"It's a lifestyle, not a diet."

I have heard these words a million times and I even tell them to people who want to lose weight. If you treat it like a diet, you won't keep off the weight long term. You can't change your eating and lose a bunch of weight, then go back to how you were eating and expect you won't gain it all back. You have to change your lifestyle in order to see consistent results that will last.

It's not easy. Changing my lifestyle may very well take my whole life. I'm not sure I can ever not be tempted by cookies and ice cream. And sometimes that fact gets me down, but then I remember how much of my lifestyle I have changed. Saturday Tim and I were too tired to cook dinner so we decided to pick up fast food and watch a movie. I decided to go Flame Broiler (where I know the exact weight watchers points for a bowl) and Tim got In-N-Out. I was commenting to him in the car how ignorant I was about my eating in the past.

When Tim and I were dating, we would go to In-N-Out frequently since it was right across the street from his work and we often hung out late at night (why is In-N-Out the BEST in the middle of the night?!) I would eat a huge burger and fries and drink a regular soda and share a milkshake with him. And I wondered why I was fat. Um, hello? You can't eat In-N-Out on a consistent basis, not exercise, and expect your weight will stay the same. Unless you have an unusually fast metabolism, it's not happening.

I am proud to say that I am no longer ignorant about my eating. When going out to eat, I try to only venture out to places where I can find out the points in a meal. Or, if it's a place I have to guess, I usually give it many more points than it may have, just to be safe. It's not necessarily about the points value, it's more about accountability.

I've been on Weight Watchers about a year and my lifestyle has already changed a lot. I am still tempted by sugar and it's hard for me to stay self controlled at my aunt's Thanksgiving table, but I have come a long way. I imagine in a year from now I will be even further.