Top Tips on Weight Loss From Tame Your Inner Octopus! Eat to Live! Aim to Get The Best Fuel Into Your Body Each and Every Day!

I was the type person who "lived to eat" each and every day! I ate when I was stressed. I ate when I was bored. I ate when I was happy. Truthfully, most of the time I ate for no reason at all! I didn't have to have a reason because food is everywhere we look! Yes, I did look just like the grabby Octopus, without the hat of course! To me, eating was one of my hobbies, and I had become an expert at it over the years.

I now realize that I allowed food to control me. I'm the type person who does not like feeling controlled by anything! I finally realized that one simple fact before I set up my healthy eating pattern for life. I also realized I was far from alone, approximately 68% of our nation is either overweight or obese. For some reason, that made me feel better. I guess I realized that food controlled millions of people's lives and it wasn't just my problem. Do you ever feel controlled by food or are you able to stay on course and eat in a healthful manner and in the proper amounts throughout the day?

I made the decision to let go of the guilt and set up a healthy eating pattern for life. I made sure not to mention the word "diet". To me, the word "diet" describes a temporary change. I knew what I was about to do had to be way more than the latest or greatest diet on the market. This was to be an incredible major change in my life. I realized I had already spent 18 years of my life eating out of control with no established healthy eating pattern in place. In most cases, I was eating based on my emotions and that is never a good thing. I made up my mind that I had to once and for all put the time and research in so that I could set up a healthy eating pattern for life.

I now control what I eat each and every day. I have learned how to put the best fuel into my body each and every day and I try to stay within my required daily caloric count in order to maintain my weight. If and when I "choose" to eat off track, it is a conscious decision that I make and I take responsibility for that "choice".

My goal has been to get the best fuel into my body in order to lose weight or maintain my weight on a daily basis.

I feel great every day and food no longer controls me. I no longer "live to eat".

I now "eat to live" and I love my healthy eating pattern.

Most anyone can do it!

Top Tips for Weight Loss at Tame Your Inner Octopus! Don't go on a diet; set up a healthy eating pattern for life!

It's important to realize that the words we choose to use in life are many times directly related to the goals we wish to achieve. Right from the start of my weight loss journey I knew what I was about to do would have nothing to do with the latest or greatest "diet" that was currently on the market. I knew my short and long term goals had to be much more than a temporary "diet" in order to lose weight and keep the weight off on a permanent basis.  I strongly felt that diets don't usually work for long term success in establishing permanent weight loss.

That's why, right from the start, I decided that I was going to set up a healthy eating pattern for life. To me, telling myself I was on a "diet" would have made me feel like I was continually depriving myself of so many of the foods I loved. I didn't look at it that way. I made the choice to tell myself that I was going to once and for all learn the correct way to eat on a daily basis for life. Words are important so we must choose them wisely. They frame our mental state and help set up our overall goals.

I didn't broadcast what I was doing because I wanted this commitment to be on a personal level. Of course, friends and family continually asked if I was on a "diet". It was so funny; they were amazed! It was like I was doing something so unnatural and going totally against the grain. Sadly, with approximately 68% of our nation either overweight or obese, I was going against the grain when I was setting up my healthy eating pattern. It's totally understandable why so many people asked but my answer was always the same and it was truthful. I simply stated, "I'm setting up a healthy eating pattern for life." To me, that's a profound statement.

It sounds simple doesn't it? It was a simple statement but that simple statement was loaded with conviction and determination. I was tired of carrying around the burden of the extra weight and I felt like I was stuck with my unhealthy daily eating patterns. To me, I felt like I was in the movie "Ground Hog's Day" where each day I would set out to eat in healthful manner but before I knew it I was stuck right back where I started the day before. I think many people feel the same way most days but I wanted out. I wanted to eat in a healthy fashion 95% of the time. That was my goal.  I knew I had to take the time, once and for all to heavily research what I needed to do to make these permanent changes.

First I found out how many calories I should be eating on a daily basis. It's funny but many times people embark on a diet because they want to follow an eating schedule that's already set up. They want a fool proof method to lose the weight. Sure, it may work temporarily but usually when people get off the diet, they fall right back into their former eating pattern. That's why the basic eating pattern of a person or family must change if there is to be long term success. That's why we all continually hear, it has to be a lifestyle change.  Many people don't know how many calories their body requires on a daily basis. I now know the average woman requires approximately 1,800 calories a day.

It's important to know that number. From that point I knew I had to create a deficit of calories in order to lose the 40 pounds I had put on over many years. That's right, I called it a "deficit" of calories instead of saying I was on a "diet".

I then created a healthy eating plan derived from the basic food pyramid. Many experts suggest the area of 1,400 calories when creating a daily deficit for women. I think it's a great spot. It's important to go no lower than 1,200 because your body may think it's in a starvation mode and then you may plateau or not lose weight.

I eventually lost all of the weight in a matter of 5 months. To me, that was such a short amount of time when compared to the 18 years that it took me to put the extra weight on.

That's how important my healthy eating plan is in my life. I started out in the right place by eating healthy foods at scheduled times throughout the day. In weight loss mode I stayed within the deficit level I had created. Thereafter, in maintenance, once I reached my goal weight, I simply added in a few hundred calories in order to maintain my goal weight.  It's great because I started the basic healthy eating pattern in weight loss mode and I didn't have to change any of the foods I was eating once I reached my goal weight.  I simply added in a few hundred calories from the same healthy items. 

If you wish to lose weight and keep it off permanently, take the time to Tame Your Inner Octopus and set up your own personal healthy eating pattern for life!

Best Wishes!