Crystal Light Giveaway!

I have been remiss in thanking Crystal Light for the oh-so-fun package that arrived after I was named a finalist in the #SqueezeATweet contest where you had to squeeze a soap opera tweet and mention the new Crystal Light liquid flavors in 140 characters!  Was so fun to come up with a tweet and be one of the finalists!

I received three new Crystal Light flavors which are meant to be added to your water.  I won't use them so thought - if anyone would like to enter a weekend giveaway drawing - I'll send them off to three blog readers!

flavors are:
Mango Passionfruit
Blueberry Raspberry
Strawberry Lemonade

If you would like to be entered in the HealthyLoserGal giveaway (to be drawn on Monday, 8/19) please do the following:

1) Leave a comment with your top choice, your second choice and your third choice here on the blog
2) Follow @HealthyLoserGal on Twitter and Facebook
3) Post the following on Twitter and Facebook: "I've entered @HealthyLoserGal's #giveaway for @CrystalLight liquid on her blog. Check it out & join in at www.healthylosergal.com"

I'll announce the winners on Monday and will need your email address to get in touch with you should you win!  You can send me an email with your email addy to healthylosergal@yahoo.com.

That's all there is to it!  Enjoy your weekend and good luck!

Here's to our health!
Jan / HealthyLoserGal 

Two Weeks of August ALL In Challenge


I'm a fan of Tony Robbins and have been for years and years. I have loved and believed in his quote below:


A real decision 
is measured by the fact
that you've taken a new action
If there's no action
you haven't truly decided.

I am ready for some massive ACTION.  I have goals written down that I damn well am going to accomplish. I need to take action and reclaim some pride in myself and my ability to STICK TO IT! 
Brian Tracy says that self-discipline is the most important component to any success.  Self-discipline is getting out of bed in the morning when your alarm goes off and NOT hitting the snooze button.  Self-discipline is laying your workout or walking or running clothes and sneakers (I'm an East Coast girl, we call them sneakers, you can call them 'running shoes' if you must!) the night BEFORE so there is no excuse that you can't find them in the morning. Self-discipline is walking the full three miles at 6am you planned on - - not just one mile, not just two. It is doing the whole set of repS at the gym, not just a few. Self-discipline is telling yourself that you're going to do something and DOING IT!  Self-discipline is planning your healthy meals, drinking your water, taking your vitamins, preparing your protein shakes, writing your goals out, logging your food, and doing what you said you were going to do.  Make no excuses to yourself about yourself because there is no heavier weight in this world than the weight of regret. 

On Monday, August 19th I am going to begin two weeks of an intensive (for me!) fitness and weight loss plan.  On challenges I've organized here, on Twitter, and Facebook before I have always allowed for "days off" during the month long challenge.  With only two weeks left in August, this HealthyLoserGal August ALL IN Challenge won't be taking any days off.  We're going full steam ahead into September which happens to be one of my favorite months of the year - full of new starts and new possibilities.  

For two weeks I challenge you to set a walking and/or running goal and to write that goal down in a journal. I am going to be walking a minimum of 2 miles daily to total no less than 15 miles a week.  Every other day I will be in the gym during the work week and both days of the weekend for an hour or more (but no more than 2 hours).  So Tues-Thurs-Sat-Sunday will be my gym days.  If possible, I'll fit in more.
I will be working on my core with stability ball and floor exercises and my arms and legs with free weights and nautilus machines.  I will drink half my weight in water each day (and will probably log another mile weekly in trotting to and from the Ladies Room! lol).  I will plan my food for the week on Sundays, shop on Sundays, prepare anything that needs to be cooked and/or made ahead, and not waiver from these planned meals.

I will be grateful for each and every obstacle that pops up and that I have the self-discipline to overcome. I will be positive about the challenge and the fact that I am working hard toward goals that I am achieving. I will encourage my friends here, on Twitter, and on Facebook to stick to their goals and plans because working out and reaching goals with a community is far better than going it solo! ; )

So... here are the #hlgAugALLin challenge details:

1)  Set a fitness goal for either walking or running for the 14 days.  If you're morbidly obese or completely out of shape, 1/4 mile to begin with is doable for anyone and I know you can do it!  I will be rooting you on!

2)  Plan out your food and get ready to count calories. There are plenty of online sites, apps,etc. but I like FitDay.com which is a great FREE resource for planning, counting and logging food (and exercise)! They have an iPhone app, too.  If you're trying to lose weight, don't go below 1200 calories or over 2000 daily, it is that easy.  It takes 3500 calories burned to lose a pound.  Watch what you're putting in because you're going to have to work it OFF to lose weight.  Calories in / calories out.  When planning your food, plan to drink lots and lots of water!  Water is soooo important to good health.

3) Set a second fitness goal that you can do 4x each of the two weeks.  You saw that I'll be in the gym and what I am going to be doing (notice I didn't say that I am 'planning' to do!).  Depending on your current level of fitness, you should chose something that will challenge you, that will take you a little bit out of your comfort zone so that - when you accomplish it - you will be exhilarated and proud of yourself for sticking to it!


People with clear, written goals

accomplish far more 
in a shorter period of time 
than people without them 
could ever imagine.

Brian Tracy

4). Finally, plan to write down your two week challenge goals and keep a journal for the two weeks.  Your journal can include as little as your goals (a must!) and a record of everything you ate and drank, your exercise log, and the times you got up and went to bed.  Or it include much more (and I suggest you write about your feelings and your own habits and self-discipline struggles in your journal) including your moods, your hopes for your health and fitness, your short term and long term goals, and your observations of how you're doing.  If you have failures, they should be journaled, too, because often times our failures teach us great lessons that we can overcome in the future.  This challenge isn't about perfection, it is about progress and improvement. 

I'd love to have you join me on August 19th to start off August ALL In Challenge!  We *can* be self-disciplined and achieve our goals without the regrets of giving in to temptation! Only 14 days are between you and achieving your August goals.  Who's "all in"?  : ) 






Jan / HealthyLoserGal 

Ready. Set. Dream.



It is always the right time to dream new dreams... bigger dreams... and to bring dreams back to life that you may have given up on long ago!  Drag those "I could never do that..." and "How could I possibly go there?" phrases to the curb and give them a good hard kick 'bye bye'.  You need to reclaim yourself and your dreams and believe that anything is possible again.  Because (psssttttt!)... anything IS possible!  YOU just have to believe in yourself and turn those negative little voices in your head and sometimes the negative voices surrounding you in your life ("supposed" friends, family members who don't wish to see you succeed or change for selfish reasons of their own, your group at your work, you know the ones who are in this category!) into positive beliefs and positive influences in your life.
All successful people men and women are big dreamers. They imagine what their future could be, ideal in every respect, and then they work every day toward their distant vision, that goal or purpose.
Brian Tracy 
If you follow the blog or have seen my tweets, you must know I am a big believer in "Dream. Believe. Achieve!".  : ) I've just completed a new DREAM BOARD (also called a Vision Board) as I'm embarking on a new chapter in my life as I return to my fitness and health disciplines and as I embark on a very exciting new healthy business venture!  It was time for me to renew my goals and dreams in my own life, to think about "what do I *really* want in my life", "where do I want to be in one year, two years, five years", "if I weren't worried about (fill in the blank), I would...".  I absolutely love having a dream board because I KNOW the dreams on the board, with action put behind them, and belief in yourself and (for me) God and the universe to bring you the dreams you have, and deep gratitude for what you already have becomes dreams realized.  Four years ago I put up my 2009 dream board as my background on Twitter because I knew - that way - I would see it every day, a couple of times a day, and would be reminded of what my dreams were... where I was focusing my energy and momentum.  I have purposefully left that board up for you to take a look at because I have achieved 75 percent of the goals I once thought "out of reach".  75%!!

So let's get started so that you can begin making your own Dream Board and allow great things to appear in your life, too.














1.  Find something to use as a "board"... it can be an old white paper bag, or a poster board, or a piece of foam board that you can buy for under $2 in most office supply stores.  It can be whatever size you feel you'd like it to be... mine is foam board and BIG! :)   You'll need scissors and a glue stick and a stack of old magazines or newspapers or wherever you can find inspiration!

2.  Lay back, close your eyes and DREAM!  What do you really want in your life?  Be specific! Do you have fitness goals?  Do you want to be able to walk a mile without having to stop?  Do you want to skydive?  Do you want to be a marathoner?  (Remember, even if you can't walk 1/4 mile now, you can STILL believe in yourself and your ability to achieve ANY dream, so if you want to run a marathon... that is a dream/goal for you to write down!) You don't have to know now how it is going to come true, just add it to your dreams! Now... what about your personal life?  Are you happy in your relationships?  Do you wish you could see your family more? Do you wish you had more girlfriends?  What about your finances? Do you wish you were able to afford new outfits every season?  New running shoes?  A vacation home on a lake?  A second car? A motor home?  A trip to Australia?  Whatever YOUR DREAMS are - they are your dreams and worth going after.  No one else has the right or the ability to dismiss your dreams.  You get to hold onto them, believe in them, believe they can and WILL come true.  

3.  Write the dreams and goals down.  Big and small.  Make a list and date it.  (You're going to put this list into an envelope and paste the dated envelope on the back of your dream board!)

4.  Now begin paging through your magazines and materials and cut out everything and anything that appeals to you or attracts you.  Words that mean something to you personally, images of people doing things that are part of your goal.  You'll see in the photos that I have cut out a photo of a woman jumping up onto a high box.  I cannot do this yet.  (Note the "yet"!)  But I have a goal to do this and I will do this.  And the photo is a reminder of this goal.  When I see it now every morning, I say to myself, "I've GOT that!"  That positive attitude may take a little work for some people at first, but attitude is like a muscle, it may hurt a little and feel uncomfortable for a little bit, but pretty soon that positive nature and attitude will be second nature to you and not feel odd at all. We ALL want to be positive people, that is how we feel best - when we're smiling and happy.

5. Start a big pile of all your dream photos and words, phrases and begin to lay them out on your board.  I segregate my dream board a little because it is so big... I have a personal fitness side, the middle is about dreaming, believing, and achieving, and the other side is about financial, relationship and business goals I have for myself.  But you should organize your dream/vision board however you feel best it works for you!

6.  Finally, starting pasting down the photos.  I paste and say to myself with each photo or phrase I put down "This dream of jumping on a high box will come true before (and then insert a date) and I will be so excited to have achieved this goal! Thank you, God!"  Sounds a little crazy at first, but I learned this part of the process from reading Jack Canfield's "The Success Principles" and it seems to have changed how I look at each phrase or photo to being able to single them out individually in my mind and know their intent.

7.  When your board is dry, turn it over and paste the back of an envelope to the board and fold up your list of dreams/goals and put it into the envelope, dated.  Let it dry and then find a place you can put your dream board every single day.  If you want to hang it on your bedroom or bathroom wall, a cheap, easy way to make a hanging hook is to take a large paperclip and bend the top outward, taking a piece of duct tape and taking the flat part of the paperclip to the back of your Dream Board.

It is best to hang or place the board where you'll see it multiple times a day.  Take a photo of it and use the photo as your desktop wallpaper and your smartphone background.  Print the photo out and stick it on your frig as a reminder of your dreams and goals.



People with clear, written goals, accomplish far more in a shorter period of time than people without them could ever imagine.
Brian Tracy 
Believe in your goals and take action to make them come true.  Every dream is achievable if you're willing to work hard enough, give up or go after what it is that is needed to accomplish them.

Good luck with your dream board.  I would LOVE to see photos of them on my HealthyLoser Gal Facebook wall! : )  If you have any questions, leave me notes in the comments here and I'll get back to you with an answer as best I can!

Here are a few additional resources that I like about Dream Boards and Vision Boards:

From Jack Canfield: http://jackcanfield.com/how-to-create-an-empowering-vision-book/
From Oprah: O Dream Board: Envision Your Best Life
http://www.oprah.com/spirit/O-Dream-Board-Envision-Your-Best-LifeTM

Dream. Believe. Achieve!
Jan / HealthyLoserGal

Transitioning from one life to the next...

Nine months ago I was enjoying the trip of a lifetime in Ireland... over two weeks of setting my own agenda, going where the wind took me, and thoroughly reconnecting with my own hopes and dreams and goals.  I had never felt more "me" and to say I was empowered by the vacation was -at that time- an understatement.


Then the voice message came two evenings before I was due to fly home to Boston.  My brother's voice sounded tense and filled with worry.  "Hi, Jan. Could you give me a call when you get this message.  It is about 4pm out here.  Call as soon as you can. I'd appreciate it. Okay, bye."  He seemed to have totally forgotten I was away in Ireland. His "out here" meant the time of day in Seattle, Washington, so PST.  I was GMT in Ireland.  It was 4pm in Seattle... it was 12 midnight in Ireland and when his call came in I was fast asleep with no cell coverage until the next day.

My 85 year old mother had fallen and had been taken by ambulance to the hospital despite her protestations.  Since the 4th of July weekend of last year, I had been worried about her rapid decline in mental capability as was her friend who stopped in daily to help her around the house.  We'd accompanied my mom to her doctor to explain the deterioration we'd experienced and to let her know my mother's weight had dropped dramatically in the past four months.  That doctor visit she sailed through the short dementia / Alzheimer's testing administered verbally, much to the wide-eyed surprise of both my mom's friend and me.  Not convinced, I began doing online research and found that the same cells of your brain affected by dementia also trigger your hunger response.  My mother ate breakfast out of habit, but the rest of the day she simply had stopped eating.  "I'm not hungry!" she'd snap at me when I tried to ask her over the phone what she'd been eating during the week.  Before I left for Ireland I made her three weeks of food, labeled every one, how to reheat or prepare it, left a schedule taped to her refrigerator door, and asked her to promise me - hungry or not - that she would eat the food every day.  I even called her twice from Ireland to check in - noting she'd admitted she'd been sleeping a lot - and she couldn't tell me what she'd eaten that day.

With the news from my brother of her fall, I returned home a day early from Ireland and spent the first day back in Boston at home after having checked in with the hospital and my mom's attending physician.  No need to rush right there, they assured me... they were running tests and she wouldn't be checking herself out as I was her health proxy.

While I'd been in Ireland I had been able to have dinner with a dear friend and I had explained to him the health condition of my mom and my concerns.  "It is all a part of life," he said to me, "and as her daughter you are helping her transition from this life to the next. You'll do a fine job."

I held onto that statement for the past nine months like a lifeline.  "You are helping her transition from this life to the next."  I vowed to myself to do whatever I could possibly do for her to allow her to 'transition' with dignity and respectfully and made decisions with her, when possible, and for her as I believed she would have made them for herself had her mind been capable.  I was blessed in that, if there could be good timing, she was hospitalized just as a six week sabbatical from my job had been planned upon my return from my trip.

My mother's dementia robbed her of short term memory completely.  She always remembered me, which I am grateful for, but she never remembered that I had been with her an hour before, a day before, or the prior weekend before.  She did thoroughly understand important decisions needed to be made (for example we talked at length about her funeral and what her wishes were and how I was handling things at her home, with her finances, and her cat's well being) but yet she couldn't tell you if she'd done any activities with other residents that same day or if she'd had physical therapy an hour previously. She had no interest in reading, watching favorite television shows, or socializing with anyone.

The one thing she never forgot, however, is that she wanted 'to go home' to her own house and that the nursing home had better be just a temporary place until she was well enough to resume her independent living. The doctors and nurses suggested that allowing my mom to believe she would be going home 'someday' was not necessarily a bad thing.  They were worried about depression and so - whenever asked - I would say 'well, as soon as you're a little stronger, Mom, I think we'll be able to talk with the doctor about going home".

The past nine months for me were filled with many hours in the car between Boston and Saratoga Springs, New York.  During the week I was often on the phone twice with the doctor and nursing staff to hear their weekly report and then - over the weekends - I would arrive and spend time with Mom at the nursing home (she was blessed to be admitted to a wonderful home with caring staff), in the early months we would be able to go out to lunch or she was able to walk with help of her walker outside with me and we'd sit and talk in the sun in the fall weather.  We'd have lunch and dinner together usually on Saturdays and Sundays and then I would drive home.  Around Christmas time she lost the ability to correlate that when she heard the phone in her room ringing, that meant she should pick up the phone, answer it and talk with whoever was on the call.  If an aid or a nurse were in her room, I would be able to reach her - but it wasn't too long before I could only reach her during the week to 'check in' by calling the nurses' station and asking them to carry a portable phone to her room so we could chat.

I worried a lot. I fretted over decisions I had to make about testing for possible anemia and possible cancer of the blood.  I ate hospital food and began to think that I really liked the little plastic tapioca pudding cups.  I never exercised.  I stopped counting calories and fell back into old bad habits where food - late at night after driving home to Boston - was comfort.

Two months ago Mom lost the cognitive ability to remember to swallow food that she'd been fed and had chewed.  I spent four days with her over Memorial Day and was cutting up her food and feeding her when I realized this.  She wasn't swallowing.  The same day I spoke to the staff about calling in hospice after my cousin, who is a retired head nurse from a Florida Alzheimer's unit, suggested I think about it.  One of the charge nurses I had grown to trust and ask advice of, suggested the same.  Hospice came the next morning.

The four days over Memorial Day weekend were exceedingly difficult for both my mother and myself.  I knew the 'transition from this life to the next' was not far off.  My brother and sister were trying to plan when they would arrive to visit.  Mom and I did have some very good moments together during those days... I would sing her old favorite songs of her's and when I'd stop, she'd continue singing the verse... it was sweet.  We talked about my having gone to the family graves and having put flowers in all the urns, something Mom and I did routinely together for many years.  I showed her the photos of the flowers and she was glad to see them.  At one point we were sitting together and I'd been reading to her and she said to me, "You've been a good girl this weekend, Jan... thank you.".  I felt like I was ten years old and smiled at her, realizing that in her mind, perhaps that was about the age she saw me at in that moment.  "...helping her transition..." was always in my mind as I struggled with my own emotions of losing my mother.

On Monday of Memorial Day Weekend I left her room to drive back to Boston about 7pm.  She'd slept most of the day from pain medication that she'd begun earlier in the week but I'd stayed in the room with her, reading, so that when she woke up, she saw me there.  I'd explained to her that it was Monday and I would be back on Friday, only four days away.  Mom had liked that it was only a few days off before I would be back and looked at me quite clearly, her blue eyes very fixed on my face, and thanked me for doing everything that I had done for her.  She made it clear from her look and her tone she wanted me to hear her thanking me. I heard it and absorbed it and explained she didn't need to thank me, she was my mother, I was her daughter, and - of course - I would take care of her.  I leaned down and kissed her as she turned up her lips to me to be able to do that.  I told her I loved her and she said "I love you, too, Jan."  I smiled at her and slipped out.

On Thursday of the same week I had emergency eye surgery.  My eye doctor called the emergency room from his office and told them to prep the OR for me, I was on my way.  I cried in his office and explained I could not have the surgery, my mom was dying.  He explained that I had to have the surgery- that day!- or I could potentially lose my site.  Thursday and Friday I was face down into a special pillow to save my eyesite. Saturday morning I put on the eye patch my son had gotten for me at the pharmacy and drove myself to Saratoga to see Mom.

I stopped first at her house to pick flowers from her gardens to bring to her.  I was worried my eye patch would scare her and slipped it off (even though my eye was swollen shut) and put my glasses on and stepped into her room to see she was sleeping.  I put the flowers on Mom's bedroom dresser and stepped over to her bed to rouse her, saying "Hi, Mom... I'm here...", and leaned down to kiss her, hearing her breath as I lowered my face.

And then she was gone. I felt her presence with me as I called my brother, my sister, and my son from her room to tell them Mom had left us and that I was there for that transition.

My birthday was the following day.

I became acutely aware that my mother had spent nine months bringing me into this world and I had spent nine months helping her leave this world.  And the dates were a day apart.

It is now a month later. I had planned to take this week off from work as vacation as I usually do and decided, even though I have been out of the office with my mom's wake and funeral and my own recovery from eye surgery, that I needed this week to be here in the house I grew up in by myself to regroup and make a push to get a lot of estate business taken care of.

I have spent nine months pushing my health and my fitness onto a very back burner.  I knew I was doing it and could only do what I was emotionally and physically able to do in those months.  I rarely blogged, seldom tweeted, and was on the HLG Facebook page sporadically, at best. (Oh, and I started a new job in December!) But now I can turn my attention back to myself and regaining my health and losing the additional weight I gained while eating hospital food and fast food on the road. Could I have made better choices - absolutely.  Did I?  No.

And I was dreading writing this blog post tonight - as long and as soul bearing as it is - I dreaded it because I knew that this very act of blogging honestly tonight would lead me to be fully back and committed again to myself.  No more excuses.  No more 'putting it off'.

Commit and be accountable.  I am ready.  It begins now.

I have 50 pounds to lose to get back to my goal weight.  My intention is that I will hit that goal in nine months.  That is my pledge to myself and to you (if anyone has been able to read through this whole, very long blog post).  I need to get back into my fitness regime.  My arms are so pathetic again - but I know that if I have done it before, I can (and will!) do it again.

I am no stranger to hard work and perseverance.  I know what it takes to get the weight off and my fitness level up.  And I'm ready.  And I could use your support.  I would like to be able to support you, too, with the goals you've made for yourself, so let me know what they are in the Comments.  We can do this.  We're worth the effort and the determination it will take. Are you with me?

Dream. Believe. Achieve.
 xo
Jan / HealthyLoserGal 
My Mom (age 86) and me in late November, 2012

Rise and Shine: Awesome April Challenge


Spring is such a wonderful time to witness renewal and rebirth as the world comes to life around us. Daffodils peak at us from beneath soggy leaves in gardens and burst forth with beauty.  The days are suddenly longer and warmer and call for us to get out in nature and enjoy the sites around us.

I hope you'll join me this month in the Awesome April challenge which is all about "rising" in two ways... rising in the morning and rising to the challenge.  And it is about "shining".  In this month you're going to conquer (or be on your way to conquering) something that you didn't think you could do.  It doesn't have to be a HUGE goal... but it does have to be something that perhaps only you - in the very depths of your thoughts - realize that you need to change in order to true SHINE!

If you're anything like me (and it is scientifically proven), you slow down your pace in the winter months. I slowed down to the point of hardly exercising at all and have every excuse in the book to give you if you'd like to know why! *grin*  But I'm planning to 'rise' off the couch and 'rise' out of bed in the morning and find my exercise renewed in April.

Here are the challenge details:

Rise up 30 minutes earlier than you are now.  Now I *know* this is going to be difficult for those of you who already do wake up at the crack of dawn and may have classes or kids or a husband or ... (you fill in the blank) to take care of the moment you open your eyes.  If this is the case, then you need to find 30 minutes every day AT THE SAME TIME that is just for you.  It is proven that if you can keep a new routine for 40 days (so May 10th for us if you start the challenge on April 1st), then it becomes habit and no longer may seem like a chore.

In those 30 "rise and shine" minutes you're going to dedicate yourself to renewing yourself in the month of April somehow. I'll be walking and planning out my day in my head.  You might write in a journal or write out your goals for the day.  If you're just starting to exercise, begin slowly but you might start by doing a short walk around your block or an at-home walking dvd or beginner's exercise dvd.  If you're exercising now and feel confident in that way, then give yourself 30 minutes of meditative time... quiet your inner-self and just listen to what your heart is telling you might be one way in which you could renew yourself.



Now, the second part of the challenge is all about SHINING.  If I were to have you write out an answer to a question and no one (but yourself) would ever see it, how would you answer the following question:
To be truly content and feel good about myself, the one thing I know I need to work on is (fill in the blank).

What was that one thing you JUST thought of?  THAT is what you need to rise and shine and meet this challenge to work on.  Do you need to stop watching too much television?  Do you need to stop drinking soda, diet soda, alcohol? Do you need to start eating less, stop eating processed foods?  Stop your Friday night pizza (oops... that one was for me!). Do you need to set an exercise goal and then stick to it? You know what it is.  In the next 30 days, make a plan for yourself to conquer and rise above what is holding you back from feeling content and good about YOU!  If you need help from a friend to do so...ask for the help.  If you need to see your doctor, go see her.  If you need some inspiration when you're feeling down, I'm a comment or a tweet or an email away. (And I may need some encouragement from you, too!) : )


You CAN rise above your fears and have an awesome April.  We all can do it together.

So? Who is "in" for the Rise and Shine Awesome April challenge?  We've got this! :)

Here's to our health friends!
HealthyLoserGal / Jan

PS: Use hashtag #hlgAwesomeApril on Twitter to post comments and encourage other challengers.  Thanks!

Believe in YOURSELF!

From quotablecards.com





As the New Year begins, these words above are never more true. I believe in setting goals, not making resolutions.
 
Write down three goals you have for this month.  Put those goals somewhere you'll see them everyday... your frig, your bathroom mirror, write them, take a photo and make them your phone's screensaver! And then - every single day - work toward your goals.  Push yourself beyond  your own comfort level.  Sweat.  Sweat a lot.  Reward yourself with little trinkets (not food!) when you've achieved a significant milestone. Break up with your couch! ; )  Have a personal mantra while you're striving toward your goal.  Say to yourself throughout every day "I am awesome.  I can do this.  I am proving to myself how much I can do."  
 
I believe we're going to have a GREAT 2013.  I believe in YOU... now it is your turn to believe in YOURSELF! :)
 
Here's to our health!
Dream. Believe. Achieve!
Jan / HealthyLoserGal