How I Lost 70 lbs.

But didn’t keep it off.

A few years ago, I lost a lot of weight. I did everything you were supposed to do: tracked food, started exercising, planned meals and snacks, moderated. I also gained it all back. I’m re-starting my journey again for the (three-hundredth) time and I thought about the two questions that helped guide my choices when I was so successful before:

1. How does this contribute to my long term goals? We all have lots of goals. We want to have good relationships, we want to be healthy, we want to accomplish something — maybe many things. As I made my choices, I framed the outcome within the context of my goals. A cocktail might not contribute to my health goals, but it may contribute to my relationship goals, so sometimes that was OK.
2. Is this nourishing? Nourishing can mean a few different things. It can mean physically nourishing, spiritually nourishing, socially nourishing. The question helps you think about what the food does for you, ‘cause that’s all food really is, a tool for nourishment.

These two simple questions helped me be mindful about the choices I was making, not only food choices but how I spent my time.

At some point, I lost focus and gained it all back. Instead of re-focusing when I saw my weight increase, I decided I would deal with it later. Well, later is now. Back to it for me; I’m hoping to have success again and keep it off this time.