That's Fit

Whether you've got 10, 20 or 100 lbs to shed, weight loss is hard. Taking Off Ten is about the journey to lose 10 lbs -- there's more to it than you think!

When I started working in an office again, I was surrounded by sugar. A little bit here, a little bit there--in the end, it didn't add up to much because I work out enough to work it off. But there's another problem: It became a habit.

Prior to Christmas, I had been careful about my sugar intake. It was an occasional indulgence that I enjoyed once a week at the most. Now, it's a different story--I start craving sugar around 10am and though it doesn't consume my thoughts, it always seems to be in the back of my head. My will power is usually pretty solid, but I dread those days that some 'kind' person tempts me with a sweet treat.

Whether you've got 10, 20 or 100 lbs to shed, weight loss is hard. Taking Off Ten is about the journey to lose 10 lbs -- there's more to it than you think!

After working from home for nearly a year, I recently embarked on a project which has me spending time in an office again. And I must admit, I like it--I'm a social creature and love structure, and my schedule is flexible enough that I can retreat to my home office when needed. But there's one drawback: The eating aspect.

At home, I have a simple solution to sticking to healthy foods: I just don't buy junk. But at the office, it's not so easy--there are people left, right and centre who are ready to de-rail my best intentions with donuts, chocolates, potluck lunches and the likes. And when I'm feeling too lazy to pack a healthy snack or meal to take with me, I end up buying a lunch. Yikes.

Whether you've got 10, 20 or 100 lbs to shed, weight loss is hard. Taking Off Ten is about the journey to lose 10 lbs -- there's more to it than you think!

Setbacks are a part of life; I know this. But I can't help but be a bit disappointed with myself lately. I've taken on some extra projects, which have left me with very little spare time. And the spare time I do have has been monopolized by social obligations that have involved--you guessed it--lots of food. I've been mostly good--limiting my portions, choosing the salad bar over other choices and only eating until I'm not hungry anymore--but I haven't seen the number on the scale go down in a while. Gulp. The good news is that the workload has subsided--finally--so there will be less eating out and more gym time in my immediate future.

But in the meantime, I'm asking for your advice. How do you get back on track after you've veered wayyyyy off it? I'm considering doing a bit of a detox--yay or nay?

Whether you've got 10, 20 or 100 lbs to shed, weight loss is hard. Taking Off Ten is about the journey to lose 10 lbs -- there's more to it than you think!

When family and friends have too much food, it usually ends up in my kitchen. Why? I live with a man who eats anything and everything--and copious amounts of it--and never gains a pound. He loves food and that's just fine for him because he manages to burn it off. So when a family friend shoved a large container of chocolate chip cookies into my hands, I didn't bat an eye. I figured they would be gone within a day.

But then it hit me: Jon is out of town. For two weeks. And unfortunately, chocolate chip is by far my favourite kind of cookie.

Being on a 9-5 schedule is what I think played the biggest role in my slow weight gain over the years. I'm not the best at planning ahead and bringing my own lunch, so I relied on food court fare, and having office candy at hand much of the time was too much temptation for me. But I've changed the way I think about food over the last few weeks, and it's worked well for me -- so far. I now don't make it the focal point of my day, so it's easier to avoid temptation. But now that I'm spending my days outside the home again, the temptation of being in a social environment is putting a bit of a dent in my healthy eating.

Let me explain: Almost every day since I've started my training course, someone has brought in chocolates or donuts to share, and there have also been a few birthdays complete with--you guessed it--cake.

Whether you've got 10, 20 or 100 lbs to shed, weight loss is hard. Taking Off Ten is about the journey to lose 10 lbs -- there's more to it than you think!

Yesterday morning, something odd happened to me: I got my regular crowded bus and headed to the middle to grab hold of the pole for the journey downtown, which was only about fifteen minutes long. Shortly after boarding, a women my age tapped me on the shoulder and asked if I'd like her seat. I politely refused and she pressed on; again, I refused and she sat back down.

Whether you've got 10, 20 or 100 lbs to shed, weight loss is hard. Taking Off Ten is about the journey to lose 10 lbs -- there's more to it than you think!

Did you ever stop to notice how backwards our eating habits are? We eat little to no breakfast at a time when we haven't eaten for 8 hours and have the whole day ahead of us, and we typically eat a huge dinner, at a time when the day is winding down and we're settling down to be dormant for a period to time. I suspect this has something to do with much of the extra weight we're carrying around.

And, after much soul-searching, I realized a few other things about my eating habits:

1. I eat according to the time of day, not whether or not I'm hungry. So, for instance, I'll eat a meal at dinner time, even if I'm not hungry, just because it's dinner time.
2. I eat what's on my plate, even if I satisfied my hunger after the first few bites
3. If, after dinner, I sit around having conversation and there's good food still on the table, I'll continue to pick off bites of it after I've finished what's on my plate, just for the sake of eating.
   

Whether you've got 10, 20 or 100 lbs to shed, weight loss is hard. Taking Off Ten is about the journey to lose 10 lbs -- there's more to it than you think!

As you might have guessed already, I'm going at this weight-loss thing alone. Well, not totally alone -- I have you, dear readers, and my friends and family, but I'm not signing up for Weight Watchers or Jenny Craig or any of those programs. I'm considering buying or borrowing some books (recommendations, anyone?) but other than that, I don't intend on spending any more money on this journey than I normally spend on fitness and food.

Why? I guess you could say I'm cheap. Well, not really, but I don't have a ton of disposable income, and I can think of better ways to spend it (like a wicked vacation.) Plus, I think it's totally backwards--You're eating less when you're losing weight, so shouldn't you be saving money rather than giving it away? That's not to say that I think signing up for a weight-loss program is a waste of money; It's just not for me. Besides, being a healthy living writer and all, I tend to think I already have the tools necessary to make last changes in my lifestyle--now I just have to put them into effect.

Whether you've got 10, 20 or 100 lbs to shed, weight loss is hard. Taking Off Ten is about the journey to lose 10 lbs -- there's more to it than you think!

I'm a pretty healthy person -- I rarely get sick, and when I do come down with a case of the sniffles, it usually clears up within a couple of days. But right now, I've been sick on and off for a couple of weeks, and when I woke up this morning with a hacking cough, I knew it was back 'on.' Ugh.

When I'm sick, all my good intentions go out the window. I forsake the gym in favour of curling up in bed with a book, and convince myself to indulge in my favourite comfort foods, like spaghetti and meatballs, macaroni and cheese. Really, all bets are off when I'm sick. I use food to make myself feel better, even though I know in my head, it won't.

Whether you've got 10, 20 or 100 lbs to shed, weight loss is hard. Taking Off Ten is about the journey to lose 10 lbs -- there's more to it than you think!

One of the first steps in losing weight is figuring out what the vice foods are. That's not to say that I plan on removing any of these fully from my diet -- That doesn't work for me; I end up craving it even more. But it's important to know what my weaknesses are. I'll be honest--I have a lot of vice foods--but here are the main ones, in order:

• Cheese
• Alcohol, particularly wine
• Pasta and Bread
• Chocolate
• Desserts

Whether you've got 10, 20 or 100 lbs to shed, weight loss is hard. Taking Off Ten is about the journey to lose 10 lbs -- there's more to it than you think!

The concept of losing 10 lbs is simple--just eat healthy and exercise, right? Well, I already do these things. I read articles and magazines that promise if I cut our soda, I'll lose 10 lbs effortlessly--but I hardly ever drink soda so that won't work. Switch from white bread and pasta to whole wheat? Did that years ago. Rid my kitchen of potato chips? I don't even like potato chips. Take a walk three time a week? I take a run three times a week--minimum. So what gives?

Finally figuring out what would work for me involved a lot of self-reflection--I had to be brutally honest with myself to figure out why it was so hard for me to lose a small amount of weight. At the end of the day, losing weight is about burning off what you eat ... and then some. And if was truly a healthy eater, I wouldn't be lugging around an additional 10 lbs. Something's off here. I even asked my doctor to check my thyroid levels and was dismayed when they appeared to be completely normal.

Whether you've got 10, 20 or 100 lbs to shed, weight loss is hard. Taking Off Ten is about the journey to lose 10 lbs -- there's more to it than you think!

Taking off Ten (pounds, that is) has been the story of my life. I've always been a little more than slim but not quite overweight. I'm a normal weight for my height (5'7) and that's always been the excuse I fall back on when I feel it's time to get my butt in gear. Yet I've always had a naggy yearning in the back of my head to tone up and get rid of that godforsaken paunch. This voice got louder earlier this year, when my favourite pants were tight. I knew I had to do something or the weight would slowly creep up until it wasn't taking off 10 but taking off 20, 50, maybe even 100. Yikes.