Five Pounds in February? Eat Well For It!

February continues the Healthy Loser Gal 5 Pound Club challenge that began in January and will continue throughout 2017.  Those who joined in with me - how'd you do?  I was so sick of Christmas cookies and over-indulging that I lost 6.6 lbs. in January and it was fairly easy.  (Yes, I said "easy" because I felt like I wasn't exercising much, just cutting back on calories.)  

Enter the "I'm doing great, I can have whatever I want" phase!  Ugh!

Weight loss is a tricky thing.  We know the rules.  We know the calculations. We know the mindset we need to have, what we need to do, we tell ourselves we're worth it, we write down goals, we write down food journals and STILL... 

I blew it!

I gained back 3 lbs. in the first two weeks of this month of February!  Call it "I don't have a Valentine" blues or the winter doldrums or whatever the heck you can think of to call it.  The reality is I ATE and ATE and ATE.  And I cooked at home and bought chocolates for Valentine's and made sweets for work (and kept half the pan for "treats for home").  Hello??

Considering that I am a fairly optimistic, upbeat, "you got this" kinda gal... I certainly DID NOT "have it" in the first two plus weeks of this month and it wasn't until a few days after Valentine's Day did I get around to shaking my own shoulders (that's my go-to move when I'm upset with friends for what they're doing!lol) and turning my back on the 'dark side'.

So the damage has been done and I've straightened out.  I do NOT want to be a yo-yo weight person 'cause, sometimes, that is worse than just keeping the weight on.  (Please note I did say "sometimes" so don't you go using this post as an excuse to not lose the excess weight you know darn well you need to lose. Don't MAKE me shake your shoulders! *grin*)

I was on a weight loss program through the University of Vermont called VTrim when I first lost weight 7 years ago now.  It was based on really sound principles and it works.  Sadly, the VTtrim program was given to a company that tried to monetize it and failed big-time.  The fortunate thing is, though, that the eating plan was published by what has now become "Eating Well" magazine and books.  

I've just re-read The Eating Well Diet, 7 Steps to a Healthy, Trimmer You, which you can purchase on Amazon.  It is so funny to me because when I went to look for the link, Amazon told me that I purchased the book on March 29, 2010.  That was just about the time I had joined VTrim through the University of Vermont.

I highly recommend this book as it is exactly what one needs to do to get SERIOUS about losing weight and getting healthy and it originated with the testing of Dr. Berino of UVM.  It has the basics that I learned and preach... journal every bite, move more every day, walk-walk-walk, and count your calories.  PLUS it has great recipes and meal plans that are easy-peasy to make and follow.   

So, here we are:  14 weeks until Memorial Day and I'm making myself a President's Day promise:

Two pounds x 14 weeks = 28 pounds gone by Memorial Day!

I can do this.  You can, too.  

 I just found this Swimsuitsforall site online and they have great styles for every woman's body, no matter your age or weight or size. (And for those of you who are skeptics... I know you're out there... I do not get a penny for mentioning either the EatingWell books or the SwimSuitsForAll site.)  ; )

Join in the #hlg5lbClub with me here or on Twitter and let's treat ourselves to a great bathing suit come summer! : )   

Dream! Believe! (Work Hard!) Achieve! 

Jan / HealthyLoserGal 

HealthyLoserGal FIVE POUND Club... are you IN?

Where will you be a year from now?  What are the fitness and/or weight loss goals you'd like to achieve in the next twelve months?  Do they seem achievable to you today?

I'd like to have you join me in a journey to lose five (5) pounds.  Just five pounds.  A month. : )  Every month of this new year of 2017 or until you've reached your healthy weight!

I know the overwhelming feeling it is to face having to lose a great deal of weight.  I was morbidly obese once and know the fatigue the weight puts on your body and your self-esteem.  You think there is NO WAY you'll be able to lose the weight.  But I'm betting on you - believing that you can set your sites on losing five pounds and that you'll be able to achieve it.  And then we'll do it again.  Five pounds at a time.  Before you know it, we'll have lost 20 pounds and then 35 and then 50 and, finally, next Christmas or Hanukkah time, we will be 60 pounds lighter and so much healthier! 

Tomorrow is the 3rd of January and will be Day 1 of the Healthy Loser Gal 5 Pound Club Challenge. The January #HLG5lbClub challenger will end on January 31st when we'll celebrate out 5 pound losses!  On February 1st we pick back up again and set another 5 pound goal for that month.

So how do you lose the weight in a month?  Science has long held that if you decrease your food intake by 500 calories per day times seven days of the week, you'll have a 3500 calorie deficit which adds up to one pound lost.  Sometimes this works for people and sometimes it doesn't.  I, personally, will be walking more and exercising with weights to help boost the calories I'll be reducing through cutting out sugary soda and meal-end sweets.  

There are tons of apps to help you count calories burned and log your food which I suggest you give a whole-hearted try! : )  Logging helps you realize the food that you casually may snack on during the day or evening without giving much thought to but that add up quickly when you log the amounts!

I will be on Twitter and Instagram and hope to see others use the #HLG5lbClub hashtag so we can offer support to one another as the challenge starts and continues!  Relying on friends to help you through a difficult day is a great way to realize you're not the only one craving chocolate or not wanting to go out to walk in 30 degree temps! 

If we truly COMMIT to the challenge and set our sites on only five pounds at a time, I know we can do this!

I hope you're in the Club with me!!


Dream. Believe. (Work hard!) Achieve! 
Jan / HealthyLoserGal