I’ve lost a total of 102 pounds since March 2012. I’ve learned a lot of hard lessons as I change my lifestyle.

I’m down 4 pounds this past week, bringing my total weight loss to 102 pounds!

Normally I post my weight info on the same day as weigh-ins, and I expected to do the same Saturday morning. But after stepping off that scale I immediately knew it wasn’t going to be like any other day.

You’d think I’d be jumping for joy once I reached that milestone. Losing 100 pounds is a big moment for sure, but celebrating was the farthest thing from my mind.

Yes, I crossed the century mark, but my journey is far from over. I started jotting down random thoughts and lessons I learned (some hard and some outright silly) and what I need to do to keep me on my path.

When I started my weight loss journey in 2012, losing 100 pounds seemed like a dream. I wish I could say it was all diet and exercise, but that’s too simple. I’ve done that before and ended up gaining even more weight. This time around it wasn’t about losing weight. I wanted to get healthy.  The diet mindset is gone. Now I’m living my life the way I want and I’m not going back.

Oh, the husband made sure we celebrated my weight loss. We did a Champagne toast (I had the points). And I’m rewarding myself with a trip to a day spay!

Dot’s 100 Random Thoughts On Dropping 100 Pounds

1. Read everything on weight loss you can find.  You don’t have to believe it (and most is wrong), but you need to keep new ideas coming in.
2. If you have a lot to lose, invest in clothes with drawstrings, and a good belt with lots of holes.  And scissors….
3. Take photos of your progress. Photos don’t lie!
4. Start a weight loss blog – a great way to document your journey and you’ll get a lot of support from fellow travelers.
5. You get lots of support from Weight Watchers meetings and can make new friends along the way.
6. Give yourself permission to cheat. It’s OK…really.
7. Create a “weight loss” kitchen. Controlling your kitchen goes a long way to eating healthy foods.
8. If someone offers you a cup cake, that’s ok.  Throw it at them.  It’s fun.
9. If you only break your diet on “special occasions,” every day will be a special occasion.
10. Invest in personal care products. There’s an almost ritualistic satisfaction from taking care of yourself everyday.
11. Your wedding ring doesn’t fit anymore? Don’t feel bad – go shopping!
12. Design your meals around vegetables!
    
13. Keep a snack in the car.  You don’t want to get stuck somewhere with nothing between you and McDonald’s but a purse full of cash.
14. Yes red wine is good for you, but you should still limit how much you drink.
15. Invest in smaller plates.
16. Eat because you are hungry, not because the food looks amazing.
17. Herbal teas are not only good for you, but they fill you up (and suppress hunger – Thank you Chamomile!).
18. I love almonds! They keep me going for hours. But watch the portions!
19. If you need a little motivation, live every day like you’re going to the beach in 3 weeks for a reunion with all your skinniest high school friends.
20. Carrot cake is not a vegetable.
21. Oddly enough, watch cooking shows; it turns the kitchen into something new and fun.
22. The most important meal of the day was the one you skipped.
23. Dispose of your fat clothes except for one pair of jeans. Slip into them on bad days. A great reminder of how far you’ve come.
24. Everyone will offer advice – just go with it.
25. All diets agree on one thing: see a doctor before starting any weight loss plan.  I agree!
26. Only you can make yourself a priority in your own life.
27. Never do yoga at home unless you can lock the cat out of the room.
28. Don’t try the tapeworm diet!
29. The “Tomorrow I’m on a Diet” isn’t really a diet.
30. Have a personal theme song – it can get you through tough times.  Mine is Joss Stone’s Free Me.
31. Be the Tortoise, not the Hare, when you first start exercising.
32. Give up the soda – even diet.  Sweet-anything spikes your insulin.
33. If you try Coca-Cola 8 months after giving it up, it tastes like crap.
34. Don’t fear the scale.
35. Take your measurements every month. The tape measure can show success even if the scale isn’t moving.
36. Believe in yourself. And if you think that’s just a trite cliché then that’s a problem you need to work on.
37. Grains, breads, pastas and most sugars: these spike your insulin levels. Insulin causes fat cells to lock up carbohydrates as triglycerides (fat). Then you get very hungry again, very quickly, no matter who you are.
38. Kick the office chair to the curb and use an exercise ball instead.
39. You can always drink more water.
40. “Making up for” a missed meal by eating more will just make you fat.
41. One bad meal doesn’t blow your week.
42. Mistakes happen. Learn from them.
43. Stop beating yourself up – move on and get back on track.
44. It’s more fun to dance on an exercise ball than an office chair!
45. Eat at least ½ your weight (in grams) in protein, daily.
46. Creating weekly menus are hot!
47. Nutrition labels – read them. Always!
48. Not eating certain foods isn’t a punishment.  It’s a choice.
49. Fried foods are bad. Period!
50. It’s not a diet.  It’s a lifestyle – embrace it.
51. Read Why We Get Fat.  You’ll thank me.  Really, you will.  (No, really).
52. Food Prep: clean and chop your veggies ahead of time and keep them in clear containers in the fridge, meats too.  That way you save time and you nix any excuse not to make your own meals.
53. Fight food cravings with go-to distractions – go for a walk, enjoy a hobby.
54. Don’t waste time. I’ve wasted too much time coming up with excuses for why I don’t have time to make healthy meals.
55. Get enough sleep – it re-balances hormones involved with appetite and weight loss.
56. Baby steps: Don’t think about how much you have to lose. Break it down into smaller goals. Your first 5 lbs; 10% of body weight; 25 pounds. It makes it easier to keep your focus and keep up enthusiasm.
57. Fitness and food challenges are great motivators.
58. Limit eating out as much as possible, along with anything that threatens your new good habits.
59. Reward your successes with non-food rewards.
60. Savor every victory, no matter how small.
61. Think of food as fuel (but don’t go drinking gasoline or anything…sheesh).
62. Just because you exercise, it doesn’t mean you can eat “anything.” Or, in my husband’s case, “everything.”
63. Burpees are just plain evil…but a necessary evil.
64. Eat at least five times a day: breakfast, lunch and dinner, and 2 snacks.
65. Brushing your teeth after meals kills the “need” for unhealthy snacking (and dentists).
66. Not all calories are created equal!
67. Chicken and fish are not necessarily the healthiest things on the menu – whether or not they’re prefixed with “Mc” or “filet-O’.”
68. Just say no to the bread basket.
69. Always order salad dressing on the side.
70. When dining out, order your meal the way you want it.
71. Always look up the menu online and pick your meal before going to a restaurant.
72. No, really, it’s ok to bring your own salad dressing to a restaurant.
73. Every day brings little surprises – enjoy them.
74. Calories-in/Calories-out is wrong.
75. It’s amazing how much your health improves after losing that first 10%.
76. Need motivation? Not drinking enough water? Hard to track food? There’s an app for that!
77. Fruit is ok.  Fruit juice is bad.
78. Stay away from processed “low fat” foods – all they’ve done is load it with carbs and sugar.
79. After 25 years of eating low-fat foods, I now know where all that missing fat went to…my ass!
80. Fructose corn syrup is eeeeeeeeevil.
81. Excuses are far more “addictive” than food.
82. I only shop the outer perimeter of a grocery store: produce, dairy, meat.
83. Have friends help you with a fashion makeover.
84. After losing 75 pounds, I stopped dressing like I was ashamed of something.
85. Find an exercise you love and just do it.
86. Courage grows with every pound you shed. It did for me.
87. The right fats are good for you. Your body can’t create essential fatty acids; they only come from your next meal.
88. Creating good eating habits can take as little as a couple of weeks to as long as it takes.  Don’t give up.
89. Obesity is not a caloric imbalance, it’s hormone controlled. And that chief hormone is insulin.
90. Willpower doesn’t exist.  Weight loss is about choosing what is right vs. what’s easy.
91. Being fat is not a character flaw.
92. Gary Taubes (Why We Get Fat): “We don’t get fat because we overeat, we overeat because we’re getting fat.”  — i.e., being bigger makes you hungrier.
93. Exercise is awesome, but you don’t lose weight by exercise.  You lose weight by your food choices.
94. Sometimes you gotta hit bottom before you can lose the weight. (In my case, my doctor said I was very close to becoming a diabetic).
95. If you have a lot to lose, be ready for loose skin.
96. Success is infectious. It makes you want to help everybody.
97. If you absolutely, positively must break your diet, eat something delightful.  Then stop breaking your diet.
98. Friends and family can be saboteurs. Be prepared.
99. Your eyes are always bigger than your stomach: measure everything!
100. Track everything you eat, taste, lick, or chew. It’s too easy to selectively remember your past.
101.  Always go the extra mile!