Top 10 of What Has Helped Me Most

Doing these 10 things has helped me to continue to be successful in my weight loss and fitness journey...

1-Keeping workouts interesting by challenging myself to try new things.

2-Having events to look forward to such as a Caribbean cruise (March 30 - April 4th) and my 25th high school reunion (end of June).

3-Trying new foods and experimenting with new recipes so that meals do not become boring.

4-Being more present while eating by focusing on the food's taste, texture, smell, appearance.  This helps me to feel more satisfied with my meals.

5-Keeping a vision board.

6-Weighing myself every morning and documenting it, then looking back to the prior week to make sure I'm making progress.

7-Taking measurements every month, so I can see the changes in inches which helps to keep me motivated by showing my progress.

8-The weight chart I created (see below) and update every Sunday has been especially helpful.  Mostly because I am an impatient person and when I look at the chart, it shows me in black and white the progress I've made and the realistic time frame I chose for my goal.  The bars on the chart indicate the weight loss progress with a new bar each week indicating the progress up to that date.  The thin diagonal line indicates how far those bars should reach (at a minimum) each week in order for me to reach my ultimate goal of 130 pounds by my goal date of April 1, 2011.  To date I have been passing the minimum requirement to stay on track.  This chart works well for me since I'm a very visual person.  Click on the chart to enlarge.

9- Making sure I get enough sleep each night by going to bed at a reasonable time.  If I don't get enough sleep, I'm hungrier the next day which typically leads to greater calorie consumption.

10- Taking time for myself to just be...to think, to read, to sit in the sun, and do things that help reduce my stress level.  This ironically helps me to be more productive as well.