Shelley A. Sonnenberg

Author who has lost 159 pounds and written a book about it!

Category: Excercise

Ten Tips for Creating a New You in the New Year — December 30, 2015

Here I am signing my new book, "No Salads Required! How I Lost 159 Pounds WITHOUT Salads, Celery, Sit-Ups, or Surgery, and How YOU Can Too!

Ten Tips for Creating a New You in the New Year

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New Year’s Eve is coming soon and with it is coming a golden opportunity to reevaluate the way we are living our lives and to resolve to make changes in our habits so that we can be happier and healthier. One of the most popular resolutions people make is to lose weight. Of course, resolving to lose weight and actually losing it are two very different things!

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This photo of me was taken shortly before I started my weight-loss program. I weighed 281 pounds at the time.

As a person who has lost 159 pounds in fourteen months after 32 years of being extremely overweight, I definitely know the difference between just talking about weight loss and taking the necessary steps to reinvent myself into the slender person I really wanted to be.  For years I would talk about “doing something about my weight”, but it wasn’t until recently that I figured out exactly how much weight I needed to lose to get the figure I really wanted. It was at that point that I  also made a specific plan to change my eating, start an exercise program, and begin taking some weight-loss and nutrition products that my friend encouraged me to try. The result was a healthy “new me” that my doctor was very pleased to see at my next appointment.

Of course, when a person is as successful in losing weight as I have been, a lot of people are interested in how I did it, so I have written a book for the purpose of both answering that question and entertaining you at the same time! The book is called No Salads Required! How I Lost 159 Pounds WITHOUT Salads, Celery, Sit-Ups, or Surgery, and How YOU Can Too!  You can order this book from my publisher at westbowpress.com and anywhere else books are sold. It’s available in hardcover and softcover and also as an e-book. I encourage all of you to order it, but while you are waiting for your book to arrive, here are some tips from my weight-loss program to help you get started:

 

1) Set up a realistic food plan you can live with!

At the beginning of my weight-loss program , I made a list of the healthy foods I wanted to live on and I also decided what I did not plan to eat no matter how healthy it was. For example, I don’t like celery at all and I am not much of a salad eater, so I decided not to bother with those foods and create a menu for myself based on healthy foods I did enjoy eating.

 

2) Pick an exercise you really like and do it every day!

I love fitness walking, so that is what I selected for my exercise program. It was simple, enjoyable for me, and I already knew how to do it.  I do understand however that a walking program isn’t the right thing for everyone. The key is to pick an exercise that is right for you and to do it consistently.  For those of you with injuries, I recommend a visit with your doctor or a physical therapist, so you can get help selecting an exercise appropriate for your personal situation.

 

3) Make weight loss a big priority!

This means planning healthy meals and exercise every single day no matter what else is going on. It may also mean making some hard choices and setting aside some favorite hobbies, TV shows and movies for a while, but I guarantee you that the results will definitely be worth it!

4) Keep reminding yourself why you are losing weight in the first place!

One of the most important things I did daily was to remind myself what my new life would be like after I reached my goal weight.  For example, I would think about the beautiful clothing items and boots designed for thin women only that I wanted to be able to wear some day. I also looked forward to career and relationship opportunities that are available only to women who have reached a healthy weight. Another thing I would reminded myself of  was my desire to be able to comfortably sit in a restaurant booth and airplane seats without a hassle and my dream of looking  in the mirror and at recent photos of myself and being happy with the woman I saw there.

It was actually passionately wanting all these things more than anything else that helped me stick to my weight-loss program.  Yes, I would sometimes be tempted by foods that I had decided not to eat anymore, but when I compared a few minutes of enjoying eating those foods with all the happiness I hoped to experience when I reached my healthy new weight, the decision not to eat those foods instantly became much easier!

5) Ask God for help!

You may never have prayed for help to lose weight, but I encourage you to do so. God loves every one of us and is able and willing to help with every problem in our lives if we ask for his help.

6) Surround yourself with supportive people!

You will find weight loss much easier if you surround yourself with supportive people who will cheer you on, pray for you and do practical things to help you, so that you have more time to exercise and do the other things you need to do to lose weight.

You may even decide to buy some copies of my book for your friends and start a No Salads Required! support group.  You and your friends can read a chapter every week and then meet together on a regular basis to discuss what you have been reading. I wrote the reader’s discussion guide in the back of the book especially for such groups. There are plenty of questions designed to promote stimulating conversations and even a special poem I wrote for the enjoyment of the people that will be using the guide.

7) Don’t let discouraging people upset you!

I did have a friend who thought my weight-loss program wouldn’t work unless I had a weight-loss surgery. Well, I knew that a surgery wasn’t the right thing for me, so I just set out to prove him wrong and I was very successful in doing that! I also decided to ignore people who said I had “lost enough weight” when I became the same size as they were even though I was nowhere near my goal.  Just because my friends were not ready to lose their own extra weight didn’t mean I had to stop losing mine. If anyone told me it was “time to stop” I just said that my doctor was watching over me and that they had nothing to worry about. That usually solved the problem.

8) Never stop believing in yourself!

No matter how unsuccessful you may have been with weight-loss in the past, 2016 can still be your year to succeed! I was extremely overweight for 32 years before I lost 159 pounds and if I could do it, you can too!

9) Be sure to have lots of fun along the way!

Eat healthy foods you like, always look at the bright side of life, and make sure you keep yourself entertained while you exercise. When I first started exercising on my treadmill, I made it a point to listen to my favorite music, so I wouldn’t get bored. Recently, I have set up my TV and DVD player in front of my treadmill, so I can watch TV while I exercise. This really helps me stick to my program!

10) Write journals of your weight-loss journey!

From the first day of my weight-loss program clear up until today, I have been weighing myself every day and keeping track of my weight and body fat percentage, so I could see my progress, keep track of my ups and downs, and remind myself to get back on track if I find I have made some bad food or exercise choices.

I also keep track of the various things that happen as the days go by, especially the funny stuff and the heart touching moments.  I eventually used my early journals to help me write No Salads Required! You may want to write a book someday too and the notes in your journals will really help. I even used those notes as inspiration for the weight-loss poems I wrote for every chapter of my book and those poems really have made my book unusual and fun to read!

I hope to continue to use my journals for future blog post ideas and for things I haven’t tried yet, but would like to do such as writing lyrics for a weight-loss song that could become famous. If that dream comes true all my blog readers will be among the first to know!

 

Well, I hope the tips I listed will give you some encouragement. For more encouragement read my book! I think you will really enjoy it!

Losing Weight on Your Own Terms is Not Only Possible, It’s the Only Way To Succeed! — April 15, 2015

This is my mother and me holding up the size 4X pants that I no longer wear. Notice how much we look alike!

Losing Weight on Your Own Terms is Not Only Possible, It’s the Only Way To Succeed!

/Shelley A Sonnenberg/7 Comments
This photo was taken just days before I started my weight loss program. I weighed 281 pounds.
This photo was taken just days before I started my weight loss program. I weighed 281 pounds.

What  inspires you to lose weight? Do you have an upcoming occasion for which you want to look especially good? Do you want to get the attention of that special someone or to be given opportunities that are usually only given to thin people? Do you just want to feel healthier?

There are many reasons people want to lose weight today, but unfortunately the pervasive myths in our culture concerning weight-loss often discourage people from even getting started. In my upcoming book, No Salads Required! How I Lost 159 Pounds without Salads, Celery, Sit-Ups or Surgery and How You can Too! I address four of the reasons that I was obese for 32 years. I really did not want to live on salads or celery! I had spent too many years eating much more delicious foods and I was unwilling  to resign myself to that menu! I also did not want to do sit-ups. I know that some TV fitness trainers swear by them, but honestly when a person is as morbidly obese as I was when I started my weight-loss program, sit-ups were an exercise in nausea!

As for weight-loss surgeries, I knew they were not right for me either. I realize some people may find them helpful, but in my case, the problem was not in my stomach. The problem was in my brain! I was using food as comfort and entertainment and ignoring the obvious fact that somebody as short and fine-boned as I was should not be eating high calorie foods in large quantities. In my book I also mentioned my naturally slow metabolism and said that though God had created my body to work like an economy car,  I had spent years fueling myself up like an eighteen wheeler! Obviously l needed to make a change, but how?

The first thing I needed to do was start a weight-loss program and make it a priority. In No Salads Required! I shared how I reached the decision to do this, as well as how I came to the understanding that if I was going to succeed at weight-loss, my program had to be on my own terms. For me, that meant designing my own weight-loss plan that included eating only foods that I enjoyed and doing only exercise that I liked to do and sticking to that program tenaciously until I reached my goals. This may sound wild, but it worked beautifully for me. I lost the 159 pounds I needed to lose in fourteen months!

I think approaching weight-loss on one’s own terms is so important that I encourage my readers to do the same. No Salads Required! contains a chapter with lists of recommended foods and suggestions for readers on how to design their own meals as well as permission to choose only the foods on the lists that they enjoy. I did also put together a chapter full of suggested meal combinations for people who wanted help getting started and who would appreciate specific recommendations. However, even in that chapter, I suggested my readers pick the meals they like and customize them as needed with other foods on the recommended lists according to their own preferences and what they find currently available in the grocery stores.

Fortunately, due to international trade, there are now many more fruits and vegetables available in grocery stores throughout the year than there used to be. This makes shopping much easier.  Also, my readers with green thumbs might enjoy planting and growing some of their own fresh produce. Gardening is not only a fun and healthy activity, but it also opens the door for people to enjoy varieties of fruits and vegetables that are not commonly sold in stores. A few years ago one of my friends decided to grow tomatoes, but not just any tomatoes. She planted a type of orange ones that I had never seen or heard of until she told me about them. Once those tomatoes began to ripen they were all she could talk about. I have never talked to anyone so delighted about eating tomatoes in all my life! She really enjoyed them and that made her extra effort to grow them completely worthwhile.

When it comes to exercise, I also encourage my readers to set up a program that is pleasant for them. After all, if a person plans to start doing something on a regular basis it makes sense to be sure they will enjoy it! For readers with problems  exercising due to injuries  I suggested in No Salads Required! that they seek the guidance of their doctor and possibly a physical therapist as well. It’s amazing how many safe and effective  methods there are for  injured people to exercise! A few years ago one of my friends was facing serious health problems that were complicated by morbid obesity. While she was in the hospital for treatment of these conditions,  her doctor referred her to a specialist, who helped her set up a manageable exercise program with the goal of building her strength. I was completely amazed! What I learned from her story is that if there is a will there is a way!  If that woman could find a way to exercise in her extremely  difficult circumstances, then all the rest of us can find an exercise plan that will work for us if we seek the right advice and make the effort to follow it.

So now it’s up to you! Are you ready to chase your weight-loss dreams on your terms? No Salads Required! will be available to order from Amazon.com and other stores in late August or early September of 2015 and I encourage you to buy it, read it and it discover how fun and exciting weight-loss can be. In the meantime I will be sharing “sneak previews” on this blog on a regular basis to give you a taste of what’s to come. I also will be sharing entertaining stories about my life as a writer and what I am doing to maintain my new figure now that I have it. Stay tuned!