Livestrong

Now that school is back in session and I am seeing people I haven't seen in a few months, the questions are starting to be asked. "How have you lost weight?" "Do your really get up at 4am to exercise? Everyday?" "How can I lose weight quickly?" "What kind of exercises can I do?" "Is there a pill or vitamin I should be taking?"

Believe me, I have tried a lot of things to lose weight. I am still trying new things, because I am not quite there, yet. What I have discovered through all my trials and many errors, is that there is not a "magic bullet" or something that works for everyone. You have to find what works for YOU.

I have spent many, many hours at the gym trying to exercise the weight away. In short, it just doesn't work. The key is diet and exercise. When I say "diet" I don't mean a fad, quick or overly-restrictive diet. I mean paying attention (close attention) to what you are eating and trying to eat healthy most of the time. In all my years of fighting the "Battle of the Bulge" I have discovered (finally!) that it is about 75-80% what you put in your face and only about 20-25% hard, consistent exercise. I honestly thought I could exercise hard 5-6 days a week and eat anything I wanted. That only worked to a point. I would lose some, but plateau and the scale would never move. It wasn't until I started doing Weight Watchers consistently that the weight started to come off.

I didn't want Weight Watchers to work. I didn't want to have to change my diet. I wanted to be able to blame my weight on being "big boned" or "muscular" or "genetics." I didn't want to have to be accountable for what I fed my face. Exercise is the easy part of the equation. Eating right is the hard part.

I get weekly emails from livestrong.com and this week there is an interesting article about finding what works for you. I encourage you to read it and find the combination of diet and exercise that helps you be the healthiest you possible.