How I lost my weight...and it's not coming back!

It's been a year since I wrote my post I Challenge Myself and I mentioned that I'll try to post my before and after photo and here it is ...

I lost the excess weight that I have struggled to lose for many years and what made me do a drastic action, simple… health scare.

I'm a  health conscious person when I was still single and working. After I got married and became a stay-at-home wife, my normal routine life changed,  I neglected my health. I sleep late, we pig out and worst, I got lazy to exercise. I was like that for a couple of years. One day, I woke up, I was overweight, I gained 30 lbs. and for a petite woman like me, that weight is pretty heavy. I can’t fit into my clothes, and every time I tried to shop for new clothes, I always end up not buying at all because I don’t like what I’m seeing every time I look at the mirror. So, I became depressed, I rarely leave the house and my life became sedentary. Then, my health problems started, in 2011, a cyst was found in my left breast.  In 2012, the cyst was removed and thankfully it was benign. And I thought my dilemma was over, by August of that same year, my cholesterol and sugar level went up and my thyroid is acting up again and to make matters worst, by October,  I was diagnosed having cervical rediculopathy, herniated discs, scoliosis, plantar fasciitis and carpal tunnel, I felt my world is crumbling and became really depressed. After a while, I came to my senses, I realized that there's no one else to blame but myself. So I seek medical treatment, the doctors advise me to exercise and eat healthy because being overweight is one contributing factor why I am so sick. And that began my effort to lose weight.

I thought it was that easy, but having those excess weight for years, every fat is clinging to my body and doesn’t want to go that easily without a fight, hahaha!!!. I started with my diet, I have to consider all my health issues and here’s what my diet program consists of:

AVOID	WHAT TO EAT	METHOD OF COOKING
white bread sweets white rice canned goods canned/bottled juice wine softdrinks instant noodles chicken skin pork beef hotdogs/sausages fast food anything greasy and salty coffee organ meats artificial flavoring/seasoning junkfood (i.e. chips)	Wheat bread Brown rice Green leafy vegetables Chicken breast seafoods Fresh salad Fresh fruits Water Milk	Steaming Boiling Grilling baked

Perhaps, you would say, “Aren’t you getting tired of having that kind of diet?”  My answer would be a big “YES”, that’s why I allow myself to cheat once in a while or else I’d go crazy and break my diet. I don't count calories, I don't have the patience to check out the numbers of everything that's going in my mouth,  it will just stress me out. My nutritionist told me that  my diet portion should be: 1/3 cup of rice, 1/3 to 1 cup veggies, meat (with the size of my fist, closed) and 1 fruit, more or less, my plate should look like this:

Explore more infographics like this one on the web's largest information design community - Visually. image http://visual.ly/how-your-plate-should-look

For my exercise, because I have back and foot problems, running and intense workout is out of the question. I’m thinking, What else is there for me?” … Aerobics, dancing and slow impact exercises, my doctor told me. So I searched the internet for these kinds of workouts and I found a lot. I was overwhelmed with my search result but I pick out routines that I think would best suit me. I exercise 20 minutes 3x a week and if I'm in the mood and I still want to sweat more I do it morning and afternoon.

• Cardio exercises - from http://www.sparkpeople.com/
• Aerobics/Dance - Zumba and any dance form, as long as my body is moving and makes my heart beat faster.

During the first 2 weeks of my diet and workout routine, I lost 5 lbs. and I was very happy and inspired to strive more. By the fifth month, I already lost a total of 20 lbs. By this time, I hit a plateau, my weight loss came little by little, which is the hardest part to accept because I was this close to my ideal weight, but still, I didn't lose hope. With my journey to lose weight and staying healthy, I always keep in mind the following:

• Eat in moderation and watch your portion -  I can have chocolates but I only eat 1 square and not the whole bar

• Don't skip meals -  thinking that you will not gain weight by skipping meals is a bad idea, in truth, you will be eating more because you're hungry

• Have plenty of rest - your body will function better and less chances of getting sick

• Drink plenty of water - I drink approximately 3 liters of water every day, it helps you feel full and it's good for the skin

And lastly..

• Don't worry, be happy - don't stress yourself out over little things, everything will pass

Today, I weigh 106 lbs. wears a size 2 (small to medium) shirt and a size 25 jeans. My weight is still fluctuating but I don’t mind, I still give in to temptations (chocolates and cakes, yummy!). I’m glad to be where I am today and I have no plans of going back to my old self.

Read Be healthy, what to expect when you're 40).