Secrets to Successfully Losing 100+ Pounds

Question – have you ever hit a plateau in your journey? I thought I was in one when I didn't lose anything for a month, so I started zig-zagging my intake and that seemed to work.

I have plateaued so many times I lost count.

In 2009 I weighed 265 lbs and was 49% BF. I'm only 5'3," to put that weight a bit more into perspective. I have lost 102 lbs since then. I now weigh in at 163 lbs and am 32% BF. Everyone keeps telling me how great I look and asking for my secrets, so here they are.

1. I work 40+ hours at a job in which I am always on my feet.

2. I walk to and from work most days.

3. Lately I have been neglecting the gym, but I usually hit the gym 4-5 times a week. I also walk to/from the gym.

4. I walk to get groceries. Last week I decided to add up the weight of my groceries out of curiousity and found out that I had walked home (15 blocks) with 50 lbs of groceries.

5. For fun I do things that are active (require some moving around), such as walking down Candy Cane Lane to look at Christmas lights, spending the day at the museum, walks in the park or down by the lake, geocaching, etc.

6. I have to stress this last point because people ask me all the time, "Aren't you trying to lose weight? Should you really be eating that?" or "Aren't you on a diet?" The answer is yes, I am trying to lose weight, but no I am not on a diet and I don't avoid any foods that I love. I DO count calories. I eat approximately 1600 calories on an inactive day, but I eat back ALL the extra calories I burn. Yes, you read correctly. If I burn an extra 900 calories at the gym you'd better believe I will be eating all 900 of those calories back. You'll probably find me at Sobleman's Pub and Grill eating a burger and drinking a Bloody Mary or Kopps having some frozen custard. If I want something high calorie or I find myself hungry at the end of 1600 calories, I eat. I take that as a signal from my body that I didn't give it something it needed during the day. No "dieting" here.