People have been...

asking ME for tips lately! It's more than a little strange. Back "in the day"...when I was rockin' my washboard abs and working all day in a bikini (yes, sometimes even a THONG! **sorry kids!**)...I understood when people would ask me for advice about health and fitness. But now?? Now, I've gone from tight size 16 jeans to loose size 14 jeans. I'm not knocking what I've accomplished, but I'm not exactly "there" yet. Yes, strange.

But, since people have been asking, I'll see what I can do. I'd like to think y'all know all the commonplace things...but I'll throw out my versions of them for what it's worth.

WALK. Don't just go for "walks." Don't just walk on the treadmill at the gym. Go out of your way to make every last trip you make from point A to point B by the longest possible route. Going from the couch to the fridge? Get there by way of the mailbox.

FIDGET. Throw out everything your Mommy told you about sitting still and move around...constantly. Get one of those giant inflatable "balls of doom" and use it for an ottoman. Bounce your feet on it while you're watching tv. Dance in the car. For that matter, clench and unclench your buttcheeks and any other muscle you can think of while you're in the car. For that matter, why are you in the car if you can be walking?

QUIT WASTING TIME WEIGHING YOUR FOOD. This concept is going to tick off some people I know and love. So be it. I own a food scale....a VERY expensive, super deluxe, digital food scale. I used it religiously for about 3 days then I lost patience with the whole idea. I didn't have my food scale with me when I was eating out (do that frequently.) I didn't have my food scale with me when I was eating at other people's homes (do that frequently also.) I also realized I wasn't going to want to spend the rest of my life measuring my food on a friggin' scale! So...I learned to "estimate" portion sizes ACCURATELY. There are LOTS of visual clues out there for doing this. A three ounce serving of protein is about the size of the palm of your hand (assuming you have average size WOMAN'S hands!!)...or better yet, about the size of a deck of cards. A medium piece of fruit is comparable in size to a tennis ball (NOT a softball!!)...and so on. Google "visual clues portion sizes" and learn them for yourself. Memorize. Be free of the food scale.

TAKE TIME TO WEIGH YOURSELF. Yes, it's good to only "count" one weigh-in a week, but for obsessive people like yours truly, getting on the scale, in my birthday suit, SECOND thing in the morning...EVERY morning is a good wake up call. For ME, it keeps me on track. If I had just a little too much sodium (or food) the day before, it's a big reminder that I need to kick it up a notch that day...exercise more...be extra careful about what I eat...drink more water...whatever.

KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE PRIZE BUT...never forget where you've been. I work off of NEGATIVE motivation. Yes, I'm excited to think about getting back on the beach without a coverup again someday soon. How do I keep myself excited? I spend quite a bit of time looking at pictures of myself at my worst...my fattest...my unhealthiest...with all the extra chins and flab and jiggles and wiggles to spare. I don't want to look or feel that way anymore. If that's not motivation, I don't know what is.

DITCH THE BASEMENT PEOPLE. I read a great book some time ago..."Balcony People" by Joyce Landorf Heatherly. The books puts the people that come into our lives into two categories: balcony people and basement people...those that lift you up and those that drag you down. Seek out balcony people and spend time with them. If you have basement people in your life, reassess their value. It is the balcony people in your life that will help you along this journey.

That's pretty much all I've got. I'm lucky enough to have a life full of balcony people helping me along...I'm walking, I'm fidgeting, I'm eyeballing my portions, I'm minding the scale...and my ass is terrified. Is yours?