How I lost 34 lbs in 2008

As many of you might have noticed, 2008 was a great year for my body! Not only am I feeling better, I'm looking better too *wink*
I've had quite a few people ask me how I did it, and so I thought I'd post that here. I truly believe that my weight loss was a combination of work, discipline, and luck-sort of. My body has been through a lot over the last few years (mainly health/emotional issues), and though I've tried many times to lose the weight I've put on over those years, I was unsuccessful until this summer.
I believe that in order for one to lose weight, things have to come together just right, or align, if you will. This year, I was able to do the following, which I think led to the "alignment" of my body's elements, promoting weight loss:

*Removing antidepressants/anti-anxiety medications from my system
*Getting off birth control (implementing the Fertility Awareness Method: http://www.ovusoft.com/library/primer002.asp)
*Getting on thyroid medication (for borderline low thyroid, smallest dose)
*Exercising regularly (3-5 times a week, 30-60 minutes a day, combining cardio, weight lifting, and toning)
*Eating healthy (for me, more complicated than most - continuing a gluten free diet, and also implementing a dairy free and low-fat diet. No, I didn't calorie count. No, I didn't skip dessert. I merely monitored my portions, listened to my body to tell me when I'd eaten enough, ate my sweets earlier in the day - usually around lunch time, ate lots of fruits and veggies, avoided red meat, took fiber supplements - due to the IBS diet I follow, and drank LOTS of water - we're talking 12-16 cups a day - crucial for the amount of fiber I consumed.)

With all these "stars" in my life aligned properly, I was able to go from 150 lbs to 116 lbs!


(Photo: www.astronet.ru/db/xware/msg/1227694)

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