Eck - it's the dreaded 'P' word!

I've heard about it and never really believed it existed.  But I soon found out that yes, it does exist.  The good news is with some minor adjustments you can break through that plateau and be on your merry way to Healthyville!

Since a few weeks before Christmas I have been sitting at the same weight.  At first I blamed it on the holidays, you know you miss a few workouts, maybe eat a piece of pie (or 2 or 3) or too many servings of Aunt Mary's stuffing.

Once I realized that it was NOT the holidays but something else, I got online, poured through all my fitness magazines and chatted with a few of my fitness buddies as well as my trusty personal trainer.  I wanted to know anything I could find out about the 'P' word.  I got a variety of information and advice and decided to go with what was the most common throughout all my sources.  In a nutshell, the advice was to tweak everything that I have been doing, just a touch - nothing too drastic.

* Adjust your cardio, do something different or a little bit more. It can be as simple as taking an additional (brisk) walk around the mall since your there anyway or parking your car at the end of the parking lot at work instead of the closest spot you can find or instead of doing your weekly Zumba class take a run on the treadmill instead.

* REALLY pay attention to what you are putting into your body.  A few extras here and there does make a difference.  For instance, a typical bowl of the famous Olive Garden salad will give you an additional 350 calories (ut oh!) or those 2 glasses of white wine you had with dinner will set up back 290 calories.

* And probably the most important - DON'T GIVE UP!  Give yourself a break, you packed on those pounds very slowly and losing it slowly will be to your advantage.  Every single time you make a step toward your goal, even if it's a tiny step, IT'S.  A.  STEP!

With this information, I made those tiny adjustments and now I am positively thrilled to say I beat down that 'P' word and have lost a grand total of 40 pounds.  I would have never, in a hundred million years, thought that I could have lost 40 pounds.  Even hearing myself saying it aloud, seems like a dream. 

Tonight I will toast my coveted weekly glass of wine to YOUR dreams coming true.  Cheers, my friends!