Step 1

So I said I would expound on my 11 tips that have helped me or that I learned along the way and here is the first one: "Invest in a fitness watch, or at least a pedometer or download a pedometer on your phone."

So before I started my weight loss journey, or I guess I should say before I started being successful on my weight loss journey my dad bought my mom a Fit Bit Charge 2 for Christmas. It was really cool because she would get up and walk in place every so often to make sure she was getting her steps in. After seeing her do that for a while it inspired me to invest in my own fitness watch. I ended up with the Samsung Gear Fit 2, I got mine from the Best Buy website, it was a refurbished unit so it was a little bit less expensive. 

I cannot tell you how helpful a fitness watch is for me! It helps motivate me so much and it is fantastic that I can have the watch, have it talk to my phone and it all work together! It may sound silly but walking and working out, I love to pull up the app on my phone and see how many calories I burnt and/or how far I went! My app gives little reward badges and I don't care if I am almost thirty, I like the simple encouragement. "Yes, I will take my gold sticker for getting all my steps in yesterday, THANK YOU!" Haha!

As much as I LOVE my fitness watch I understand that they are an investment. I had to save up for mine and it hurt seeing that money leave my account. After I ordered mine my mom ended up telling me that she had wanted to get me one for Christmas so she paid for half of it, super sweet! Still, I get it. Money is tough. So if you can't afford a fancy fitness watch go for a cheaper one (https://www.techradar.com/news/best-cheap-activity-trackers has some less expensive recommendations) or even just get a super basic pedometer. Another option is to download a pedometer app on your phone (you just have to make sure to always have your phone on you so you get credit for those steps!), your phone may actually already have a pedometer app on it! I think Samsung Health can function as a pedometer, I have my watch paired up so it just goes off my watches steps.

It may not seem like a big deal but I am convinced the reason I have been successful in my weight loss is thanks to the Lord having me get a fitness watch, or Him having my dad get my mom one which inspired me to get one. It motivates me to be active, even if that is just taking the long route through the house to the bathroom or parking at the back of the Walmart parking lot so I can get some more steps in, there is an immediate payoff, and immediate reward and every step adds up to burnt calories! 

Heaven knows sometimes it is frustrating when you don't see results on the scale for a little while but at least with the watch and the app I can know I am accomplishing something and if I keep working at it and persevering I'll get there. I'll celebrate the little victories as they happen and rejoice for each milestone!

4,650,000 Steps

That is about how many steps I have taken since I started my weight loss journey as of May 6th 2018. 

Wow, that was corny. I don't know what I'm doing right now... trying to start a blog about my weight loss. I guess I am doing this because a friend of mine sorta inspired it after she told me her mom wanted to lose weight and asked for any tips I could share. So I texted her some... then just sent her an email novel... and then I thought that MAYBE it could be helpful to someone struggling with their weight and if it CAN be helpful and/or encouraging to someone then I want to do what I can to help!

I guess I'll start with my story and stats:
My name is Jade and I am about to turn 30. I have spent my entire adult life, my teen life, and about half of my childhood overweight and even in the obese range. I have tried different diets and stuff over the years and nothing worked, or if it did work I didn't understand how to maintain it afterwords, then life got in the way and since I didn't really understand how I weight loss works I ended up gaining the weight back. 

As I said, I am about to turn 30 and I was assessing my life and realized that I had to do something about my weight. My father, his two brothers, their mother, and my mom's father all have diabetes, and I don't want it. 

So this blog is dedicated to how I made weight loss as idiot-proof for myself as possible. Also, I'm not a professional and I am still on my weight loss journey, in the home stretch, so I am certainly not the end-all-be-all of fitness and health knowledge, I'm just sharing how I have been successful with losing fat despite my natural tendency to be a couch potato and desire to face-plant into a tub of ice cream.

I started my weight loss journey in February 2017 and at the time I weighed 240.2 lbs (108.95 kg). I currently weigh 166.8 lbs (75.66 kg)! For anyone too lazy to math (LIKE ME! Thank goodness for calculators!) that is 73.4 lbs (33.29 kg) lost!

March 13th, 2017

  April 22nd, 2018

May 6th, 2018

As you can see, I still have a ways to go but I am on the home stretch! (You can also see that my aesthetic has changed a lot but that is a different story! Haha!)

SO... back to my friend who asked about weight loss tips to help her mom! I was typing them up and I thought maybe they could be helpful for other folks who have had weight issues and don't know where to start, the same way I was at the beginning of 2017. I'll leave some basic tips here and expound on each of them, and possibly add more as I think of them, in future posts.

The basics:

1. Invest in a fitness watch, or at least a pedometer or download a pedometer on your phone.

2. Walking, a lot, but be realistic with your step goals

3. Have a calorie budget and stick close to it but don't make yourself miserable

4. A cheat day once in a while is fine! You work hard and it is nice to have a reward once in a while

5. Make smart calorie choices and you will be more full and have more energy

6. Eat lots of protein! Start the day with protein to stay fuller longer and start the day energized

7. Drink lots of water

8. Take your picture and your measurements! (Something I wish I'd known from the get-go!)

9. Every so often reassess and adjust your calorie budget

10. Don't beat yourself up over or get too frustrated with plateaus

11. myfitnesspal.com is your friend for nutritional information!

So yeah, I have taken over 4 million steps and each one counted to get me this far and I thank the Lord that He has helped me get here and I thank him that he will help me continue on. Hopefully this will help someone else get motivated and encouraged.

-Jade