The older you get, the tougher it is to lose weight because by then your body and your fat are really good friends." Author Unknown

When I was a teenager I could have eaten the entire fridge (maybe EVEN the fridge) and not gained a pound. Now it seems as if I just look at the fridge and I gain 5 lbs! My mom used to say,"Enjoy it now, things change when you get older." Well... I guess I'm older.

My weight has been a yo-yo game for the last 10 years. Between day-to-day stressors in life, 2 pregnancies, and all that addictive sugar, I have steadily gained weight. I am currently stuck at my current weight-loss plateau at 150 lbs. I can get down to 145 lbs, but quickly jump right back to 150 lbs. It appears my body in deed made some friends with those little fat cells and are resistant to letting them go. I have decided these fat cells are unhelpful friends and bid them adieu.

Rule #1: No Yo-Yoing! I am human. Too much change too fast equals certain failure.

Now come on, we've all done it. We look at ourselves in the mirror right before bed, pinch and prod a few body rolls and swear "No more! Tomorrow it will be different!" We wake up, work out for an hour or so, push the soda away and drink water instead, eat raw veggies, and cut out the sugar and the carbs. We feel great! Well, until our body pushes the brakes and yells,"What the heck are you doing?! Where is my mid-afternoon Cherry Pepsi 'pick-me-up'?" And by 8pm the junk food cabinet (which was conveniently NOT emptied) is brimming with all the sugar goodness our body is aching for. So, we blindly rip-open the bag of cookies and reward our days worth of hard work by eating most of the package.

AND THEN, in the morning when our  muscles are sore due to months of neglect and we stare at ourselves disgusted that we couldn't even make it one day, we proceed to finish the rest of the night time "feeding frenzy" with a "sugar" day and tell ourselves that it wasn't worth it in the first place.

Ok, perhaps that was a bit extreme (but considering I did that exact thing, it does have it's credability.) My point is, this time I'm doing it right. I'm not going to jump all the way into the freezing water and drown. I'll dip my toe in and slowly enter this new lifestyle.

Change #1: Water is a girls best friend.

Well, so are diamonds... but water is cheaper, so water it is! At least 9 cups of water deliciousness will slide down my throat a day. Unfortunately, God decided water should be tasteless... but my taste buds prefer taste. So I've stocked up on water flavor packets. That should make this first change easier!

Everyone raise a glass (of water of course...) Cheers! Bring on the Battle of the Bulge!