Back in skinny jeans

25 Things I Did to Lose 25lbs and Keep It Off For a Year Now

On Facebook, I think I've been tagged like dozens of times on that "25 Things About Me" meme, and over at Twitter, now that I have over 41k Followers asking me about how I lost weight, I thought I'd combine the two together. I'm all for two-fers!

Just to recap. I started a 25lb weight loss journey back in June of 2005 and reached my goal in January of 2008, and have kept it all off ever since. Above is me two weeks ago enjoying a day at a resort in the Philippines. Mom took the picture. I did post during the whole time I was dropping those 25lbs on my blog Back in Skinny Jeans which included Weigh-In Wednesdays. Here's that whole section called, "Steph Loses Weight."

So here we go:

1. I eliminated consuming any artificial sweeteners like aspartame and Splenda which I was mostly consuming through diet sodas like Diet Coke, Pepsi, and Dr. Pepper, and in my coffee and tea drinks at Starbucks. When I did that 10lbs just fell off. My theory, and again I am no medical pro, is related to this study on how artificial sweeteners can increase your odds of gaining weight.

2. My basic eating philosophy is based around a concept I call "Eating Wellness." I created my food blog Noshtopia to share the things I love to eat, cook, and savor in. There's plenty of food shots too which helps me express my creative side. Admittedly too, I am a Whole Foods addict.

3. I pretty much stopped eating in the car like it was a restaurant on wheels. I don't go through any drive thrus either. If I want food, I park and go inside.

Better Than Nothin': Make One Phone Call

On Tuesdays, you get a hip-hip-hooray for taking steps for making the smallest of actions towards your health and life goals. We're going to throw in life goals today because hey, it's all tied together. You need a well oiled ship in order to take that adventure to your destination, joy.

And when I talk about tiny actions, I'm talking about stuff that is effortless, so small it almost feels like you haven't done anything at all. But the fact is, you have done something because doing something small adds up over time, and it is better than doing zero like eating one more green vegetable this week or making an appointment to talk to a free adviser at your local entrepreneur center.

Let your fingers do the dialing

You'd be amazed how taking one tiny step could catapult you to new places. Even one phone call or email could change your whole life.

So how about it? Is there a phone call you need or I should say want to make, but fear is standing between you and that call. Here's a simple truth, the only difference between you and someone who has achieved their dreams and goals is that at a single moment like this where a simple phone call needs to be made, the one who goes on to success makes that phone call. They feel the fear and do it anyway. That's it. Simple.

The small stuff can matter in big ways

The road to what you want is paved with all kinds of these small situations like making that one phone call, writing that one email, or submitting that one application. Mentally, we keep telling ourselves that we're waiting for those big breaks, those big opportunities, but really, those big situations come along very rarely, it's the day-to-day stuff that makes the difference and frankly will lead up to those big breaks.

Another way to look at this situation. Picture yourself 20 years from now, and look back to this moment. If an angel gave you a glimpse of what your life could have looked like, what you could have achieved, and it resulted to just making one phone call, how would you feel?

Me, I'd be kicking my own ass. This is how I've been looking at life now. I'd rather try and be rejected or fall on my face, than wonder my whole life what could have been had I just faced my fears and did that one small thing like make that phone call.

And the more you face these type of situations, the better you'll get at handling them. Remember out of school how scared you were at your very first job interview? Now, you can walk into an interview and interview the company instead of it being the other way around. That savvy built up over time.

So what are you waiting for? You can do it!

Chillin' Like the Birds

Been a crazy week here as I've been attendee hectic at the Web 2.0 Expo in San Francisco. Got the conference information overload so I'm taking some time to chill like my bird friend here. Be back next week.

You all have a great weekend. Be sure to hug those you love. Speak to yourself with kind words. Be grateful for that fabulous bod of yours!

One of the Consequences of Growth

These words of John Maxwell seem so obvious, but in reality how many of us have gone through periods where we wanted to grow and change minus the uncomfortableness of moving out of our comfort zone. We like our comfort zone because, well, it is comforting. We may not be the happiest of campers in that zone, but we aren't in agony enough to really bust out.

Or, how about this craziness, we do the same thing over and over, hoping that the next time would produce different results or we keep hoping that the people we're involved with will somehow get on the bandwagon and change to what we need?

Past the expiration date but still in the fridge

How many relationships do we let go way past their expiration dates because we keep hoping that something or that someone will change? When in actuality, what we're really doing is holding onto the illusion of that person changing into something they are not for what we want instead of us having the courage to go out into the unknown and find what we really need. And, trust that the universe will take care of us in our venture into the unfamiliar. {raises hand}

The truth is a consequence of change and growth is pain and discomfort, plain and simple. Think about every single life thing you've been through where you stretched yourself, you learned gobs about yourself, and you became a better you. in every scenario, pain was involved in some shape or form and in various degrees. Typically, your biggest growth lessons involved the largest amounts of pain.

There is always a flip side

But really, if you think about it, the other side of the coin of pain is a positive gain for you. Yeah, it doesn't feel good at the time, but you are gaining something in the long run which is for your higher good.

I think sometimes part of our fear of growth is really projecting pain into the future when really we don't know if our worst fears would even come true. Things might just be better than we pictured or they might not be as painful as we thought. So really, our fear is of imagined fear.

I'm getting better at no longer doing that future fear projection because really all you get is worry and anxiety not to mention a life that is put on hold...by you. I don't want to look back on my life and think "what if" I had I just felt the fear and went for it anyway.

So, how about you? You feeling the fear and doing it anyway?

Better Than Nothin': 16 Quick Ways To Love Your Body

Tuesday is the day of the week we give you a high-five for taking any small action or step towards your health goals. Choosing to drink one less soda or do cardio just 5 minutes more than your usual, is better than doing zero.

Every small choice we make adds up over time. Plus, those baby changes are more likely to stick in the long term because they are doable and the work required won't trigger any of your fears or that pesky Inner Resistance Monster of yours.

This month, I am one of the featured bloggers in Glamour.com's "16 Ways to Love Your Body." I'm #5 on the list amongst some other healthy living, fitness, and body image bloggers you all know and love.

Each of the 16 ways are nice little tidbits, a 3 sentence paragraph from topics like becoming your body's BFF, stopping the comparisons, and stepping off the scale, my two cents. In order to have the healthier life we want, we have to first start with the relationship we have with our bodies.

In a quick sentence, what is one way you learned to love your body?

Another Kind of Cleanse: The Media Fast

There was a time when I used to subscribe to almost all the women's magazines covering fashion, fitness, and home stuff. I also regularly read all the celeb pubs like People, US, Star, and The Enquirer, for the pictures, of course. I'd also watch TV programs that dealt with fashion and lifestyles of the rich and famous. It dawned on me that consuming all that media kept me in the fashion and trends loop, but afterward it also made me feel inadequate and not pretty enough.

Moderation is fine, but when you read over half a dozen mags and watch countless TV shows all the time, you are bombarding your psyche with tons of messages from all those media outlets. As far as the magazines go, there is always an article about how to lose 10 lbs quickly, how to disguise your figure flaws, how to make "him" love you, and how to make yourself over.

Then, couple the beauty rags with the celeb rags, and you see what glamorous life you "don't" have, and wish you could experience. If you had the chance to walk down the red carpet, wouldn't you take it? Admittedly, I'd be all over it. Glamour can be intoxicating.

So, if you do find that you inundate yourself with all kinds of magazines, shows, and even blogs and websites, try a media fast for a few days, a week or up to a month to detox yourself from all those messages about what you should look like, what you could look like, or what our youth perfection media culture says you should look like. Ease into the media fast instead of going cold turkey. Start by cutting your media fix by 1/3 of what you normally consume. Do that for a few days, then cut another 1/3 and so on.

Do some journaling. At the end of your media fast, summarize how you feel. I bet you will notice a difference in how you feel about yourself for the better.

There was a time when I used to subscribe to almost all the women's magazines covering fashion, fitness, and home stuff. I also regularly read all the celeb pubs like People, US, Star, and The Enquirer, for the pictures, of course. I'd also watch TV programs that dealt with fashion and lifestyles of the rich and famous. It dawned on me that consuming all that media kept me in the fashion and trends loop, but afterward it also made me feel inadequate and not pretty enough.

Moderation is fine, but when you read over half a dozen mags and watch countless TV shows all the time, you are bombarding your psyche with tons of messages from all those media outlets. As far as the magazines go, there is always an article about how to lose 10 lbs quickly, how to disguise your figure flaws, how to make "him" love you, and how to make yourself over.

Then, couple the beauty rags with the celeb rags, and you see what glamorous life you "don't" have, and wish you could experience. If you had the chance to walk down the red carpet, wouldn't you take it? Admittedly, I'd be all over it. Glamour can be intoxicating.

So, if you do find that you inundate yourself with all kinds of magazines, shows, and even blogs and websites, try a media fast for a few days, a week or up to a month to detox yourself from all those messages about what you should look like, what you could look like, or what our youth perfection media culture says you should look like. Ease into the media fast instead of going cold turkey. Start by cutting your media fix by 1/3 of what you normally consume. Do that for a few days, then cut another 1/3 and so on.

Do some journaling. At the end of your media fast, summarize how you feel. I bet you will notice a difference in how you feel about yourself for the better.

Struggling With Your Work?

One of my mentors told me that struggle is the universe's way of telling you that you are barking up the wrong tree. She told me to look at struggle as a good thing because it is guiding you to the fact that there is another path, plan, or attitude that will get you to your goals and dreams with more ease.

Here's an example of career struggle that eventually led to fame and fortune. Lucille Ball had a dream to be an entertainer. She began her career in modeling which led to a stint on Broadway. She'd land parts, but would soon get fired from each one. Moving on from theater, Lucille went to Hollywood to be a movie star. She landed movies parts but soon became the Queen of B movies, a position that was not for her.

Everything changed when Lucille met Desi Arnaz. He told her that drama wasn't her suit but rather comedy. Lucille got hired for a comedy radio show which became a hit. CBS then wanted to turn the radio program into a TV show. Lucille would only do it if they hired Desi to play her TV husband. CBS said no because they thought viewers would not be interested in watching a bi-racial couple. Determined, Lucille and Desi took their act on a vaudeville tour where it became a hit. CBS then reconsidered and "I Love Lucy" went on to become one of the most beloved shows in TV history.

If you're struggling in your career right now, and not getting any where but frustrated, perhaps it's time to look at going down another path or creating another plan of action. If what you are currently doing really was the best course, you would be moving in a direction of flow and least resistance. Get your creative juices going. Your dream is yours to have. It just may be a different picture than you imagined.

Better Than Nothin': Eliminate Just 10 grams

High five people to all of you who are making even the most minuscule of actions and steps in the direction of your health goal. Tuesdays here at BISJ are all about celebrating the small stuff because all these teensy actions do add up over time.

You won't get results lickety split, but you will get changes that have a much higher chance of lasting long term because you did them gradually without shocking your system, namely your Inner Resistance Monster.

This week, take two days, and one day eliminate just 10 grams of sugar, and the second day eliminate just 10 grams of fat preferably a saturated or trans fat. MUFAs like in avocado, nuts, and fish are good, you want to keep eating those fats.

For example, one packet of Sugar in the Raw, you know those brown packets of sugar at Starbucks, is 5g of sugar. So, if you normally use 3 packets of that Sugar in the Raw, use only one packet, and boom, you've trimmed 10g of sugar.

By starting off eliminating just 10g of sugar and fat, you're making a step albeit small that is better for your health and will lead you to cutting out more sugar and fat from your normal diet (way of eating), again in a way that is slowly and that doesn't trigger your deprivation mechanisms.

Quote on Plan B

You Can't Go Back and Start Over, But....

...you can start today, right now, and create a new ending. I just love this quote. It got me thinking about the past, and how we can let wounds, mistakes, and regrets keep us stuck or immobilized in fear in our present. Many of those wounds from the past are often times the root of why we self sabotage, give up or over indulge in things like food, shopping, sex, alcohol, and drugs.

Those pains from the past are very real, and they can live a lifetime, and you can feel like you'll never be the same again or that you're damaged beyond repair. And you have every right to feel those things. We all have the right to be angry, mourn, and be sad or depressed about injustices that happened to us. We should give ourselves time to grieve and heal.

But then at some time, it's time to let go and move forward. There is no perfect time, and it doesn't have to be graceful, smooth, or well planned out. We just need to move, take a baby step foward. We need to pull our ship out of the harbor and head toward our destination. We can always course correct later. The point is, we're in the sea moving in our journey. At some point, we have to face why we continue to feed our pain and fears because really it only serves to keep us from the life we really want.

I like to believe that the universe has a much bigger plan that I cannot see...yet. And perhaps those things that happened to me were just possibly the catalyst for me to become more evolved, more loving, and more forgiving. 

I find comfort in the story of the caterpillar who at one point has to die, live in a cocoon, and then re-emerge into the world as a butterfly. The caterpillar had to experience great pain and suffering and loss, was kept hidden from the world for awhile, but now can fly high and beautiful. I like to believe that one day I'll have my butterfly moment.

We can't ever go back and start again, but we have today. It won't be easy. It won't be a cake walk, but it's a new possibility. It's something to believe in and never give up hope on. We can decide right now and take steps at this very moment even tiny ones to create our new ending, the ending where our dreams and goals are waiting for us:) So, what are you waiting for?