There is no secret...

I hear from many friends and acquaintances all too often, "I can't seem to lose weight. I exercise x amount of days and the weight will not come off." My response is what are you eating? What is your daily caloric intake? I exercised for years and did not watch what I ate. The result of that was a huge weight gain where I topped off at 180/185 pounds. Come on, really, what ARE you eating? Don't lie to me and most especially don't lie to yourself. I spent too many years telling myself how healthy I was. So you say you are consuming 1500 calories a day. Does that include the handful of crackers, cereal, those few cookies, that glass of wine or those few tester bites you had while you were cooking? You can be way up past 2000 calories in no time. Be real.

My main reason for beginning this blog is to encourage people, particularly women, to find the power within themselves to accomplish the goals at hand. You can lose weight or whatever goal it is that you have set. There is no secret to being healthy. Please do not take pills or drink that "magic" shake or go on that special diet. You know what to do. It is common sense. Burn more than you take in and make sure you are taking in healthy unprocessed foods and are exercising daily.

Don't make any excuses. You will run out of tomorrows and new years. Don't wait till the new year begins to make that choice to be a healthier you. Each day is a new day; each hour is a new hour. If you made a mistake this morning, dust yourself off and keep going. You do not have to eat those cookies because YOU have the power to make a good choice. The choices you make affect your future.

I apologize if my edge is harsh, but my motive is to encourage you to take those simple steps to becoming healthy and fit. YOU have the POWER TO DO. Don't let anyone else tell you that you don't.

I did it and you can too. Here is my proof. The first picture was of me in 2007. I weighed approximately 180/185 pounds. The second picture is of me in late November 2009. My current weight is 132 pounds.