{a weighty issue}

In light of my fb post about all of you force feeding my husband I've had several people asking me how I am losing weight.  I thought I would address this because I feel the need to spread the good word, and thank you all so much for your kind words.  Some tips:

• Read Women, Food and God. This book changed so much for me, and everyone that I've recommended it to who has actually read it has had a good cry and figured some stuff out.  Just about everything I'm going to go over stems from this book. See here and here.
• Stop dieting.  Now.  Seriously.  If you want to eat a pan of brownies, do it.  If you want to eat ice cream everyday, all day long do it. With that, however, focus on how it makes you feel being overly full and uncomfortable after you do.  You'll stop wanting to overeat yourself to death.
• Stop eating when you are full.  And I mean the bite that you're full you're done.  Seems easy, but it took me a good 6 months to master....and if the food is SUPER good I still struggle...
• Start reading food labels.  EVERYTHING has sugar in it.  Peanut Butter, Yogurt (seriously, don't even go near Yoplait), Spaghetti Sauce, Bread, Milk, Cereal.  When I say I quit sugar, I actually stopped eating all of these things (or switched over to a no-sugar version...and I don't mean fake sugar instead, I mean no sweetener added ie plain greek yogurt, natural peanut butter, and organic 9-grain bread).  A lot of them had WAY more sugar in them than the cookies or cupcakes I want to eat.  And if you're worried about whether or not your kids will eat the healthy food-if it's the only option, they will.  I started buying cereal for a bit while I was prego (it stays down) and suddenly Paisley only wanted cereal for every meal and would refuse other food.  As soon as there wasn't cereal in the house this was no longer a problem...  See here.
• When you quit eating all the sugar they pack into "normal food" (seriously the "lean cusine's" I was eating were 300 calories and 25 grams of sugar!!!) you'll stop craving sugar.  It takes TIME.  And it's not just about calories...it really is about sugar and processed crap.  
•  Be European.  Enjoy and experience your food.  As soon as I start trying to count calories or get too specific I get really rebellious.  I just enjoy and stop when I'm full.
• Don't drink calories.  Drink water.  Lots and lots of water.  If you're lips get chapped you're not drinking enough-your body will tell you this stuff if you listen.
• Eat more veggies.  We started doing bountiful baskets and I love it.  Find something like that that works for you.
• Find a cardio that you love and do it.  I LOVE zumba.  So much that I don't mind going 4 days a week because I love it.  As soon as Stella is 6 months I'm going to start lifting because I need some sculpting goodness...something I also enjoy doing.  Don't force yourself to do something you hate-you need to love your body and be nice to it.  See here and here.
• Love your body.  My body and I had to go through some stuff.  It really wasn't until I survived making/birthing/feeding Paisley that I really began to appreciate my body and be grateful that it was doing such a good job housing my spirit.  I stop hating it and started embracing it and loving it for what it was.  How many episodes of Biggest Loser do we have to watch before we all realize that it's emotional damage that keeps us heavy!  See here and here.
• Be SUPER patient.  I started changing my lifestyle...gradually...2+ years ago.  I am just now really starting to see some results.  I think I've finally gotten to a point where my body is letting go of the fat because it can trust I'm not going to try and starve it, master cleanse it, or work it to death.  (And I'm nursing, which last time didn't work for me, but I think might be working now because I'm eating so much better and taking care of myself) See here.
• Think of this as a lifestyle!!  I changed my lifestyle...not put myself on a diet.  It was small change after small change after small change.  In the book Women, Food and God she talks about everyone having a "natural weight" that your body will normalize to and I really think it's true.  I think I'm finally heading towards mine.  See here.
• Don't drink the koolaid.  I don't know why, but women flock together and hate their bodies as a group-don't do this.  You love your body.  Be different and spread the good word.

I'm down almost 40 lbs from my heaviest weight (not pregnant) so the proof is in the pudding..er, uh veggies.  And if you see me eating a cookie it's because my ultimate slogan is "I never want to be so skinny I can't have cake at a birthday party."  and I'm sticking with that...

Oh, and seriously-force feed my husband something if you see him.  He could use a donut.