Testimonial: Lots of little victories equal big gains!

I owe a great debt to Jonathan and the entire No Excuses Team. I have struggle with weight all my adult life and it just spiraled out of control after gaining 58 lbs with my first child and then 35 with my second over two decades ago. Never having learned to enjoy exercise for exercise sake as a child I was never able to "work" the baby weight off - I am however very competitive and love competitive sports. Once my weight hit a point that tennis or any other physical competitive sport was not enjoyable - I simply stopped any form of exercising. That meant that the weight gain just stayed around and slowly additional pounds accumulated. It is amazing to think that gaining just 1/2 a pound a month is 6 lbs a year! When you are in your 50's that small accumulation can mean 30 or more extra pounds to lug around each day.
My husband and son and son-in-law enjoying backpacking. They are all in good shape and they work very hard to ensure they are not carrying more then 40 pounds in their backpacks (which are designed to carry the weight with minimum strain) as it take away from the joy of hiking when you are lugging around more. I however have been carrying over twice that amount for decades and trust me...it is not distributed in an optimal way for efficiency!

I started with FlyLady five or six years ago and she and her team have changed my life. With small steps and a can do attitude - my home, my perspective, and in the past year and 1/2 my physical well being - have been overhauled. It would be hard for my friends to believe how dramatically it has impacted me because I always kept an "outside" looking nice home and am a very positive person but the changes are huge and believe me my husband notices the difference =) On the physical well being front - I have always been able to lose weight when I got a full head of steam and jumped into a diet. My will power was rock hard and I would rigidly follow all the diet restrictions with no exceptions and could loose an average of 2lbs a week - week after week for months. Until I stopped the "diet". Then it would just pour back on slowly about 2-5lbs a month until I would be right back where I started in a year or two.

ON Dec 31, 2007 I registered with Jonathan and NEWO having read his messages through FlyLady for awhile. In 2008 - I lost about 20lbs but my biggest accomplishment was that I made major changes in how I ate. Fresh fruit and vegetables became a norm instead of a rarity. Jonathan's "Don't tell me you are trying to lose weight if you are having more then one dessert a week" became a mantra for both my husband and myself. (My husband finds it both a humorous and motivational good nutrition reminder for himself as he works to get in extra good shape during 1/2 marathon training). All of those 20 lbs I lost without being on a "diet". Cooking more at home and eating more variety of food then we ever had before and with no feeling of "sacrifice". This year I have continued to make changes in how I eat.

In addition - I try to move as much as possible and find Jonathan's daily messages really encourage me to try new things and find new ways to move. I try to do intervals when I do my home blessing on Monday. I have added mowing sections of the yard (we have a large yard). challenge myself to walk further - to make that one extra errand run - to walk those few more steps to put something up instead of setting it down. Results from these small victories? I have now lost 46lbs which for the first time ever I have no fear of gaining back again...because I will never "stop dieting" since I am not dieting now. I have just slowly made life changes. I also have numbers to support my healthier feelings. My blood pressure (which was previously considered high and I have been prescribed medication for in the past) is now 114/73. My cholesterol has dropped from borderline high to a great normal number.

A sincere thanks for all you do! I know that I have a long way to go to get to the weight that I want to be - but I also know that at my pace (1/2lb a week average) I am able to support the new lower weights with an eating & movement lifestyle that I can maintain. I am a new healthier me and on a path of success to being an even healthier me. I look forward in the upcoming months and years to continue increasing my nutritional & exercise knowledge with the help and support of Jonathan and his No Excuse Workout Crew!!