Results Not Typical

Lisa met her goal of losing 100 pounds by her 40th birthday, but the struggle continues. Click through to read about losing the first 100 pounds or click on the links below to read about the new challenges.

March 16, 2011

For the upcoming week, my goals are all about 3s.

March 2, 2011

I am stressed out!

February 16, 2011

All this week I kept thinking: "Looks like I picked the wrong week to try to lose weight."

February 9, 2011

I tried writing in this space about a month ago and got three paragraphs into it before I gave up. I just feel like I'm saying the same things over and over and not making any real changes that stick. But all I can do is try again and keep trying until I get out of this rut.

12/22/10
Gearing up for a healthy New Year

There's nothing magical about January first, but there is something appealing about starting the New Year with healthy new goals in mind.

11/10/10
Getting back to the gym after a long absence

I said something to my friends this week that I hadn't really consciously acknowledged until the words were out of my mouth – I'm embarrassed to go back to the gym.

10/28/10
Why I'm angry at Maura Kelly

How have we gotten to a point where body size and shape are such overwhelming factors in determining a person's worth?

10/20/10
Going backwards to move forward

I've reset my "Get Back on Track!" month to start today. In wanting to synch up with a calendar month, I probably didn't think things through as well as I should have in planning to be very strict with my diet when I had a bunch of special occasions coming up.

10/13/10
Getting comfortable with the gray area between being on and off a diet

This week was definitely a mixed bag as far as sticking to my food plan was concerned.

10/6/10
Establishing a routine to get back on track with a diet

I decided to keep my goals and approach to getting back on track this month very simple, focusing mainly on sticking to a food plan and cutting out alcohol.

9/29/10
Letting go of "failure"

I'm still having a lot of trouble getting back into a good groove. I think the big problem is that I'm so stuck in the negative feelings of failure tied up in gaining some of the weight back that I can't seem to get the momentum to move forward again.

Week 8
Breaking News: Losing weight is hard

It's been almost a year since I lost 100 pounds and I've managed to keep off about 70% of what I lost. This is a huge achievement for me and I feel like the way I end up looking at it and treating it will be a defining moment: will I be a "the glass is half-full" person or a "the glass is half-empty" person?

Week 3
Living without my scale means less stress, but requires more focus

In a slightly unexpected way, skipping the scale has made me more accountable rather than less so. I find myself paying more attention to what I eat and the decisions I make from meal to meal because I'm not using the scale as a gauge to tell me how I'm doing.

A year without a scale… can I do it?

When I came up with the idea of giving up my scale, it was instantly and drastically freeing. This doesn't mean that I want to stop trying to lose weight. And I certainly hope to have a significant loss 12 months from now. But the scale has been getting in my way.

Week 23
Getting back on track with weight loss when an injury throws you for a loop

Sometimes we need to deal with change and find solutions that may not be ideal but are at least a step in the right direction.

Week 22
‘Tis the season… for weight loss

I find it much easier to lose weight in the spring and summer than the winter. Winter just screams for comfort food. The heavy clothes let you ignore small gains (which add up). And the excuses to stay inside are plentiful.

Week 21
Trying to stay positive amidst diet difficulties

After countless efforts to lose weight over close to 30 years, this time is completely different. Because no matter how difficult or frustrating it's become, I refuse to get to the point where I just throw my hands up and say I won't bother trying anymore.

Week 20
Hoping that today’s fresh start is THE fresh start to my diet

It's hard writing about this because I feel like I've been saying these things over and over in different ways while sort of waffling about how to move forward. But the bottom line is that this is really hard and sometimes it takes some false starts to get going again.

Week 19
Trying to stick to good eating habits on vacation

Getting ready for vacation means packing, straightening my desk at work -- and planning how I'm going to eat and exercise while in a different country!

Week 17
Getting back to basics to get weight loss back on track

I'm back to counting calories for a week. Here's a peek into a day in my food/exercise diary (including an abundance of snacks, hobbit-style!).

Week 16
A challenging fundraiser can help you lose weight while you support others

This is the perfect time of year to start a training program for a long distance walking, running or cycling event. Read about how you can help others while bumping up your exercise!

Week 15
How finding the right challenge can keep you focused on your weight loss

It's 26 weeks until my birthday -- and I want to lose 26 pounds. Keeping focused on that and a couple of specific challenges is getting me back on track with my diet.

Week 14
Focusing on the positives when you’re struggling with your weight loss

I made an important realization this week – when I'm not motivated to lose weight, nothing external can make it happen. And when I am motivated, nothing external can stop me. So, while I'm definitely having trouble right now, it helps to focus on what I have already accomplished instead of my struggles.

Week 10
The 'round and 'round of emotional eating

I hope you can forgive the sort of hokey racetrack imagery in the title of this blog entry, but I just realized how appropriate it is that I start this week's story talking about a grueling 24-hour car race.

Week 9
When you need to recommit to your diet

So, I'm kind of embarrassed that I pretty much disappeared from this space for a few weeks.

Week 6
Don't ruin your weight loss with bad New Year's resolutions

I think the problem is we make resolutions when we're all fired up and have grand plans for the year, but then reality sets in and suddenly that 7-workouts-a-week goal is (obviously) unrealistic and rather than scaling back, we give up altogether.

Week 5
Switching things up to get weight loss back on track

I had a great week! And as excited as I am about losing 3.5 pounds, I'm even more excited that I felt really in control this week – more than I have in a long time.

Week 4
Varying your approach to weight loss

I made a pretty big decision this week – I'm switching diet programs.

Week 2
The challenge of recommitting to a weight loss plan

Weight loss is hard, isn't it?? You'd think that would stop surprising me at some point.

Week 1
Finding the right goal to keep your weight loss going

We all know I've already lost a chunk of weight, but let's pretend we don't and start over!