Key Habits to Help You Reach Your Weight Loss Goals

Additional Info

• Segment Number: 3
• Audio File: naturally_savvy/1509ns3c.mp3
• Featured Speaker: Michelle Rogers, Healthy Living Blogger
• Guest Website: Healthy Beauty
• Guest Twitter Account: @Healthy_Beauty
• Guest Bio: One of the top healthy living bloggers on social media, Michelle Rogers was inspired to start her blog, Healthy Beauty, after losing 60 pounds in her 40s and getting fit, and the difference those accomplishments made in her life. Michelle struggled since childhood with yo-yo dieting and weight gain, but turned things around six years ago by starting with small changes. Today she enjoys a fit, active lifestyle while juggling career and family.
• Transcription: RadioMD Presents: Naturally Savvy | Original Air Date: February 25, 2015
  Hosts: Andrea Donsky, RHN & Lisa Davis
  Guest: Michelle Rogers
  
  She’s not here to judge. She’s here to report the honest news on healthy living. She’s Andrea Donsky along with Lisa Davis. It’s time for Naturally Savvy.
  
  LISA: I’m Lisa Davis. My lovely co-host, Andrea, is off today.
  
  So many of us have tried to lose weight and we have failed and there are many, many different reasons for that.
  
  Well, we have a woman here today who’s a fabulous blogger, Michelle Rogers and she was inspired to start her blog, Healthy Beauty, after losing 60 pounds and this was after many years of having trouble and struggling. She did 5 key things that really helped turn this around. She’s going to share those with us now. Hi, Michelle.
  
  MICHELLE: Hey, Lisa. Thanks for having me.
  
  LISA: It’s great to have you on, Michelle.
  
  Why don’t you tell us a little bit about your background in terms of your struggle with weight and then let’s jump right into those 5 things.
  
  MICHELLE: Oh, sure. You know, my whole life, I’ve struggled with yo-yo dieting and on and off exercising. I mean, I’ve been every weight from 124 as a teenager to 230 when I was pregnant. I mean, I’ve really been every size in the store. But, by the time I reached 40, my weight had steadily crept up and with my non-pregnant weight, the scale was hovering at 200 and I was kind of getting desperate to try to get control of that. I’d see a magazine cover that promised, “Lose 20 Pounds This Month” and, you know, I’d believe that and tried it.
  
  But worse than what the scales said, I just didn’t feel well most of the time. I mean, I was stiff and sore and I didn’t have energy and I just felt so kind of helpless to overcome it. Well, about 6 years ago, I’d had enough and I decided that I was done with dieting. I was done with losing only to gain it back. I was sick and tired of feeling sick and tired and too young to feel this old. So, I figured that, if nothing else, I needed to get my body moving to try and relieve the stiffness and tiredness. But, most of all, I was determined that this time was going to be different. I really didn’t want to go back and make all that effort to lose weight and just gain it back again.
  
  LISA: So, what made this time different for you?
  
  MICHELLE: Well, you know, looking back, I realized that I did a few key things differently this time around and the one thing that I decided to do was to start small and keep it do-able. As it turns out, starting small and being consistent was a key point in my success this time. You know, every other time in the past, you know, I would try that diet on Monday morning—the one in the magazine—but the problem is, even if you’re highly motivated, it’s difficult to make a sudden big change and maintain it. That’s why we give up. We’re starving after a week of dieting and we realize we can’t go cold turkey on all of our favorite foods. Or, we find that an hour at the gym practically kills us, and we never go back. So, I basically changed my mindset on that and I realized that, you know what? It’s okay to start small. So, that’s what worked for me—starting with small changes but sticking with them. So, this time I didn’t start out with a 1-hour workout and I didn’t drastically change my diet all at once. I began with 15-minute daily workouts. For me, that was walking on the treadmill and I gradually increased it from there. The next week, I did 16 minutes a day on the treadmill. And then, that kind of made me want to start eating better as well. So, I started making some simple, healthier choices such as less fried foods and lower calorie substitutions and things like that. So, I very gradually increased my healthy eating and my exercise habits from there.
  
  LISA: It makes so much sense to do it small because when you take on too much, then you fail and you get discouraged and then that’s where that horrible cycle gets in the way, right?
  
  MICHELLE: Yes. It sounds so simple, but you know what? It takes a great deal of patience to actually do that because we all want that quick change. We want to lose 20 pounds in one month and things like that. But, if you can just be patient and just stick with it, I promise you it will work for you.
  
  LISA: Alright. So, you decided to start small. What are some of the other things you did, Michelle?
  
  MICHELLE: Well, in terms of exercise, what really has made a huge difference and I think probably the number one key to my success is to schedule it. This is really important. I work out in the morning at 5:30 before I go to work and the reason I work out in the morning is not because I’m a morning person. I’m definitely not, but that’s the time that works best for me because I can do it and get it done. Then, no matter what the rest of the day throws at me, my workout is finished. I come home from work and I’m tired. Who wants to work out then? Maybe for some people, that would work out well, but for me, doing it in the morning has worked out great.
  
  LISA: Oh, that is so wonderful and it’s so worth it because you’re right. When you get home, you just are like, “You know what? Now it’s done. I don’t have to do it.” Now, for some people, they like to do it after work.
  
  MICHELLE: Yes.
  
  LISA: But, the biggest thing is find the time that works for you and do it. Make it a priority.
  
  MICHELLE: Absolutely. Absolutely. Schedule it. Make it a certain time that’s just as an important part of your day as getting up and going to work. Put that in your schedule and that’s your workout time every day and don’t make excuses about.
  
  LISA: You know, another thing that you did that I think is so key is not making it all about the scale. I’ve been avoiding the scale lately because I think we get too obsessed and then we get down and dah dah dah dah dah.
  
  MICHELLE: Oh, I know. And, something about the scale for me. I mentioned I used to kind of make exercise all about the scale. I thought it was all about losing weight and all of that, but when I made it too much about the scale, it actually had the opposite effect for me. I mean, I found I almost sabotaged myself sometimes by being too focused on that number. It sounds ironic, but I kind of had to let that go and kind of forget the scale in order to have weight loss success this time. I really needed to make it more about my health and my well-being and feeling good. When I changed my motivation away from just the scale and away from just the dress size, ironically enough, that’s when I started losing weight and things really clicked for me.
  LISA: It does make a big difference. You know, I’m all about that. I just say, “I want to be healthy.” I’m 5’9 ½”. Well, actually, I’m 5’9 ¾ “. I usually say I’m 5’10”. I’m tall. Let’s just leave it at that. And, I’m a size 12 and it’s taken me a while to embrace my curves, but you know what? I exercise every day. I eat clean, I take care of myself emotionally and I think that’s the thing with women. We’re so hard on ourselves, but I think you can be bigger and you can be healthy. It’s all about how you feel and how you’re taking care of yourself. I just think it’s important to emphasize that because we’re not all going to be twigs.
  
  MICHELLE: Oh, absolutely. We’re all beautiful and, you know, God made us a certain way and it’s great. We should embrace that, you know? And so, I think it’s important, you know, just to keep focused on your health and your well-being and not trying to look like the model on the cover. I want to be the best me I can be.
  
  LISA: Oh, I love that! Well, tell us about Healthy Beauty, your wonderful blog.
  
  MICHELLE: Oh, thank you. Yes, the web address is HealthBeauty.me and I started this, oh, about 2 years ago. I just really enjoy working on it. I post articles about health and fitness. I’ll post headlines that are in the news. I’ll post things about maybe what’s worked for me as well as what’s worked for celebrities out there. I do giveaways and I have videos and recipes and it’s just a lot of fun. I really enjoy working on it and I really, really enjoy the social media aspect of it and really connecting with people online.
  
  LISA: Isn’t it nice? I have met the most fascinating people because of social media. I love it.
  
  MICHELLE: I love it, too. It’s wonderful. And, there’s so much support out there, too. And information.
  
  LISA: That’s a great point. And, looking for that support and guidance, right? I mean especially if you are trying to, maybe not lose weight, but maybe just trying to get healthier in general, when you have that support and you know there’s a site like yours or like ours at RadioMD and you can find the information you need. It makes a big difference.
  
  MICHELLE: Oh, it does and I wish that there had been resources like this all those years ago when I was struggling. You know, we didn’t have all these wonderful websites and social media that now there’s so much out there. So, definitely take advantage of that and I would love for people to connect with me online. I would love to hear from you through Twitter or Facebook or Instagram or whatever you’re on. I would love to hear from you. You can find links to all of our social media on the website.
  
  LISA: Oh, great. Tell us your Twitter, though, real quick.
  
  MICHELLE: It’s Health_Beauty_. And, probably the easiest way is just to go to my website. I’ve got links to all of those things right in the sidebar. The web address is HealthyBeauty.me.
  
  LISA: Oh, Michelle, you’ll have to come back. This has been so much fun. I want to thank everyone for listening.
  
  You can like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter @YourRadioMD and @NaturallySavvy. Have a great day. Stay well and have fun. Thanks.
• Length (mins): 10
• Waiver Received: Yes
• Host: Andrea Donsky, RHN and Lisa Davis, MPH