my golden 20ies

hi there virtual buddies,
there is something I'd like to share with you today:
I'm with PT since 7 months now and already lost 30lbs (13lbs to go) and I feel amazing!!! PT helped me so much!
During that time I made a lot of experiences and I'd like to share them with the PT community. Therefore I put together "my golden 20ies". Some of those tips might sound familiar to you as they are the same, PT tells us in the daily e-mails or videos. Others are just my personal things, I found benefits in.
Feel free to comment and add the things which did the trick for you!
cheers,
Sonja (oh-lilian)

1. Get some help!
I tried to lose weight and become fit for a long time, but after coming to PT everything fell into the right place all of a sudden. It's so crucial to have a lot of support on that weight loss journey and to know that you are not alone.

2. Just start, you can't lose!
No matter how much weight you have to lose, it can only get better. And everybody can make it. I have to lose 40lbs (26 done already), there are people out there, who have to lose 100lbs or more, so you can make it too.

3. Be honest with yourself and others!
I used to have some binging problems and I was honest about them with myself, when I started PT. But after I also was honest with my fiancé about it, I felt so much better. Now I can ask for his help whenever I feel tempted.

4. Take care of your soul and spirit!
While losing more and more weight I learned that I also have to take good care of my soul and spirit to make this journey a successful one. And I learned so much about myself during that time. It's all about bringing body, mind and spirit in balance. I do that with yoga and I started writing a diary.

5. Drink green tea!
It took me a while to cut out coffee and black tea completely, but after I did, I felt so much better! More energy and by the way doing something against free radicals!

6. Set some mini goals!
I had to lose 40lbs, that's a lot and it frightened me a bit at first. So I broke it down in monthly goals of 4lbs each month. It's much easier to stay focused then.

7. Get your thyroid checked!
A lot of people have problems with their thyroid, which can prevent you from losing weight. I have a chronic autoimmune thyroid disease and it took me ages to get on the right medication and get my body up and running enough to lose weight.

8. Don't worry about little beauty problems!
Whether it's cellulite or spider veins. I was so frustrated about these things all the time, that I didn't had the confidence to wear short skirts. But as you slim down and trim your body, these things get better. You'll have a totally new perception of your body and I started to pimp my legs with cellulite oil, massages and self tanning lotion.

9. Do some workout you really like!
It took me a while to understand that. I spend hours arguing with myself if I should go on that elliptical or not, because I hated it but it is known for tremendous fat burn. Only after changing my workout routine to things I like, it's easy for me to go to the gym 3 times a week and actually loving it. I could have never imagined that!

10. Look for a role model!
I don't talk about stalking or obsession. But it helped me a lot to have a role model to motivate me. My role model might be a bit unconventional, as he's male. It's Dave Gahan, the singer of the band Depeche Mode. He went through serious drug problems in the 90ies and came out alive on the other side. I can totally relate to his feelings and philosophy of life, when he talks about it in interviews. And you might be surprised how many parallels there are between drug addiction and weight problems.

11. Try vegetarian or vegan!
After I learned that a lot of people feel better when going vegetarian or even vegan, I thought it's worth to give it a try. And it's not as hard as you might think of, there are a lot of great veggie dishes out there!

12. Try warm breakfast!
My daily choice is oat porridge with banana and apple. Warm breakfast is common in big parts of the world and it keeps me full until noon and gives a lot of energy.

13. Get into a food routine!
When becoming vegan and eating the ETL way it helped me a lot to get into a kind of food routine. That means that I have the same breakfast each day, at lunch in the canteen I always have salad and veggies and for dinner I always choose some beans and spinach. That might sound a bit boring at first, but it really helped me a lot not to think about all the tempting things I could have instead. There are tons of veggies and fruit out there, so still a lot of variety in your diet.

14. Try morning workout!
I always had problems with doing my daily exercises at night. I still go to the gym 3 times a week in the evening, but I do my little daily mini workouts (sit ups and stuff) in the morning now - before breakfast. And it gives me so much more energy!

15. Always be aware of your downfalls!
A lot of people have certain food or habits that cause cravings. Mine are alcohol, white flour, sugar and lack of sleep. So I try to avoid these.

16. Keep your awareness up!
You might come to that "point of no return", where you think you are stable now and nothing can ever cause you to fall down again. I've been there. But I made the experience that I'll never be there forever. I always have to be watchful not to fall back into old habits. It's not as present as at the beginning, but for me it's a lifelong journey.

17. Reward yourself!
Whenever you reached a minor or a major goal, do something nice. Buy some cute nice clothes, if you got yourself to a new size. Get a beauty treatment. Indulge in a nice hot bath, whatever is good for you - you're worth it!

18. Don't get discouraged by people's comments!
I heard it all - "40lbs, that's a lot, are you sure about that?", "vegan? that can't be healthy", "no alcohol? aren't you a bit too strict?" It's your body and your health! You decide what to do with it and nobody else. Sometimes people are just jealous or uninformed, so just leave them be.

19. Don't hide - be social!
I have these days where I just could hide from everything and everybody. But I feel so much better, when I go out, meet people and just take part in life. And it also helps me to be open with people concerning my new diet. If we are hiding that we are trying to lose weight, it's too easy to fool ourselves and give up.

20. The scale isn't the ultimate judge!
At the beginning of my weight loss I basically hopped on the scale each 5 minutes - only to be frustrated that the needle didn't move an inch. Stop that! Start building up healthy habits and the weight will come off. It's enough to weigh in once a week. You'll feel it anyway on your clothes. And besides weight loss, this journey has so many more benefits, like feeling fitter, having better skin and more energy.

Sun. May 9, 7:23am

Related Content: How To Lose Weight- The Basics Weight Watchers Points System The Fat Smash Diet The Eat To Live Diet The Beck Diet Solution How To Get The Motivation To Lose Weight		How To Be Successful Using PEERtrainer How To Burn Fat Online Weight Loss Support- How It Works Does Green Tea Help You Lose Weight? Tips On Using PEERtrainer Visit The PEERtrainer Community Diet and Fitness Resources
Fitness Weight Watchers Meetings Learning To Inspire Others: You Already Are Writing Down Your Daily Workouts Spending Money On A Personal Trainer? How I Became A Marathon Runner		Preventive Health How To Prevent Injuries During Your Workout Flu Season: Should You Take The Flu Shot? Are You Really Ready To Start PEERtrainer? Super Foods That Can Boost Your Energy Reversing Disease Through Nutrition
New Diet and Fitness Articles: Weight Watchers Points Plus How To Adjust Your Body To Exercise New: Weight Watchers Momentum Program New: PEERtrainer Blog Archive Review Of The New Weight Watchers Momentum Program		Weight Loss Motivation by Joshua Wayne: Why Simple Goal Setting Is Not Enough How To Delay Short Term Gratification How To Stay Motivated How To Exercise With A Busy Schedule
Real World Nutrition and Fitness Questions Can Weight Lifting Help You Lose Weight? Are Protein Drinks Safe? Nutrition As Medicine?		Everyday Weight Loss Tips How To Eat Healthy At A Party How To Eat Out And Still Lose Weight The Three Bite Rule Tips On How To Stop A Binge

New PEERtrainer Articles :

Related Content:

How To Be Successful Using PEERtrainer

Fitness

Preventive Health

New Diet and Fitness Articles:

Weight Loss Motivation by Joshua Wayne:

Real World Nutrition and Fitness Questions

Everyday Weight Loss Tips

Related Article :

New PEERtrainer Articles :