Ever want to find that weight loss book that empathizes with you about what you’re going through while motivating you to change? “The Weight Loss Diaries” by Courtney Rubin is one of those books.

Courtney, who used to write for Shape magazine (and had a monthly weight loss column in the magazine), admits to how she has struggled with her weight, binge eating (which becomes an important part of this book), and working out.

It’s not a weight loss book that conveys that “you can do it and there will never be any struggles.” On the contrary, this book describes those struggles, from eating out with friends, having difficulties with eating when you start out with a bad day, and struggling to lose weight when everyone already “makes fun of” your excess baggage.

Although I am a “normal weight” person, I still have days where I struggle to eat healthy, exercise, and feel good about myself. Therefore, I related to several points in this book–from food cravings to being self-conscious about other’s seeing my meals to finding the motivation to work out. Courtney talks about all of these points and much more! I also related to her story because she lives (lived?) in the DC area and trained for a marathon–her feelings about marathon training, and her excitement over the “long runs” and being able to succeed, were very similar to how I would feel during those months of training.

One of the key points that Courtney discussed, which can be easy to forget, is that weight loss isn’t ever just about weight. Emotions play a key role in our weight, in how we eat, and how much we eat. Like alcoholism and cigarette addictions, we CAN have addictions to certain foods, to portions of foods, and to using food to numb an emotional pain. And Courtney discusses this in her book.

The last chapter of the book says it all–basically, that (paraphrased) it’s about what’s on the inside that matters. Weight loss isn’t about how others view you. It’s about how you see yourself and whether you match up to your own standard of weight loss and self-image. Remember that others can’t see what you are going through inside and that no one should judge you for how your weight loss is going.

Weight loss is also about priorities, about what you deem important. If you (like me) are always trying to please everyone, then it might be hard for you to fit exercise into your schedule because you don’t want to disappoint anyone else or stick up for yourself and say “I can’t go out tonight/I can’t drink tonight. I’m working out in the morning”. And, it’s about asking for help and not feeling alone. We’re human beings–it’s rare that we do anything alone, so why would we try to make a big change like lose weight without having support? So, if you are trying to lose weight, don’t feel like you need to go at it alone–find support in your friends, in your family, in your coworkers, in anyone who will help you achieve your goals and support the person you are inside.

This book is not for someone who is looking for a way to lose weight (i.e., it won’t give you recipes, meal plans, or exercise goals), but for someone who is trying to lose weight or understand the struggles of someone undergoing weight loss and overcoming a binge eating disorder. In my opinion, it’s a book to help friends and family of someone struggling with weight to understand how complex of an issue it really is!

Many of us are going to embark on 2008 by setting some sort of a New Year’s resolution, even if we tell ourselves we won’t. But many of us (myself included) have set those NY resolutions in the past and by the end of January have forgotten them, gotten discouraged, or “messed up”. So, how can we stick to those resolutions?

My Tips For a Successful New Year’s Resolution

1. Be realistic: if you have not worked out in months, what makes you think that you’re going to suddenly start working out every day?

2. Break your resolution into pieces: if you want to get more physically active over the next year, consider breaking your goals into months: For example: “for January, I am going to work out once to twice a week”; “for February, I am going to focus on strength training and see the physical trainer at the gym”. Increase these goals as the months go by.

3. Choose a resolution that you are motivated to achieve. Have fun with it!

4. Choose a resolution that it specific, not vague. For example, “this year I am going to lose weight” is vague, but to state “this year, I am going to try to lose 10 pounds by…” is a realistic goal that you can work towards.

5. Write down your resolutions and post them where you can see them (I have mine on the back of my bathroom closet door–I get in there daily and not everyone knows it’s there).

6. Get others motivated to set the same resolution with you. For instance, you and your neighbor decide that you are going to walk every Monday morning (and if you don’t feel motivated, chances are, she will and motivate you to keep your resolution).

7. Get others to support you, even if they don’t have the same resolution (in the case of trying to quit smoking). However, remind them that nagging is not the best motivation.

8. Make a plan to accomplish your resolution. If you want to spend more time with extended family, block out weekends andoccasions in which you will see them. Or, schedule weekly phone calls on your calendar to keep you connected. If your plan is to volunteer more, write down places you could volunteer and keep that list handy.

9. Plan a reward if you meet your resolution. For instance, plan a trip if you lose those 10 pounds, run a race, etc. Have this goal in mind before you set the resolution however.

10. Recognize that we all have good and bad days. So you screw up one day or even a week, but that doesn’t mean you’re done for the rest of the year (unless it’s already December 31st)!

Good luck in achieving your New Year’s resolutions, and Have a safe and Happy New Year!!

_{Photo Courtesy of Snowdeal}

In case you have been following my marathon series, you may have realized that after about 5 weeks of updating you on how our training was going, I stopped writing about it. It didn’t mean that I wasn’t continuing to run, it just meant that I got lazy about tracking my progress.

Yes, I admitted it! Even I, a registered dietitian, can get lazy!!!

And, yes, I also decided that I didn’t want to train to run 26.2 miles. I wanted to train to run shorter distances and run faster. So, after talking with my husband, who had also signed up with me, we decided to sell/transfer our marathon numbers to other dedicated runners, and admit our change in goal. It’s OK to change your goals, and there will be more info to come on this topic at a later date.

This doesn’t mean that I won’t run another marathon; I would like to build a healthy base of running solid miles, be more consistent in my running year-round, and build some muscle before the next marathon try. I would also like to have a few short-distance races under my belt before I tackle another long-distance race.

So, next weekend, October 28th, you will find my husband and me on the sidelines in Washington, DC, cheering on those two runners who bought our numbers (legally), and the 30,000 other runners who are marathoners!! We are proud of them all!!

Yesterday was a tough day for me: I had a few deadlines at work, traffic was horrible, and I was tired. All I wanted to do was go home, eat a chocolate bar, and curl up in bed. I didn’t want to even THINK about exercising, let alone eating something healthy. Ewww….

I’m sure we’ve all had those days when we are stressed out, irritable, tired, and just “not in the mood” to eat healthy or exercise. But we know it’s good for us to fuel our bodies well in order to hopefully live a long, healthy life.

So what are we to do? Do we have to be “perfect” every single day of our lives? In my opinion, No. Because you are human, there are going to be times when you occasionally take a day off from being physically active, or a day that you declare as “fast food/junk food” day (not to be abused as binge eating day, which NOT the same thing!). But when we start having more of those “off” days than “on” days, we’ve got to do something!

Motivational Techniques
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