No Matter How Long You Struggle With Weight Loss Don't Give Up..Here Is Why..

wow.. well hear it is… If you can identify and say wow… I really need to stop this merry go round and commit to my shit.. she did to hers and you will see what I mean.. here it goes.. please share with me.. how you can identify and how something new has been working or how you could change something to make it work once and for all.. I am all ears. I went to Google, and searched for “weight loss experts.” As you might imagine, literally thousands of results returned in an instant. This got me thinking. . .what does it take to be a weight loss expert? Hell, I am a weight loss expert. I have 30+ years of experience in losing weight! I know a ton (pun intended) about losing weight. When I was in fifth grade, I went on my first diet. This was the result of a visit to the pediatrician, who told my mother that I needed to lose weight. I was an 11 YO girl who had begun to develop far too early for my liking. In retrospect, I probably didn’t need to lose weight. I probably should have been counseled to maintain my weight. I knew that I was not thin like some of the other girls. As we all know, every girl knows exactly how she compares to the others. My mother, whose habit of chain smoking Winston Lights, guzzling vats of coffee, and daily aerobics classes (she’s a maniac, maniac, that’s for sure!) took the doctor’s advice to heart. I was promptly placed on a diet, and while my friends at the lunch table had Ding Dongs, I had salad with low-calorie dressing. That lasted a few weeks before it was abandoned by all. But the diet monster would exert its power over me again and again. When I was 16, I went on an 800 calorie/day diet, because I read in a magazine that the ideal weight for my height was 125. I lost weight. But I was unable to get it below 132 (yes, I remember the exact number on that scale). After months of starving, I gave up, went back to eating, and regained the weight I had lost. When I was in college, I began doing aerobics in order to speed up weight loss. My friend and I would go to the aerobics studio where the crazy instructor would make us grapevine up to the mirror and back while Janet Jackson, Madonna, and Paula Abdul blasted over the speakers. We went every day after class. We were the only ones who went. And we were still not skinny like those other girls. Every major (and many minor) event of my life has been prefaced by the same thought: “I need to lose weight for that.” Senior prom. Starting college. Spring break. College graduation. Getting married. Starting a new job. High school reunion. Moving to a new place. Just-had-a-baby-gotta-get-rid-of-this-flab. Don’t take my picture; I look to fat. Going on vacation. Just got back from vacation. As a self-proclaimed weight loss expert, I will tell you this: it’s nuts. All of it. I know that. Yet I keep getting sucked in. I have tried every diet out there. In fifth grade, it was the Scarsdale Diet (if you ever want to know why that doctor’s girlfriend shot him, give his diet a week and you’ll understand). In college it was the Lose 10 Pounds in Three Days Diet (I did learn from this diet that I actually like black coffee, so I guess it wasn’t totally bad). And of course, all of the other popular, mainstream diets. Weight watchers more times than I can count. South Beach, where the mere thought of another string cheese made me want to puke. Atkins, where I lacked the energy to wash my hair. Carbohydrate Addicts Diet. The Zone. Whole 30. Sugar Busters. At some point, my focus shifted from dieting to working out. One of the good things is that when I was younger, I only exercised in order to help with weight loss. As I became older, I exercised because I liked the way I felt.  Although I had always DESPISED gym class, I did enjoy going to the gym. I met Yvette about ten years ago in a group fitness class, and became a private client a few years after that. She has seen me at various weights over the last ten years, but last December, I was undoubtedly the heaviest I’d ever been, other than at the end of pregnancy. I decided—for the zillionth time—that I was going to lose weight. I asked Yvette what the best diet was. What she said was so simple that it was kind of hard to understand. She said that the best diet is one that you can live with. But that if you want to lose weight, you need to reduce your calories. That’s all. Well, I’m a Weight Loss Expert, so I know that it’s true about the calories. I don’t care what they say on TV about carbs, protein, whatever. It’s totally energy in vs. energy out. So I could get on board with that. But I LOATHE the idea of tracking. I would do it for a week and then stop. Yvette offered to coach me. “Send me your daily calories every night.” So the first night, I did. And then I kept doing it. And before too long, my pants were fitting again. And then a bit more time went by, and those pants were loose. And then I had to Goodwill the pants because they were too big. Sometimes I had grilled fish and vegetables for dinner. Sometimes I had cheese and crackers. I tracked, and I sent it to her. I consistently stayed under 1400 calories. I was more motivated and committed than I’d ever been on Weight Watchers, because I knew Yvette, and she knew me. And she cared. Now here’s the thing. I refused to go on the scale, so I don’t know how much weight I’ve lost. But I know it’s enough to get rid of some pants, so I’m good with that. My next challenge is letting go of the power the scale holds over me. This is a tough thing to do. But now Yvette has the InBody, which doesn’t just tell your weight, but also gives you your body composition. So much more than merely your relationship to gravity, this tool allows you to understand how much muscle, water, and skeletal mass you have. As far as I’m concerned, it’s much more valuable than just your weight. Have I completely overcome my diet obsession? NO! But it’s a work in progress. All I know is that, all the gimmicks aside, the only thing that matters is units of energy. Calories. Burn more than you consume, and you will lose weight. Do the opposite, and you will gain. It really is that easy. There is no magic bullet hear. It’s energy in/energy out. Yvette has pointed out countless times that if there was a quick fix, Oprah would already be on it! Of course, “eat less than you expend” is easy in concept, yet difficult in execution. As long as I continue to have that struggle, I’m glad to have an empathetic, wonderful coach like Yvette.