Real World Weight Loss

Lose Weight Without Losing Yourself

Published

on January 16, 2009

. Closed

{Hi, I’m Helen M. Ryan – aka Spinchick, the blog mistress. Why am I here? Because I want to help you discover how to lose weight using methods I learned while on my own weight loss journey.

Five years ago I was so overweight I could not fit into a ride at Legoland. I had a bad back, sore feet, constant fatigue and no dreams. Since then I have LOST 80 POUNDS, become a certified personal trainer, Spinning® instructor and writer.

Helen Ryan So…how did I do it? By taking simple, consistent (and free – yes, free) steps to improve myself. Follow the blog, sign up for my free e-zine. And I’d love to hear your comments about posts, or questions you might have (chat through my Facebook page, too). Carry on – today really is the first day in the rest of your life.}

Keeping Weight Loss Resolutions – Sticking with It

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spinchick

on February 5, 2010

in motivation and weight loss

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(read part one – The Beginning)

In order to keep with your resolution to lose weight you need to take baby steps. Break down you goal into manageable chunks. Don’t try for that bikini body just yet…there is plenty of time. Striving for such a large goal will almost ensure that you fail. It seems so far away – so difficult – so unattainable – so why bother?

FAKE IT

The reality is that it probably took you years to gain the weight and it is not going to come off without a fight. You have to fake yourself out. Having one large goal looming ahead of you is often not enough to keep you motivated. How can you focus on the body you want when those chocolate chip cookies are fresh, warm and oh-so-yummy?

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Keeping Weight Loss Resolutions – The Beginning

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spinchick

on January 17, 2010

in motivation and weight loss

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It’s that most wonderful time of the year again..the time for resolutions. The time for change. Did you make resolutions again this year? If so, do you think you will be able to keep them?

If you don’t, you are in good company. Resolutions are very hard to keep. In fact, over 70% of people fail stick to their resolutions, according to a recent study.

SUCCESS…OR NOT

Instead of focusing on the negatives – like how many people cannot keep their resolutions – let’s focus on the positive. How many people are successful? And of those that are, how do they do it?

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Back Away from the Turkey

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spinchick

on December 1, 2009

in motivation and weight loss

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You might feel like a deer in headlights when you look down: Frozen, in shock, unable to believe what you are seeing or avert your gaze. What is happening? The numbers on the scale are creeping up…up…up And it’s not even Christmas yet.

Uh oh Many a client and friend complained to me this week that their pants are already tight, with only one Holiday down and the major one still to go. None of us truly dare get on the scale lest we are forced to face the truth: What we did to ourselves. (Overate.) And the reason why. (Because it felt good and we were powerless to stop.)

I ate pretty decently and semi-healthy on Thanksgiving (veggie burger, portabella mushrooms and fresh veggies) with the exception of the three large, super delicious, fattening yet yummy buttered biscuits and a child-size hot fudge Sundae. Friday I was back on the Spin bike, co-teaching a 2-hour Spinning® class, all proud of myself.

Saturday I fell apart and ate everything that was not nailed down.

Sunday I started out with a healthy morning that graduated into leftover pizza, brownies, ice cream and chips.

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Eat with Control This Holiday Season

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spinchick

on November 25, 2009

in helpful stuff, motivation, tips and weight loss

. 1 Comment

Thanksgiving meal You wake up feeling sick: Head hurting, stomach squirrely, very tired, and thirsty. You know you shouldn’t have done it but you did anyway. You pop some pain killers, drink a gallon of water, eat some carrots and swear you won’t ever do it again. But you will – in less than a month. And once more you will feel awful. What did you do? Overindulge with food – and suffering the proverbial “binge hangover.”

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Will Exercise Help You Get Thin?

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spinchick

on August 19, 2009

in brain food, excercise, helpful stuff, metabolism, roundup and this just in

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The answer is no, at least according to a Time Magazine article published last week, Why Exercise Won’t Make You Thin. In fact, it is their thought that exercise might even make it harder for you to lose that excess weight.

Could this possibly be true?

As someone who has lost 80 pounds and gone from a size 20 to a size 4 by exercising and making moderate changes to her diet, I can confidently state “not very likely.”

Why would Time Magazine makes those claims if they are not accurate? Because study results are always open to interpretation – and because we are talking about that very article right now. Buzz is good for business. That’s why.

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Roundup: Fat Causes Dementia; Lose Pounds Easily

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spinchick

on May 3, 2009

in roundup

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roundup

THE WEEK IN HEALTH AND FITNESS

Abdominal fat causes dementia. Excess weight is linked to increased risk of dementia (Harvard Health Publications). Why? Fatty tissue in the abdominal cavity secrete hormones that may affect brain tissues. Another reason to lose weight.

Lose a pound of fat every 12 days without really trying. (Men’s Health newsletter). Simply cutting out 2 bottles of soda per day could help you lose a pound every 1.5 weeks. One bottle of soda contains 12 teaspoons of sugar. Measure it out for fun. Pour 12 teaspoons into a clear glass to see how much sugar that really is.

No More Weight Loss Excuses

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spinchick

on April 26, 2009

in motivation

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We have all made them.

“I’m busy.”

“I don’t have the right foods.”

“I don’t have time for my full work out so I might as well not work out at all today.”

“I have to go to a party so I will indulge now and start my diet tomorrow.”

“I had a bad day.”

Or my favorite (one which I use frequently) “I’m too tired” (to lift weights, ride my bike, eat an apple, go for a walk, play with my kids.)

We are too (busy / tired / depressed) to take care of our health and our weight, and yet we make time for everything, and everyone else. (Americans watch nearly five hours of television every – single – day.)

Watch THIS VIDEO from Nike. It may help you put those excuses to rest. Take out a notebook and write your own excuses down. Borrow some from the video if you’d like. Read over your list, then look back at something you really wanted (a new car, that fabulous jacket, the European vacation, the widescreen TV). Would you let the same list of excuses stand in your way? Would you allow those same reasons keep you from getting what you wanted? Or would you make every effort possible to overcome ANY obstacle?

Think about it.

I’ve used most of these myself – have you?

Tomorrow is the First Day of the Rest of My Life

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spinchick

on April 12, 2009

in motivation

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dietcalendar1 I just read a forum post with that title. The poster talks about being fat, how disgusted she is with her weight, and gives people her diet plan for “tomorrow.”

Will she make it? Probably not. Because planning to lose weight tomorrow doesn’t ensure success – it ensures failure. Waiting for tomorrow is how I gained almost 90 pounds. Because every day I waited for tomorrow gave me a whole extra day to eat whatever I wanted…license to eat everything that was not nailed down. Eat, eat, eat, gorge, gorge, gorge. Because tomorrow – that magical tomorrow – I would start my diet. Finally be thin. The following day, when I “blew it” and hated myself bitterly, I would plan to start the next tomorrow. And so on. Day after day. Year after year. Pound after pound. Tomorrow after tomorrow.

How did I finally change? How did I finally succeed? By starting today. This minute. This meal. NOW. Not tomorrow. It was difficult. I would rather have waited for yet another tomorrow, one full of empty promises to myself. But the tomorrows had never materialized, so I forced my tomorrow to start today. Finally took control of my own life – and succeeded.

When will your tomorrow start?

Making Pizza Part of Your Diet

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spinchick

on April 2, 2009

in motivation

. 1 Comment

It is common knowledge that a healthy diet for weight loss consists of lots of fruits and vegetables, plenty of water, unprocessed foods and loads of fiber. But if I told you that pizza is part of the equation, would you believe it? If I told you pizza is a health food would you buy it?

Refined carbs (including pizza), soda, alcohol and candy are all persona non grata in the health arena. Caffeine, sugar and fat are on our “bad” lists, as is eating late at night. And yet, just two weeks ago I found myself driving home at 1 a.m., eating five-hour cold greasy pizza out of a box in the backseat of my car, and stopping at a fast food joint for fully caffeinated coffee in the middle of the night. How does a personal trainer justify that? Easily. And would she recommend it to her clients? Definitely. With the following disclaimer, of course.

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