Friend of Julie: On Hold

There are periods of time when I feel like I'm not dropping weight.  When this happens, I remind myself it's part of the process and at some point soon after I enter a hungry phase. Since I eat when I'm hungry, I start eating more meat when I feel hunger more than usual. I find following this path weight begins to drop again. This cycle has happened enough times that I recognize it when it starts and I go the course and repeat the outcome. How cool is this...when you're hungry-eat to satisfy that hunger and the weight starts coming off again.

Another thing that helps the weight to come off is exercise. I recall Julie saying we don't have to exercise, but if we have a large amount of weight to lose, it's going to take a lot longer. Now that I've been exercising for five weeks, it feels like a habit and I don't like missing a day.

Speaking of exercise, on my way into the gym the other day, a friend asked what kind of exercise I was going to do. I told her about my couch25K app and how I gave myself a goal to work up to by signing up for a 5k run the first week of December. She said she prefers to swim because it's gentle on the body. What's gentle on the body, I thought, is any kind of exercise one enjoys enough to continue doing it the rest of their life. For me, it's running.

I used to be extremely active because it was fun. Staying between 142-150 was a bonus. I'd come home from work, put on my Nikes and change into my runners suit, which I made, such as a burgundy sleeveless tank top and short shorts with piping around the edges and a matching headband, and I'd run six miles in an hour. Weekends, my friends and I did a lot of water skiing, swimming, and long hikes. Tennis, volleyball, and aquatics we're other fun activities I did with friends. Dancing wasn't considered exercise back then, but we got a good workout then too.

Eating well makes exercise easier too. And, I don't know how it is for the rest of you, but I haven't had indigestion in a really long time. I didn't have it much, but now I never have indigestion.