Some of you may well remember my posts on my weight loss journey. I may not have lost the 22 pounds I wanted to, but I am pretty happy about the weight I’ve lost. Ok, I know you are all dying to know how close I came to meeting my goal. Well, just read a little longer for that.

I could have done much better but for various reasons I sometimes fell off the weight loss wagon. There were days when work made me so tired I just couldn’t face anything else, even 10 minutes of exercising. Sometimes I just felt too down to bother – but life is like that.

To lose the weight I avoid sugar, don’t get me wrong I did eat the occasional piece of chocolate or some ice cream. For Christmas I ate more than my fair share of cake. This simply means that I will have to put more effort into my exercise routine and meal planning for another few months. Other things I did or changed to help me lose the weight included:

• Drinking lots of water
• Eating no carbs after 7, granted there are days when I did give in to temptation. As I said before I’m only human.
• Most of my carbs are had during breakfast, and my snack is usually a cup of tea with some nuts. Lunch for the last few months has been Kellogs Special K cereal with a mid-afternoon snack of tea or nuts or a piece of fruit. For dinner I have a piece of chicken and lots of vegetables.
• Exercise still remains my weak spot, but I’ve gotten better. In addition to exercising I try to walk as much as I can, even at work.

I need to say special thanks to my husband, Owen for his help. He ensured I ate right and exercised. He was a big support as was my son, Jalen. At four he’s quite the expert on exercising and is forever showing what to do.

I eventually lost 19 pounds, took me longer than I hoped, but my doctor was quite pleased. Not only do I now feel better physically, I feel more attractive and can wear clothes I haven’t worn in years. I’ve started wearing makeup again and I cut my hair short, something I was afraid to do for many years because my face was too fat. The struggles are not over yet as I still need to lose an additional 10 pounds and become more toned. I know I will never look like Halle Berry, but I can sure try to look the best I can.

One thing is certain though, I don’t plan to stop working on me. I am developing a healthy lifestyle habit that I aim to make a way of life.

Ok, hold the applause, I am feeling good to see that I’ve lost so much weight, but a little disappointed that I didn’t quite meet my goal. I had planned on losing at least two pounds per week, so while I was thrilled to see the scale dipped below where I was.  I still have a way to go if I hope to make my targeted weight loss goal. I am 1.5 pounds shy of my target for the period, but with another 7 weeks to go I may still lose the targeted 20-24 pounds.

So what have I been doing? Eating properly, but I really need to get more exercise into my routine. The weight I’ve lost will serve as the motivation I need to step up my routine. So starting next week I will be adding walking to my exercise schedules. My dear hubby has been trying to get me to do more abdominal work, but it sure isn’t any fun granted no one ever said that this would be a walk in the park.

One secret I used many years ago was to always try to hold my tummy in constantly. It had become a habit with me, but after I lost some of the weight I stopped. One thing is for sure, I plan on taking it off and keeping it off this time. Since starting this again a little more than a week ago I honestly see a difference.

So what exactly have I been doing to drop the unwanted pounds without resorting to fad diets and weight loss pills? Well, so far it has all been pretty simple and fairly easy to do:

Meals:

• A cup of tea or coffee – for the most part I avoid adding any sweeteners.
• Breakfast remains relatively simple: a sandwich with whole wheat bread and some cereal or a bowl of oatmeal or some fresh fruits and a bowl of cereal with soymilk. Periodically I will also treat myself and have some fried dumplings courtesy of hubby – he makes dumplings to die for.
• Mid-morning snacks of sugarless tea and fruits or just tea. I was previously hooked on unhealthy snacks such as biscuits.
• Lunch: This is my carbs meal so I will have some yam, potatoes with chicken or fish and lots of vegetables without any dressing. Once per week at least I have soup for lunch.
• Dinner: This is mostly a small piece of chicken or some fish and vegetables and I try to avoid eating after 7 PM. Of course, I need my cup of tea before retiring.

Exercise:

• This is my weak spot. I try to ride my stationary exercise bike for at least 15 minutes everyday. I also put in stretching exercises a couple days per week, and lunges which are good for toning the thighs.
• I am committing myself to adding to this by starting some serious abdominal work.  I doubt I’ll ever have washboard abs, but I sure can try.

One thing I’ve found out since I?ve started this journey is the desire to dress up again and use makeup. It?s funny how gaining weight can eat away your self-worth and confidence without you even knowing it. I must confess that it feels good to see a glimmer of my old self slowly being revealed again.

If you have any healthy weight loss tips to share, I would love to hear about them.