{"id":1009,"date":"2009-05-05T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2009-05-05T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/weight-loss-how-i-reached-my-feel-great-weight\/"},"modified":"2009-05-05T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2009-05-05T00:00:00","slug":"weight-loss-how-i-reached-my-feel-great-weight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/1millionbestdownloads.com\/weight-loss-how-i-reached-my-feel-great-weight\/","title":{"rendered":"How I Reached My Feel Great Weight"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Tina Haupert<\/a>
I love food and I love eating. I don't love dieting. Although I have always been a mostly healthy eater, I'm not one to turn down a piece of birthday cake or a glass of wine during cocktail hour. But indulging a little too much and a little too often resulted in a slow gain of 25 pounds by my early 20s.<\/p>\n

When I was younger, I'd managed to maintain my weight of 130 pounds by being active. I belonged to the dance team and played intramural sports, so it wasn't difficult for me to motivate myself to exercise. After college, I started a desk job, and with that came long hours, pizza lunches, and plenty of happy hours. I continued to exercise almost every day, but it wasn't enough—and my weight climbed to 153, too much for my 5-foot-4-inch frame.<\/p>\n

My tipping point<\/strong>
I wasn't happy at my heaviest, but I wasn’t really motivated to do anything about it until a ski trip with friends in 2004 put things in perspective. The vacation was a blast, but I quickly lost my getaway glow when I saw photos from our trip. Looking at the physical proof, I was embarrassed by how much weight I had gained. Every photo was a "bad" photo of me. I was so depressed that I threw most of them away.<\/p>\n

$\"tina-haupert-before-150.jpg\"$ tina-haupert-before-150.jpg<\/span> . Counting calories really helped me understand my overblown portion sizes and just how many calories I was consuming.<\/p>\n

Next page:<\/strong> My four Feel Great Weight tips<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

My Feel Great Weight<\/strong>
Almost a year and a half later, in the summer of 2006, I finally reached my Feel Great Weight of 130 pounds. My weight loss didn’t happen overnight—in fact it took a pretty long time—but that was because I wasn't "dieting." I hate dieting, remember? Through trial and error and figuring out what worked best for me, I made lifestyle changes, which have stuck with me to today. For example, I almost always have oatmeal with all-natural nut butter and a piece of fruit for breakfast. It helps set a healthy tone for my whole day, plus it keeps me full until lunchtime.<\/p>\n

These four tricks helped me lose the weight and keep it off for the past three years.<\/p>\n

1. Make an appointment to exercise<\/strong>
Every Sunday I jot down my exercise goals in my planner. Sometimes last-minute plans get in the way, but I generally stick to my schedule once I've put it in ink.<\/p>\n

2. Count calories—at least in the beginning
<\/strong>I didn’t realize just how many calories I was consuming, so writing down what I ate helped keep me aware of what I was putting in my mouth. I don't count calories anymore, but I track what I eat (and when I exercise) on my blog, Carrots 'N' Cake<\/a>, which keeps me accountable.<\/p>\n

3. Meal plan
<\/strong>Every Sunday I sit down and plan a week's worth of meals. I almost always brown-bag my lunch, which means I have more control over how many calories are in my meal. I'm also able to save money by making sure I use up all of my fresh produce.<\/p>\n

4. Keep truckin'
<\/strong>Maintaining your Feel Great Weight is all about balance. If I overindulge at a weekend barbecue or mindlessly munch throughout the afternoon, I don't throw in the towel. I make sure my next meal is healthy and move on.<\/p>\n

Now I'm committed to maintaining my Feel Great Weight<\/a> without missing out on any important moments, like birthday celebrations or nights out with friends. And I can’t stick to steamed broccoli every night—I have a husband who would not appreciate that—so I’ve found ways to make our favorite meals a little better for our waistlines.<\/p>\n

The support of my new fitness buddies and loyal blog readers helped me achieve and maintain my Feel Great Weight. I can't wait to share my tips and tricks with you, but I’ll need you to hold me accountable. I hope you’ll share some of your secrets and successes too.<\/p>\n

Read Tina's daily food and fitness blog, Carrots 'N' Cake<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"