<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0mNacsCO8PI/S0LrPvrzrVI/AAAAAAAAAFk/EQKfzJkUeA8/s1600-h/monterey+11.18+053.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0mNacsCO8PI/S0LrPvrzrVI/AAAAAAAAAFk/EQKfzJkUeA8/s320/monterey+11.18+053.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423155557038271826" /></a><br />I'm going to let you in on a little secret -- I have lost 21 pounds since September. My 5'9" frame is now happily down to 155 pounds, but I would still like to shed another 10 pounds that I have been kicking around. "Unprocessed" should help!<br /><br />Having PCOS and being hypothyroidic means that I have battled the proverbial bulge for my entire life. In high school, I ran cross-country and wrestled, keeping things to a slim 145. College brought the inevitable freshmen 15 and then some. What can I say? I really like to drink! After college, I brought things back down to around 140. Unfortunately, my methods were neither advisable nor sustainable. I ate very little -- ironic since I was attending cooking school at the time -- and exercised incessantly. The only up-side to the whole charade was completing the Chicago marathon and then Bordeaux. I managed to fit into my size 10 wedding dress a few years later, and kept things reasonably under control for a little while thereafter. Things started to slip when I tried to balance 3 jobs (one of them working in a bakery) with school and a new marriage. Then, I "moved" to Argentina where all-day wine tasting and calorie-laden (but oh-so delicious) asados, consumed in the name of research, helped me balloon up to 176. Yet, all is back in balance now -- thanks to the good folks at <a href="http://www.weightwatchers.com/">Weight Watchers </a>and a turn towards an "unprocessed" lifestyle. I am at my happiest between 145 and 155. Deviation happens; you just gotta reel it back in.<br /><br />That being said, I offer a few motivational thoughts in case you were pondering letting go of a little extra baggage.<br /><br />1. Rome was not built in a day. You didn't put the weight on in a day, or even a week. You will not and should not take it off that quickly. Slow weight loss, brought about by lifestyle changes, means it will stay off longer.<br />2. The silver lining theory -- if you never get fat, you never experience the joy of watching the scale go back down the other way. While I am not a proponent of yo-yo dieting or roller coaster weight loss, enjoy every pound lost if it means a healthier you.<br />3. Learn to cook. The more you know about food -- even basic preparations -- and what you are putting into your body, the more successful and healthy you will be.<br />4. You are going to have bad days. Thankfully, we get tomorrows. It's the one do-over that life gives us. Don't dwell in the past.<br />5. Little changes matter. Take the stairs. Drink more water. Substitute one snack item for something healthier. It all adds up. <br />6. Find a buddy. Workout with them. Confide in them. Have someone you can vent to when you just can't eat one more piece of lettuce!<br />7. Celebrate any and all victories! If you are trying to change a lifetime's worth of behaviors, one meal made with whole-wheat pasta instead of white pasta is a victory. 5 pounds lost might be 1/10 of the way to the finish line. Then, challenge yourself to the next test!<br />8. If you aren't into working out, a 10 minute walk around the block is a great start. Go for 11 on day 2. Before you know it, you'll be logging 5 miles a day!<br />9. Most importantly, "unprocessed" isn't just about 2010. I am hoping to implement changes that will last for the rest of my life. If all goes as planned, maintaining a healthy weight should prove much easier.<br /><br />Above: November 2009. Below: June 2009. We were a little inflated in June!<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0mNacsCO8PI/S0LrtplUM0I/AAAAAAAAAFs/wQa27tmuVM8/s1600-h/the+long+road+home+170.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0mNacsCO8PI/S0LrtplUM0I/AAAAAAAAAFs/wQa27tmuVM8/s320/the+long+road+home+170.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423156070796505922" /></a>