Trying to Lose 20 pounds (I blame my husband!)

Hi Laurie,
I was at my best weight 6 years ago when I got married. After 2 years, eating to keep up with my husband (big mistake!) I gained 20 pounds. It's been very hard to take the weight off. I'm 28 years old, 5'5" and 150 pounds. I actually lost 5 pounds over the past year walking 3 miles a day and keeping my calorie intake to 1600-1700 a day. I do have a drink or two (alcoholic) a day, but I include that in my calorie intake. I had a good report at my check-up last month and my weight isn't at a very unhealthy point, but I would feel a lot better to get back to 125#. Any advice?    Tina R.

Hi Tina,

Well, you are in the same boat as a whole lot of people. 
The fact that you've lost 5 pounds over the past year is quite good news! Keep it up, and you'll be at your goal in another 5. I'm sure you want to lose more quickly than that, but in order to lose faster you'll have to make some changes.

1) Seriously consider cutting out the alcoholic beverages, or limiting as much as you can (a drink or two a week?) Each drink has at least 100 calories (and some can have 300 or 400 depending on the size and ingredients).  For every 100 calories you cut out of your diet (and by cutting out these drinks you are making no nutritional compromises) you can lose a pound each month. Cut out 200 a day, lose 2 pounds a month. The question you'll have to answer each day is, "Do you want a drink to make you happy for an hour? Or would you rather weigh 125 pounds and be happier 24/7?"

2) Consider walking farther or faster. Or finding some additional exercise. Can you join a gym and try out some fun classes? Zumba, spinning, step and kettle bells all have their fanatic followers. If a gym is not in your budget you can find a DVD and work out at home very inexpensively.

3) Keep a food diary. Write down everything you eat, shortly after you eat (or drink). We often forget a few hundred extra calories here and there. Some great websites to help you do this are FitDay, SparkPeople, TheDailyPlate.com and LoseIt (which also has a phone app). Enter your food intake and these programs track your daily calories, subtract from the total when you enter exercise, graph your weight loss, and let you buddy up and chat with others going through the same thing.

4) Think about joining my Lifechanging! Weight Loss series starting late 2012). We meet by telephone (think virtual conference room) and follow along with the Beck Diet Solution workbook for 8 weeks. Here's the registration and information page  http://www.mycoachlaurie.com/register_for_life-changing_weight_loss_series .

Do some serious thinking on this: You'll have to make a commitment to make some changes (even slight ones) if you want to see changes on the scale.

I would just like to lose 10 pounds

Hi, I feel a little funny writing because I only want to lose 10 pounds. It's not even a matter of health. I just know I would feel better if I were 10 pounds lighter. I'm a 41 year old female, 5'4" weighing 140 pounds. I just want to get back to where I was a few years ago. I don't know what changed--I can't think of anything--and I am so frustrated I don't know where to start. Can you just point me in the right direction. It's so confusing hearing about all the diets I'm not sure what would work. I don't really think a diet is the right answer. Cynthia F.

Hi Cynthia,
It's quite common to put on a few pounds over several years and not even realize it. Keep in mind that by changing just 20 calories a day--that's right, just 20!--you can gain two pounds a year. So it's not even noticeable...until a few years later when you're up 8 or 10 pounds. Now the clothes are getting tight--now it's serious!
So how do you lose it? The same way you gained it. Only, hopefully a bit quicker!

Take a look at some small things that may have changed in your lifestyle: Did you pick up a habit like having a creamy latte at your Monday meetings or an ice cream or alcoholic beverage after work on Fridays? Did you stop taking 2 flights of stairs because you changed jobs or moved from where you used to live? Have you slacked on your exercise routine because you're dating someone new? Or started eating out more than you used to (it's terribly difficult to watch calories when you don't know what's in that dish you ordered).

Even if you can't figure it out, it's easy to find a way to cut 100 calories from your diet and lose that 10 pounds over a year. Want to lose it quicker? Lose another 100 or so from sweets and added fats, and add a 100-calorie burning exercise, like just a 20-minute walk in the evening.

My best advice is always to keep a food and exercise diary. There are a lot of websites that make this easy, or you can do it the old-fashioned way (I do) with just a pencil and paper. Writing down what you eat makes you think about it and acknowledge it. Knowing that cinnamon roll could stand between you and that pound you want to lose this month may just be all the motivation you need to say no!

Think about having a buddy to partner with, or even a coach to get you started and staying on track (www.mycoachlaurie.com has a list of products and services). A lot of the websites keep you motivated by letting you link to other buddies, and award you token 'prizes' for staying the course.

Whatever you choose be sure it's the right way for you--it shouldn't be too complicated or rigid, and should eventually become a healthy habit, so you'll never find yourself in this situation again :)