Hello girls! So, it's that time of year that just about everyone resolves to lose weight and starts dieting. Personally, I think it's great! Even if you only get a month or a few pounds out of it, why not? It's better that not trying and nothing at all, right?

So what's everyone doing? Weight Watchers? South Beach diet? Jenny Craig? What is it you like and don't like about whatever it is you're doing or have done in the past? You know, people will argue that there are too many diets out there, but I disagree. We're as individual as they come, so why not individualize our dieting? What works for my mother-in-law would never work for me, but we've both been successful in our own plan, you know?

I got mine from my Marine Corps physically fit hubby:

I count calories. That's it. Not fat, not fiber, not protein, nothing, just calories. I calculate my weight once a week after my weekly weigh in on Friday. Here's how I do it:

my weight multiplied by twelve:

145 x 12 = 1740

1740 is the amount of calories I need per day to maintain that weight.
I then subtract 500 to loose weight. 3500 calories = 1 lbs, so if I subtract 500 per day times 7 days for the week, then I should lose 1 lbs a week.

1740 - 500 = 1240

1240 is the amount of calories I eat this week every day.

The next important part for me is journaling. I have a small pad of paper I keep in my kitchen and if I eat something, I write it down along with the calories. If I don't know the calories, I look them up on the internet. www.calorielab.com is a good one I use alot. By the end of the day, I have just a short list of what I ate today and how many calories it equaled. For me, it's concrete evidence of portions and helps me control too much snacking, ect.

Drinks were an eye opener for me. I'm not an avid soda drinker or anything, but once I started having to count the calories, I noticed I could save over 100 calories by drinking diet! Not, it's not as good as regular in my opinion, but it wasn't worth blowing 100 calories on, not when I could save those for a cookie after dinner instead! (I have a wicked sweet tooth!) When you need to be eating only 1250 cal a day, 100 adds up fast!

The last important part is a cheat. My husband and I dieted together last time I was losing weight from a baby and we incorporated a cheat meal. We don't go crazy, but if we weigh in an have lost that week, we’ll allow ourselves a cheap meal or dessert that day. It was important for us because it allowed us to stay on tract the rest of the week knowing we could have our "desire" on our cheat day, as long as we lost. A little moto on both ends there.

I don't exercise. I wish I enjoyed it, but I don't and I make excuses for myself not to do it. The only thing that has ever worked to get me to exercise is signing up for a race. I'm not fast, and I don't run very far, but I finish. I've signed up for a local 5k (3 miles) in March. I want to work my way up to a 1/2 marathon by next year. I hire my 14 yo neighbor girl to come over after school 3 times a week for an hour and it forces me not to excuse myself out of running that day. It works for me. This time around, I'm adding ab crunches to my routine. The 2nd baby has left my tummy much more stretched and it needs more focused attention this time around!

Whew....I wrote a novel here, but I just wanted to share what I'm doing and what was worked for me. I picked up tips listening to other people's success plans, tweaked them to work for me, and am hopeful I can do the same for someone else.

Best of Luck girls!!

(PS: what do you think of our new logo??)

Thanks for sharing that website for counting calories...I am fairly new to the counting calories thing, I really want to try it that way and see if I can do it! I don't drink sodas, only juice and water...I hate milk lol. I just need to learn how to eat right. I have a workout I love doing which is Hip Hop Abs and also Turbo Jams...and I try to make myself go out to run at least a few times a week. I am really kicking my butt into gear this year...I've always went on diets and never stuck to them. Now when I look in the mirror and see myself, I am not happy with what I see and it makes me depressed, so I want to change all of that!

Good luck with your weight loss, and good luck to everyone else! WE CAN DO IT!