Progress has slowed down a bit. The scale isn't moving much, maybe a half of a pound down. This will serve as a good test however; gotta keep pushing on and work through this until the weight starts coming off again. Hitting points like this are normal in the battle of weight loss it is how we handle them that makes the difference between success and failure. If we allow ourselves to be discouraged and give up, we will fail. Those that keep pushing hard will be successful. Don't give up on yourself!

It sure is easy to allow life to get in the way of your weight loss efforts. Between school, kids, work, and life in general, it has been a challenge to ensure that all of the commitments are given 100% effort. I believe that there is a mindset that you have to get yourself into in order to make everything happen. Setting goals, both short-term and long-term are the key to success. One of my short-term goals is to lose 40 pounds on my first 90 day challenge. I am excited to say that I am more than half way there and I have not even completed my first 30 days. I am super excited and I can't wait to see where Visalus takes me. I am so ready to finally be healthy and be able to walk into a regular store to buy clothes. I am sending out a challenge for anybody that wants to get healthy to join me; le

An important aspect to effective and lasting weight loss is to plan ahead. If you know that you have an event such as work or school coming up, then you should plan and shop accordingly. It is easy to find yourself in a situation where you do not plan ahead and you are left with unhealthy eating choices. I have had to make sure that I prepare before the days that I am obligated to be away from home.

Work is probably the area where I find the most temptation to go off the wagon so to speak. Working the night shift doesn't leave many healthy options available to you when it comes time to eat. I have found that if I take food with me, it is easy to pass when the ER staff is putting together a food order.

School on the other hand has not been so easy to work around. I have only been in school for two weeks so I am working on plans to make the adjustments that are needed to keep the weight coming off. My classes are one night a week from 6 PM to 10 PM. Last night I did not prepare and I was stuck eating late at night and getting something to go. I tried to make the best choice possible and I stopped at subway for a sandwich but I felt horrible after eating it. After eating clean for the past few weeks I feel guilty when I eat something that I should not eat.

Losing weight and keeping it off requires a mindset change. It has to be something that you are able to do for the rest of your life or else the weight will just pile back on. It is a never ending battle but it is one that can be won.

Why is drinking water so important, especially to those that are trying to lose weight? The body is made up of mostly water. Lean muscle mass is compromised of about 75% water where excess fat is made up of about 25% water. Increasing lean muscle mass increases resting metabolism thereby enabling the body to burn more calories at rest. It goes without saying that water helps to increase your resting metabolic rate.

Water is also responsible for ridding the body of waste products. When you burn calories and lose fat, you need a vehicle to excrete those waste products from the body. Water helps the body flush out waste through the kidneys. Without drinking a sufficient amount of this no calorie drink, the body becomes dehydrated and has difficulty excreting the waste products created with the breakdown of fats.

Often times people sabotage their weight loss efforts by drinking beverages that dehydrate them. Alcohol and caffeine are two of the most common culprits in this sabotage. Both substances act as a diuretic causing the body to excrete more water than you are taking in.

How much water should a person drink everyday? The average person should drink about 2 liters of water every day. With an increase in exercise, the requirements increase. It is recommended that water intake increase by about 1 liter per day when you are working out. This will ensure that you don't starve your body of this much needed substance.

Well the first week of my Visalus challenge is in the bag. I must say that it has taken some creativity to stay on track. I started back to school this week and that provided a challenge. I only have to attend class one day a week but the class schedule was changed up at the last minute. Initially the class was supposed to be from 6 to 8 pm then it changed from 4 to 8 pm at the last minute. I didn't prepare well for the dinner hours but I knew that I didn't want to get home at 10 pm and eat dinner. I was skeptical about sabotaging my efforts by pulling in to the drive thru and eating a fast food burger, I think that would be counter-productive to my weight loss efforts. I ended up eating something that was much better for me than fast food, I stopped and went to the deli at a grocery store and ate a turkey wrap. I must say that I felt really good about the decision that I made.

For the many changes that we make in our lives, the first step is to make the decision to change. Change starts with a mindset; without setting your mind to something and making that change in your mind you will have a difficult time being successful. We often underestimate how powerful our minds are but once we change our thought processes, we can accomplish anything.

I am going to put this out there for the first time in my life; I want to hold myself accountable. When I started the 90 day challenge last week my weight was 351 pounds. I must say this is the heaviest that I have ever been. Not only was I ashamed of myself but I felt like I have let my family down because I have not taken good care of myself. My goal for the first 90 days is to lose 40 pounds; I will repeat the challenge until I achieve my ultimate goal of losing 120 pounds.

I must say that I am very excited for 2013! There are many changes coming to my life this year and they are all aimed at making me a better person and improving my health. The biggest challenge that I am embarking on is the end to an era of being significantly overweight. Just before Christmas I stepped on the scale and I was ashamed at what I saw. I am at my heaviest weight ever. I was very bummed out when I got off of the scale and I vowed to improve my overall health. I have been battling with excess weight for most of my adult life; when I saw the numbers on the scale, I became very scared. The only thing that I could think about was having my family living life without me around. Being that I am a nurse, I know all of the dangers that being overweight can bring. Diabetes, heart disease, and joint problems are just a few of the risks that I fear. I want to be able to watch my children grow up and, one day, I want to be able to enjoy my grand children. I have made it a personal goal of mine to see that I am able to grow old and enjoy all that life has to offer. This will be my second time joining the 90 day Visalus challenge. The first time around I don't believe that I was mentally 100% ready to commit to the challenge but my recent shock has changed that mindset. Here is to a new year and a new me. Stay tuned for updates on my progress.