Essential Weight Loss Tips to Keep You Fit & Healthy!

At the beginning of each New Year, millions of men and women make ambitious weight loss resolutions and start the month of January committed to spending the next 365 days getting healthy and fit.

Show of hands: How many of you either don’t know where to start or have already thrown in the towel?

I struggled with weight my whole life and every year, my New Year’s resolution included losing weight. That is, until 2012 when everything came into focus for me.

After suffering from stage IV endometriosis and polycystic ovarian syndrome for years, I was finally approved for a hysterectomy in January 2012. While recuperating, I found the documentary “Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead” on Netflix and as soon as it ended, I immediately started it over and watched it with my husband.

Joe’s story was amazing and the results shown in the documentary were amazing. It lit a fire in me, I wanted to jump right in. I sent John out to pick up a Breville, started cataloging recipes to start with, and I was completely committed to juicing for at least 40 days!!

Well, it lasted about 9 days, 6 if we’re being honest, but it did do something amazing: juicing broke my addiction to carbohydrates and somehow, gave me a craving for whole fresh foods.

That was enough to get me started and I finally stayed on track, ultimately hitting my goal weight. After spending the better part of my adult life feeling bad about my weight, I had successfully gone from 219 to 125 pounds and even became a 5K marathon runner!

Naturally, a lot of friends started asking me, “How did you lose it?!” While I sincerely want to help anybody looking for advice, it’s not an easy question to answer because I didn’t just do one thing. What finally got my weight and health under control were many changes, all helping my body transform itself.

In the interest of helping others with their New Year’s resolutions, not to mention my friend Mickey who’s been begging me to write this blog for months now, I’ve put together my weight loss wrap-up – sharing the things I did, and continue to do, to help me stay fit.

Not everyone is the same, of course – but these tips are just a good, healthy habits that could work for you, too.

Juicing For me, this was the reboot my body needed to get started into a healthier lifestyle. I still juice for 2-3 days at least three times a year and love my new juicer! My favorites are Mean Green, Apple Beet Carrot, and Fennel Pear – so good! Admittedly, juicing is a big commitment, but there are options. If you don’t want to stick hundreds into a juicer, or if shopping for fruits and veggies every other day is not possible, you can order fresh juices online. Companies like PUR Cold Pressed offer juices, wellness shots, cleanses, detoxes, and more.
Water Trust me: this is your best friend! Studies say you should drink half of your body weight in ounces of water each day. Drinking water can boost metabolism by 24-30% over a period of 1 to 1 1/2 hours. In fact, one study showed that drinking a half liter (17 ounces) of water half an hour before meals helped dieters eat fewer calories and lose 44% more weight! Plus it does wonders for your skin and digestion and helps you think more clearly. Drink. More. Water.
Eat Fresh An added benefit of kicking off your weight loss by juicing is that it actually makes you crave fresh foods. Instead of sitting down to scarf a whole box of CheezIts, I found myself wanting to snack on oranges, apples, celery, carrots, and bananas. PRO TIP: shop around the outside of your grocery store; only enter aisles for spices, coffee, tea, and frozen fruits and veggies that may be out of season.
Go Low-Carb I started out on the Atkins diet because it was easy to follow until I graduated to the Sonoma Diet, then Keto, and finally settled into my current low-carb lifestyle. You don’t have to go full carnivore, but with all the low-carb options on most store shelves, it’s easy to stick to. BONUS: many predictors of heart disease have been improved by switching to a low-carb diet, too!
Smaller Plates This one might sound funny, but it seriously works. I started using smaller plates and bowls to trick myself into feeling like I’m eating more food than I really am!
Keep Your Options Open I clean, prep, and cut all my fruits and veggies right when I get home from the grocery store to make sure I always have healthy options ready if (when) I get hungry. I also keep LÄRABARS, almonds, delicious chocolate peanut butter pretzel Atkins bars, and dried fruits in my purses and in my car. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been able to avoid unhealthy food choices thanks to a quick, healthy ‘safety snack’ within my reach.
Log It If you want to track it, you know there’s an app for it! I’ve used MyFitnessPal, Lifesum, and Zero, but you can use whatever weight loss journal works for you. I appreciate being able to add recipes in the app to make logging easy, scan bar codes, create meals, and the ability to connect to other apps as well.
Move At the beginning of my journey, I decided I was going to start walking 3.5 miles a day. I have no idea how or why I came up with that number, but I set it as the minimum activity I would complete each day. Sometimes it was broken up between three separate trips to the treadmill, sometimes it was all at once on the nature trail and far beyond my minimum goal – but every day, I logged 3.5 miles faithfully. The important thing is that you make a commitment to exercise daily.
Accept That You Will Fail It’s going to happen. You’re going to have a bad day and completely fall off the wagon. The sooner you can accept that fact, the sooner you can make peace with it, and move past it. I say, “Well, I guess today is my eating day!” and just make sure I get up the next day to hit it even harder. There’s nothing wrong with having a day off from your diet, as long as you don’t let it suck you back into your old habits for good.
Hide Your Scale When I was in the throes of my weight loss journey, I refused to weigh in! I went solely on how I felt and how my clothes fit. It made weighing in every month on the 15th a little surprise and it was that much more rewarding to log my weight and watch the line on my weight loss chart continue to plummet downward. That being said, I did buy a smart scale which gave me great insight into my progress but I also limited weigh-ins to just once a month.
Lift Weights Nobody wants to lose weight to look like a skeleton. Lifting weights or resistance band training will help that! Studies show that weight-lifting can help keep your metabolism high and prevent you from losing precious muscle mass. Plus: Strong is the new sexy.
Whey Protein Powders After a good workout, I love to make all kinds of protein-packed shakes and smoothies! Whey protein powders come in so many flavors and the recipes for what you can do with them are out of this world yummy. My favorite is a chocolate peanut butter banana shake with flax seeds, but the best go-to shake is one that is simple and delicious. One scoop of Orgain Organic Vegan Protein + 50 Superfoods Powder plus 8 oz Vanilla Almond Milk – shake it up, add two ice cubes, and head off to the showers, tough gal! Follow my Pinterest board for more advanced recipes.
Don’t Drink Your Calories Make sure your calories are coming from whole, fresh foods and NOT nutrient-empty drinks. No soda, lemonade, beer, or fruit juices. If you really need some flavor, try fruit-infused or cucumber water.
Go Mediterranean The second leg of my journey incorporated The Sonoma Diet. I’d be lying if I said I started it for any other reason than the recipes, but the health and weight loss benefits were a bonus. Not only are they unbelievably delicious, but they incorporate leftovers into the next day’s lunch! Roasted Eggplant Salad with Tandoori Chicken and the Horseradish Pork Wrap will change your life and your waistline. An investment in these books is one you won’t regret; this isn’t fad dieting, this is fine (healthy) dining.
Put Your Leftovers Away This one is so simple but really smart. Before I serve dinner, I set aside a portion of the meal for the next day’s lunch. If I don’t do this, I (and my hubby) tend to overeat. It’s a part of adhering to portion control and a great tip to avoid overeating.
Pack Your Recipe Arsenal Always be sure you have a steady plethora of quick recipes (and ingredients) on hand for a healthy meal! We’ve all been there, a missed trip to the grocery store or bad weather, or just being lazy, and you find yourself staring at not-so-healthy packaged foods or the kid’s mac & cheese calling your name from the pot. I keep cans of healthy soups and cans of tuna in the pantry at all times for just such occasions.
Intermittent Fasting According to a recent study, only 6.8% of Americans are in good metabolic health. One of the best tools I continue to use is the app Zero to help me stick to a healthy break from food in to reset my gut and improve metabolic health! Fasting a ctivates energy production pathways that allow your body to respond favorably to a variety of fuels, like fat and ketones. When your cells have sufficient energy, they can function more optimally, contribute to your overall health, and even diminish the effects of aging.
Brush Your Teeth Don’t laugh, but I brush and floss my teeth, then rinse with Listerine after I eat dinner. Think of this as the orange juice-after-tooth-brushing diet tip. It’s an effective tool to keep late night snacking at bay and you’ll get a healthier smile to boot!
Coffee or Tea? Coffee is loaded with antioxidants, boasting several health benefits (when consumed without sugar or empty calorie creamers, of course!). Green tea is also loaded with powerful antioxidants called catechins, which are also believed to work hand-in-hand with the caffeine to enhance fat burning. I love a hot cup of Mint Medley tea after a big meal, delicious Raspberry Zinger with a slice of lemon during the day, and Sweet Dreams tea at the end of a stressful day. Drinking hot tea also helps to keep you feeling fuller longer. Grab your favorite teacup and put the kettle on, tea is ready to warm you on your journey.
Set Smarter Goals Aside from committing to a healthy BMI, make goals that will reflect what you’re trying to achieve. I wanted to fit back into my size 8 flat front tuxedo shorts, have toned arms for tank tops, be able to run a mile without dying, and look good in a bikini. I not only met but exceeded my goals partly because they were a general place I wanted to be in, not a rigid marker. I allowed my body to tell me when I was succeeding.
Do NOT Ignore Cravings! This is a big one. If I feel like eating nachos and I ignore the craving all day long, I find myself eventually (over) eating a big plate of fatty nachos at some point that night. However, if I satiate that craving at lunch by making nachos using blue corn chips, shredded chicken, beef, or pork, diced tomatoes, jalapeños, and low-fat cheese, then I’m not denying myself and I’m making healthier choices! Give into cravings, but do it when it hits, not hours after you try to resist it.
Accountabilibuddies Your friends don’t let you get away with very much and if they’re anything like mine, they just love to call you out on your crap. That’s why enlisting the help of an accountabilibuddy (or two, or three, or more) can make a huge difference in how successful you are at losing weight and getting healthy! With today’s technology, there’s no shortage of options for how to do it, either. You can connect on MyFitnessPal, cheer (and taunt) each other on FitBit, challenge a friend on Apple Watch, create a group chat on Facebook, find a community on Google+, or even just a group text with friends that can help hold you accountable. Plus, it keeps you connected with friends and it’s just good fun!

So there you go! All these things combined to get me from 219 in May 2012 to 140 by May 2014.

I continued to follow these tips and incorporated running 5K marathons to ultimately get down to 127 by May of 2015, but brought myself back up to 135 when I saw that weight wasn’t flattering on my frame. I like curves and want to be strong, and show lean muscle, not frailty and bones.

Before Pinterest was a ‘thing’, I made a weight loss/exercise binder that I kept tear-outs from various magazines. Exercises, workouts, tips, and tricks – this thing was my workout bible. On the cover, I have a Nike ad about “thunder thighs”. My nickname in school was ‘horsepower’ because of my thick Belgian thighs and the damage they inflicted on the kickball field. I always hated my big trunk legs until they were strong, toned vessels which carried me across the finish line of the Sole Burner 5K in honor of so many loved ones who are battling and that I have lost to cancer. My initial goal of ‘being able to run a mile without dying’ was shattered in mile 3.09 of that race as I crossed the finish line with tears streaming down my face.

In that moment I knew; I had arrived at my destination and life was good.

My two cents: Weight loss is a personal journey and one that can be a difficult uphill battle for women. You are your own worst enemy, but that means you’re also your own biggest champion. Set a realistic goal. Follow these steps. Enlist your friends to hold you accountable. Realize that this is a journey toward healthy not skinny, and remember: slow and steady wins the race.

…and you ROCK those thunder thighs, ladies!!