Beer be gone! I've lost the first 10 pounds and the next 10 better look out!!

Hi everyone!! I know how hard it is to get the ball rolling on weight loss so I wanted to share my story. I felt like I'd always been "chubby" my whole life….. until I look back at pictures of myself in my 20's and 30's and think, "Damn! I wish I looked like that again!" But everything changes in your 40's (just like you've always heard) and pounds don't just roll off like they used to. It becomes a lot harder to live a carefree lifestyle when it comes to eating and drinking. And I love food! And I LOVE to cook! I love experimenting in the kitchen and trying to duplicate dishes I've had at restaurants and my husband and I love going out and checking out all the new spots! Which leads to a lot of extra calories. Then, a few years ago, we discovered craft beer and enjoyed hunting down new breweries in the area and also made it a point to seek them out whenever we traveled. Well, as you may know, that can definitely pack on pounds. I started to notice my mid-section getting puffier but didn't want to give up the thing that he and I enjoyed doing together. He's an avid runner, hiker and in really great shape so he'd just run a little farther after a night on the town…for me, it wasn't so easy.

Then one morning I had a revelation! Woke up feeling puffier than ever and caught a glance of myself in a mirror while out shopping and thought it was an older woman wearing the same outfit as me!! Oh, hell no! That was it! I changed that day and haven't looked back. I decided not to drink all week and wait until the weekend to indulge. I had a habit of drinking a beer or 2 or some wine while making dinner, a reward after a hard day's work. I thought, "Well, if I can can cut that out, it'll be a huge step." And it was! Not only was it much easier than I thought, but by the time the weekend came around, I didn't really care if I had one or not. It was easy to just have a single glass of wine when we went out and call it good!

I'm 43 and know that indeed, it could all be downhill from here if I wasn't careful. It's not too far off to be "over the hill" if you don't do something to stop it. I wanted to climb back up that hill while I could still see the top of it! So, I went for it!

I started by changing my drinking and eating habits and realized that just because I'm cooking for someone who just ran a half marathon, I don't need to put the same amount of calories on my plate. Every single meal I have includes fresh, raw vegetables and protein. I start every morning with a spinach smoothie consisting of anything green I have in the house. I switch it up by adding almond milk, bananas, pineapple, papaya, chia seeds, tofu, spirulina or some days just water and greens. I make enough to drink 1/2 of it after my workout. For snacks I have red pepper strips, apples, nuts or anything green. At dinnertime, it's easy to make a big salad with fresh veggies and some salmon and cook up some extra chicken or potatoes if the hubs is feeling a little hungrier that night. I've actually pictured myself in front of a mirror when I'm cooking or making a snack thinking, "What fuel does my body need?" and only including that in my meals. It's made a huge difference! Now when we go out, I can have a glass or 2 of red wine or a vodka soda and know that I've earned it and can afford the calories.

The other very significant change that I've made is Yoga!! I'd tried it other times in my life and never really got it. But this time was different. It's really changed my life! It changes the way I think about my body and what I put into it. It truly is a temple and if you treat it like one, you will be rewarded!! I've lost 10 pounds so far but it feels like 20! Everyone around me has noticed, some say I'm "glowing" and my husband's noticed that my body is changing…and he likes it!! It's only been 41 days since I've made these changes and I can't wait to see what the next 41 will bring!!