I am sooooooo glad I did confess this to Josh. He truly is a man after God's own heart... and he helped me sort through my crazy thoughts!! IMMEDIATELY, I was free!

Friends, you can choose to live in freedom too! Live in the truth, always!

The truth will set you free!

Tip #18: If you battle it, stand up and fight!

I am a food addict. If you haven't realized it yet, I don't struggle with 10-15 lbs creeping their way onto my body. Nope, I'm a full-fledged food-aholic. Food is my drug and has been ever since I can remember. It makes me happy when I'm sad. It makes me happier when I'm happy. I vividly remember all of my favorite food memories growing up. I remember getting rewarded with a DQ Blizzard after every orthodontist appointment. I remember getting a DQ Blizzard after every aerobics work out. I remember eating an entire bag of chips and container of dip after a day of detassling corn. Food made it all better for me.

Year after year after year of turning to food to make it all better put one 10, 15, 30, 50 extra pounds on my body.

In 2006, I had a goal to lose 50 lbs.

In 2007 I completely and totally threw my hands in the air and said, "I'M DONE FIGHTING THIS BATTLE."

Throughout the course of the following year after "giving up" - I gained another 40 lbs.

In December 2008, I had a goal to lose 90 lbs.

Guess what I've learned..... I will ALWAYS have a battle to fight with regards to my weight. Some of you may always have a battle to fight. That's the bad news.

Here's the good news. We CAN fight this battle and we CAN win this battle!!!!!! I had to decide whether I wanted to fight and win... or give up and lose. Either way the battle will always be there for me. There will always be two outcomes. I'm either losing and therefore gaining weight... or I'm winning and losing weight and getting fit and healthy.

I've accepted the fact that I will always have to fight this battle. Having lost 86 lbs I've realized that IT'S WORTH THE FIGHT!!!!!!

If you fight the same battles, take heart!! You CAN win the battle and believe me... every bit of fight is worth the end result of losing weight and keeping it off!!

So stand up and FIGHT!!!! You are worth it!!!

Tip #17: It WILL get easier.

The first several months of my weight loss journey were SUPER hard!!! So many hard choices to make going against my human nature of wanting to eat whatever I want whenever I want! Very little physical changes. Very few people notice any changes. Headaches from giving up or cutting back on caffinated drinks. Walking this road is HARD. Plain and simple. But I have good news for you!!! IT GETS EASIER!! Not easy, but easier!!!

Firstly, the more weight you lose the more you get to experience new and wonderful things such as shopping for clothes in a smaller size, compliments from family and friends, feeling more comfortable in clothes, enjoying exercise, etc. You will eventually experience all of these wonderful things. When you do, it is these very things that motivate you to press on down this path of lighter living.

Today, I needed to eat something on my way home from work before my training session. I stopped at the gas station which is a very dangerous place for me to stop. In my previous life, I used to stop by the gas station every single night on the way home from work and binge on Mountain Dew, ice cream bars, Jays BBQ potato chips, and candy bars. So you would think for me to step back in a gas station would be risky business. But guess what, I was not one bit tempted to binge out like I used to. I got a water and a travel pack of peanuts. That's it. I left that gas station with the biggest smile on my face.

It's getting easier!!!

Press on down this path. The payoffs are REMARKABLE and while it may always be a challenge to make the right food choices, it WILL get easier!!!!

Tip #16: The "IT" factor!

What is it that makes you say "No thank you" to the second helping of dessert?

What is it that makes you spend a grueling hour with a personal trainer after you've worked all day and spent 1 1/2 hours on the road?

What is it that makes you choose water over your favorite beverage?

What is it that makes you get up before work to exercise?

What is it for you?

My husband reminded me of mine this weekend. We went to church and then to Mancino's afterwards for lunch. I had a training session awaiting me after lunch. I said to Josh while eating (and really wanting to take a nap), "Why on earth did I schedule a training session on a Sunday afternoon." Josh says, without missing a beat, "Because you want to look good in your bathing suit this summer." He said it so matter of factly! Instantly my light bulb went off. I responded, "Oh yeah, that's right!" And along I went to training session.

What is "it" for you?

There HAS to be something. The "it factor" MUST exist or you will not make hard choices to eat different and exericse!!

The "it factor" changed for me throughout the course of the year. It started out as wanting to be a certain size for my daughter's birthday party. I ended up in the hospital that day for kidney stones, but hey I looked better at 40 lbs lighter! Then it was our trip to Kings Island and my desire to fit comfortably in the seats. Then it was the Blueberry Festival. Througout the months, the "it factor" may have been a certain shirt or outfit I've had my eye on.

Right now, the "it factor" is wanting to look better in a bathing suit. The crazy thing is..... I didn't think looking better in a bathing suit was ever possible. I'm learning that I MUST sacrifice now, to get what I want later!!

Identify the "it factor" for you.... and focus on that. Right it down, hang it up, leave yourself notes and pictures - whatever it takes to keep that somethin' somethin' at the forefront of your mind at all times. Doing this will make the world of difference. This I truly believe!

Tip #15: Don't fly solo!

Hold the phone. Did I not just say in "Tip #14" to FLY SOLO? I'm sure you're wondering why on earth I would now tell you to NOT fly solo!! Allow me to explain. In my previous tip, I encouraged you NOT to help others until YOU yourself have become stronger in your journey. There is one person who can help you that will not zap you of the precious energy you NEED to stay on the path of lighter living. That person is Jesus Christ!

Personal true story. Eleven years ago, I was at an all time low with regards to constantly being defeated in this "battle of the bulge." I was literally out of control with my eating. I had tried everything. I was truly at my wits end. Like many people who have hit rock bottom in whatever area they struggle with in life, I cried out to God for help! I knew that overcoming this stronghold was going to take a power much bigger than myself. In March 1999, during a Walk to Emmaus weekend retreat, I experienced the love of Christ like never before!! I asked Him to come live in my heart and I asked Him to be Lord over my life! I surrendered my life, once and for all. I simply cannot explain the tranformation that immediately began to take place in my life.

At this point, you might be asking yourself, "Well, if Jesus began a transformation in you eleven years ago, why are you just now losing the weight." GOOD QUESTION! And honestly, I've asked myself this question for 10 years, "God, if my weight struggles is what brought me closer to You, why have I yet to overcome them?" To be truthful, throughout the past years- I heard only silence to that question. However, in looking back at this past year.... and in looking back over the ten years prior... I see that I had a lot to learn about Him and about myself.

God tells me in the bible that He WANTS to help carry my burdens. He tells me sin has no power over me. He says that His ways are higher than my ways. He reassures me that He will never leave me or forsake me. He tells me that He has great plans for me... plans to prosper me and not to harm me. He says that He works all things out for the good of those who love Him. But here's the deal. I HAVE TO BELIEVE WHAT HE IS TELLING ME!!!!! Until I believe it and claim it as truth in my heart and soul, God's power is powerless to me.

In December 2008, I decided to believe His words and apply them to my lifelong stronghold with my weight. And guess what happened..... my belief led me to take action.... and His power kicked in gear like I never knew was possible!! In 2009, I've had an INCREDIBLY stressful year with work challenges that have far exceeded anything I've faced before - as well as health challenges that rocked my world. God's strength came through for me in my time of weakness. That's how God works. When we surrender everything to Him and acknowledge that we can do all things through CHRIST who strengthens us.... THEN.... THEN we can overcome anything!!! ANYTHING!!!!

So beloved friends, don't fly solo - at least not completely solo. Jesus Christ loves you and He wants to help you every step of the way!!! I could not fight this battle by myself. I've tried for more years than I care to admit. I believe I'll always have a battle to fight because of my own personal struggles with food. Fighting the battle with God by my side is the only way I will have lifelong victory.

Don't fly solo!