2015-06-01T22:10:59-04:00

Here I am writing my latest weight-loss poem. I get my best ideas when I am sitting at the computer.

The Weight-Loss Poet Rhymes about Choosing Healthy Foods

June 1, 2015June 2, 2015/Shelley A Sonnenberg/Leave a comment

Good nutrition is a very important part of living a healthy lifestyle, yet it’s amazing how easy it is for people to eat all the wrong foods for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks and then wonder why they struggle with weight problems and are not feeling well. The good news is that anyone who really wants to can change!

This picture was taken prior to the start of my weight-loss program. I am posing with a chocolate covered strawberry. That was about the only way I ate fruit in those days.

Recently, I lost 159 pounds in fourteen months and one of the most important things I did was improve my daily food choices. Now that does not mean I quit enjoying my meals! Quite the opposite! The weight-loss program I created for myself included a wide variety healthy foods I liked and I had such a good time eating them that I still eat those foods today!

You can read my whole weight-loss story and all the details of how to follow my successful weight-loss program in my upcoming book, No Salads Required! How I Lost 159 Pounds without Salads, Celery, Sit-Ups or Surgery and How You Can Too! This book will be available from Amazon.com and other stores in either late August or early September of 2015 and I hope all my readers enjoy it. The book will include all the things that people hope for in a weight-loss book such as recommended foods, suggested meals, recipes, and advice on exercise, but it also contains something unique and special: poetry!

No Salads Required! Contains seventeen poems, which I have placed strategically throughout the book with the goal of presenting the information in the various chapters in a more memorable and entertaining manner. I also liked the idea of giving my readers a taste of something new and different, and weight-loss poetry is definitely that!

In fact, I enjoy writing weight-loss poetry so much that recently I have posted two special blog posts that included special weight-loss poems that I wrote specifically for my blog readers. The response has been overwhelming! Readers from all over the world have given me wonderful feedback concerning these poems and said that they really enjoyed them, so I have written a brand new one about food choices that you will only be able to see here! Enjoy!

You Can Eat the Right Foods and Still Be Happy!

Each time you plan a meal

Or visit the grocery store

You will make decisions

That your body can’t ignore.

Will you be eating protein

And vegetables and fruit?

Or will you fill up on pizza

And ice cream by the scoop?

The best way to be healthy

Is by choosing foods,

That not only fill your stomach

But provide nutrition too.

You will find you feel much better

And that you’ll have more zest

If you eat the kinds of things

Your doctor would suggest.

The fruits I love the most

Are cantaloupe and grapes.

I also really like to eat

Chicken, fish and steak.

I enjoy corn on the cob

And small cucumbers too.

Yellow grape tomatoes

Always improve my mood!

I don’t eat much sugar any more

But much to my surprise

I really do not miss it much.

I love living my new life!

Now it’s your turn to join me.

Start eating healthy too!

And one day you will see

Your weight-loss dreams come true!

This photo was taken by my father on May 18, 2015. It feels great to be at a healthy weight! I wish I had started working toward it sooner!

There is No Perfect Time to Begin a Weight-Loss Program! Start Yours Today!

May 19, 2015May 19, 2015/Shelley A Sonnenberg/1 Comment

Over the years I have heard numerous reasons why people are waiting to start a weight-loss program and some of the most creative ones were mine! I was obese for 32 years before I lost 159 pounds in fourteen months and now I wonder why I waited so long! I love being at a healthy weight!

Of course, there will always be difficulties to overcome when you are starting a weight-loss program. Life is never free of problems no matter what you are involved in! The answer is to work your way through them and to keep losing weight anyway!

This is my mother, Gail, on the left, my sister, Cherie, in the center and me on the right. This was taken just a few months before I started losing weight. I weighed about 281 pounds.

I think the saddest part about putting off taking the first step on a weight-loss journey is that you are also putting off the joy of reaching your goal weight. In my case, I also made my goal a lot harder to reach because during all the years I was putting off getting started I was also getting bigger! By the time I began losing weight, I was five foot two inches tall with hips that measured 5 feet around! I realize now that I waited far longer than necessary and if I could live my life over again, I would certainly would have taken my first steps a lot sooner. However, I do know the main reason I was waiting and even though it was more of an excuse than a reason, I know I am not the only person who has used it. Here it is:

My main reason for putting off starting a weight-loss program was that I was worrying about all the foods and relaxing activities I would have to either give up or put on the back burner in order to lose weight instead of considering the wonderful prospect of having a whole new figure and the exciting opportunities that would come with one. The good news is that once I did make weight loss my priority and started some good habits, I actually found my weight-loss journey to be a very pleasant one. I also have been successful at maintaining my new figure. All I really needed to do was just get started and keep going in the right direction!

I have shared my whole weight-loss story, including complete information about the successful program I designed for myself in an upcoming book entitled No Salads Required! How I Lost 159 Pounds without Salads, Celery, Sit-Ups or Surgery and How You Can Too! It will be available from Amazon.com and other stores at the end of summer or early fall of 2015. The following is an excerpt from chapter 5:

“I also have learned that you can’t wait for the “perfect time” to start a weight-loss program, to exercise, or to work toward any goal for that matter. Start where you are, make a list of what you can do toward that goal at the moment, and then figure out what steps you can take toward that goal in the near and distant future. This will be an ongoing list, but the most important items on it are the things you can start immediately.”

Of course, once you get going on your program, you also have to stick with it faithfully no matter what distractions or challenges pop up. I did a lot of fitness walking in my neighborhood while I was losing weight and that led to some interesting discussions with my friends who watched me walk by their houses every day. Here is another quote from that same chapter of No Salads Required!:

“When I was walking around my neighborhood, my neighbors would often ask why I was walking when it was so hot, cold, rainy, or “too nice a day to exercise.” I would always laugh and say, “If I waited for the perfect time, I would never lose any weight at all.” I realized at the beginning of my weight-loss plan that if I was going to be serious about losing all the weight, I would have to commit to eating right and exercising every day no matter what else was going on. On Easter Sunday, I took my mom and sister with me to do some walking around the neighborhood after dinner and one of my neighbors said, “Wow! You even walk on Easter?”

I said, “You bet! I do this every day!”

I do want to mention here that I did also attend church on that Easter Sunday I was referring to in the book, just like I do every week, I enjoyed a wonderful Easter dinner with my family, and ate some delicious hard boiled Easter eggs. I did not give up on all happiness in order to lose weight, I just made my weight-loss journey part of an ongoing happy experience!

So what do you think needs to happen before you are going to be ready to lose weight? Are you waiting to finish college? Are you waiting to get married? Are you waiting for your kids to grow up? Are you waiting for retirement? Are you waiting for all the problems in the world to be resolved? Never mind all that! Start losing weight today and become the person you want to be. Then, when you reach those various stages in life you will be thinner and enjoy them more! As for solving all the problems in the world, well, weight loss won’t do much about that, but at least you will feel better while you are dealing with them. So take that first step on your journey today! An exciting future awaits!

Drinking Enough Water Can Help You Lose Weight and Improve Your Health

May 12, 2015/Shelley A Sonnenberg/Leave a comment

The world is exploding with weight-loss products today and it seems like every time I turn around I hear about a new one! Now some of these products are excellent and some are filled with empty promises, but there is one weight-loss product that most people overlook even though it’s one of the least expensive and most effective! It’s water!

Yes, I said water! One of the things I included in my weight-loss program when I recently lost 159 pounds in fourteen months was a focused plan to start hydrating myself properly. In, my upcoming weight-loss book, No Salads Required! How I lost 159 Pounds without Salads, Celery, Sit-Ups or Surgery and How You Can Too! which will be available in late summer or early fall of 2015, I share some insights on this, much of which, I learned from Don, Colbert, M.D.

In his helpful and interesting book, The Seven Pillars of Health, Dr. Colbert states:

“New research also shows that being dehydrated can cause your body’s fat deposits to increase. Dehydration can contribute to an inefficient metabolism by affecting body temperature. When you are dehydrated, your body temperature drops slightly and causes your body to store fat as a way to maintain the temperature. Also, as some savvy dieters know, drinking water reduces your appetite by giving you a full feeling.[1]”

Obviously the remedy for dehydration is to drink more water, but the question is, “How much?” Fortunately, Dr. Colbert included this easy formula in his book:

“Take your weight in pounds and divide it by two. The result is how many ounces of water you should drink daily.[2]”

I believe so strongly in the above advice that I both lived by it while I was intensely working at losing weight and currently live by it as part of my maintenance program. Of course, now that I weigh a lot less it’s easier to meet my daily water drinking goals. When I first began my weight-loss program I weighed 281 pounds and needed to drink 140.5 ounces of water per day! To make this more fun I did make some of that clean, filtered water into unsweetened caffeine-free tea. I used a water filter attached to my kitchen sink to make an endless supply of the water I needed. This is what I said about that in Chapter 2 of No Salads Required!:

This is me prior to my weight-loss program. I weighed about 281 pounds at that time.

“The reason I decided to drink caffeine-free iced tea was that I was drinking quite a lot of it at times, and while both black tea and green tea with caffeine both do offer health benefits,^{^[3]} too much caffeine can keep you up at night when you really want to sleep.^{^[4]} Also, caffeine is a diuretic^{^[5]} and I did not want to drink it to excess and push all the water I had been drinking right back out of my body before I could enjoy the benefits of being properly hydrated.”

I also have completely given up sodas, both diet and regular, but with all the wonderful teas available I have not missed them. In No Salads Required! I recommended a number of my favorite, black, herbal and green teas that come in caffeine-free versions, but I don’t limit myself to just the favorite teas I mention in the book. Every time I visit the grocery store I enjoy walking down the tea aisle and searching for new flavors I have not tried yet. I find experimenting with new teas to be a fun and healthy hobby.

Now, I do need to tell you that when you first start drinking a healthy amount of water that your body will initially respond by causing you to run to the bathroom a lot the first few days and that this can be somewhat inconvenient, but it’s all for a good cause. Dr. Colbert explains it this way:

“Take heart; it’s really your body’s way of getting rid of excess water and toxins. You are flushing out your system.[6]”

Dr. Colbert also mentioned in the same chapter that drinking enough water can do wonders to help your memory, reverse signs of aging, improve your joints and make your skin look beautiful. I particularly liked a statement from a TV interview he saw with singer Tina Turner, whose skin looked fabulous even though she was well into her sixties at the time. She explained it was because she drank two quarts of water every day! [7]

I hope to use “water therapy” to produce the same results in myself as I mature! I find it ironic that in the midst of a culture that is desperate to find the fountain of youth that few people know that is as close as their kitchen faucet or the bottled water at the grocery store! Give it a try! You will be glad you did.

Book Information: As I mentioned above, No Salads Required! How I Lost 159 Pounds Without Salads Celery, Sit-Ups or Surgery and How You Can Too! will be available in late summer or early fall of 2015. You will be able to order it from Amazon.com and other stores in both paper and electronic formats. As soon as I have an exact release date I will be sure to include it in my blog posts.

[1] Don Colbert, MD. The Seven Pillars of Health. First ed. Lake Mary, Florida: Siloam, 2007, 13

[2] Colbert. The Seven Pillars of Health, 31

[3] Steven G. Pratt, MD, and Kathy Matthews. Superfoods Rx, Fourteen Foods That Will Change Your Life. Third ed. New York: HarperCollins, 2007, 181–185.

[4] Don Colbert, MD. The Seven Pillars of Health. First ed. Lake Mary, Florida: Siloam, 2007, 3142–43.

[5] Colbert. The Seven Pillars of Health, 32.

Chapter 3

[6] Colbert. The Seven Pillars of Health, 13

[7] Don Colbert, MD. The Seven Pillars of Health. First ed. Lake Mary, Florida: Siloam, 2007, 5,-14

Here I am in front of my computer. It's where I write my best poetry!

Musings of a Weight-Loss Poet

May 9, 2015May 15, 2015/Shelley A Sonnenberg/2 Comments

Weight-loss books are one of the most popular types of self-help books on the market today and the people who buy them generally know what to expect. Most weight-loss books provide advice concerning what to eat, how to plan meals, how to exercise, and what to do in order to successfully reach a weight-loss goal. I think all of these things are excellent components to a weight-loss book and that’s why I have included them in my new book that is coming out in the late summer or early fall of this year. However, my book also has something new: poetry!

The name of the book is No Salads Required! How I Lost 159 Pounds without Salads, Celery, Sit-Ups or Surgery and How You Can Too! It contains seventeen poems that are designed to both entertain the reader and also present the various ideas in the book in a creative and memorable way.There is a poem in the introduction, the conclusion and the reader’s discussion guide as well as at least one in each chapter of the book.

I realize that poetry about weight loss is unconventional to say the least, but that’s exactly why I wanted to both write it and include it in my book. Readers are always looking for something fresh and different and I wanted my book to be just that. No Salads Required! also contains my personal weight-loss story. This gave me the opportunity to include both humor and insights into what I experienced as during my weight-loss journey.

This photo was taken before I began my weight-loss program. I weighed about 281 pounds at the time.

Recently I have been thinking about how much I enjoyed using poetry to discuss weight loss and I decided to write a special poem specifically for the readers of my blog. Here it is:

Why Weight-Loss Books Are Popular

The choice to try to lose weight

Isn’t always easy.

Sometimes just the thought of it

Can make a person queasy.

But, once the door is opened

And a new you is in sight,

Suddenly the prospect

Can fill you with delight!

Imagine what you want to be

Then make those dreams come true.

If you really want this,

It’s possible for you!

Choose healthy food you like to eat

And eat it every day.

Do exercise you like to do,

And pounds will melt away!

Of course, it helps to have someone

Who’s been there before,

To walk you through the process

And tell you what’s in store.

That’s why folks buy weight-loss books

To show them what to do,

And teach them and encourage them

As they do something new.

In fact, some people never try

To lose weight on their own.

They like the hope a book provides

So they don’t feel alone.

If what you need is a good book

To get your engine fired,

Be sure to go out and buy mine

It’s called No Salads Required!

As I mentioned earlier, No Salads Required! will be available either late summer or early fall of 2015 . You will be able to order it from Amazon.com and other stores. I wish each of my readers great success on their weight-loss journey and I hope that my book will be an important part of that!

This photo is of me my and my father. He likes to say that I pursue my weight-loss goals like Olympic Athletes pursue gold medals!

Weight Loss: Do You Want It So Much You Can Taste It?

May 5, 2015May 15, 2015/Shelley A Sonnenberg/Leave a comment

This photo is of my mother and me prior to me starting my weight-loss program. I weighed about 281 pounds here.

When people find out that I have recently lost 159 pounds in fourteen months they often ask how I was able to stick to my program so successfully. They usually are also very surprised when I tell them about my method, because it had very little to do with will power and everything to do with setting goals and priorities.

The following is a quote from chapter five of my upcoming book, No Salads Required! How I Lost 159 Pounds without Salads, Celery, Sit-Ups or Surgery and How You Can Too! which will be available from Amazon.com and other stores in late summer or early fall of 2015 :

“The secret to following any dream is to make it a priority. My father was right when he said that I pursued my dream to lose weight like Olympic athletes pursue gold medals. For the first time in my life, I wanted to have all the benefits of slenderness more than the things I would have to give up in order to have them. I knew that if I lost enough weight I would be able to wear prettier clothes, find a better job, and maybe even get married someday, and I wanted all these things with a passion big enough to move heaven and earth to make those dreams possible.

One of the things people often say when they hear about my weight loss is ‘Wow! You must have a lot of will power.’ I smile when they say this, because actually will power is only a small part of it. Walking away from wrong foods and filling your refrigerator and cupboards with the right foods has a lot more to do with focusing on what you want most than resisting what you are not supposed to have. I found that the more I imagined how I would look as a thin person and the things I wanted to do when I reached that goal, the easier it was to eat the right things.”

I should also mention here that this same passion motivated me to exercise every single day no matter what! I loved the process of reshaping myself! It was extremely exciting and I really did want to reach my goal much more than I wanted anything else. I was also very curious to see how I would look as a thin person. The last time I was thin I was in the 1980s when I was in high school, so I had no idea how I would look as a mature adult with a nice figure. Watching myself shrink was really fascinating and I have to say I really do like how my figure has turned out, but it has taken some time to get used to being “the new me.”

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

I particularly like the fact that I look a great deal like my mom and a lot of people commented on the resemblance shortly after I reached my weight-loss goal. At that time Mom and I were wearing our hair in almost the same style, which made our resemblance even more striking. One day when I was exercising at the gym, I was using free weights and was looking in a mirror with the idea of checking my form when for a split second I found myself looking at this short, slim brunette and asking “What’s Mom doing here?” Then I realized I was looking at me! I only remember that happening once, but it was an unforgettable moment!

Even now when I am maintaining my weight, I find good habits and setting priorities to still be really important. I have worked so hard to get my new figure, the last thing in the world I want to do is lose it! I still like high-calorie foods, but not enough to undo all my hard work, so I very seldom eat them.

Now for those of you who still believe will power is the best way to lose weight, I will confess that I have experimented with diets based on will power in the past, but they never worked for me. Every time I saw something I should not eat, but desperately wanted, I would try to pull myself away from the “bad food” and persuade myself not to eat it. That never lasted very long! You see what I used to think of as “will power” could better be described as “won’t power.” I would say to myself, “I won’t eat this and I won’t eat that even though I desperately want to and really don’t know why I am putting myself through all this misery.”

Of course, Sooner or later I would end up eating whatever it was I wanted to eat. You see, if you don’t have big dreams and exciting goals to work toward, all a “will power” plan works out to be is a deprivation program and who wants to feel deprived? I can tell you, I didn’t! That’s one of the reasons I stayed overweight for thirty-two years! It wasn’t until I came up with an entirely new approach that I was finally successful in making my weight-loss dreams come true.

So are you ready to try a new approach to weight loss? All you need to start is a pen, some paper and your wild imagination! Just try the following steps and you will be well on your way:

Imagine “the new you” when you reach your weight-loss goal. What size do you want to wear? How will you look? Who will be surprised and amazed when they see you at your new size? Let your imagination soar and write down a full description of yourself as you wish to be.
List some things you want to do when you reach your new size. They can be as simple as going to a restaurant and sitting comfortably in a booth or as expensive as flying around the world without the need for a seatbelt extender or to buy more than one airplane seat. Something I really enjoy being able to do now that am thinner is to trim my own toenails easily. I also like being able to bend over comfortably and tie my own shoes.
List the new opportunities that might be available if you lost weight. Some examples include new career options, a happier love life and the energy to learn something you always wanted to try such as ballroom dancing, skiing or tennis.
Once you have fully visualized the new life that you could have available to you as a thin person, calculate how much weight you would really need to lose in order to get there. Don’t be afraid even if the result is a big number! Remember I lost 159 pounds! Just figure out what your weight-loss goal would be and write it down.
Now write down how very much you want to achieve your goal! Do you desire it so much that you want to taste success more than any food that would keep you from reaching it? If you do, you have already taken the first step. Just keep going that direction and you will eventually wind up where you want to be!

This photo of my mother and I was taken by my father this month. I like to refer to my parents as "my two best friends". They are my biggest fans and supporters.

Tips on Providing Support to a Loved One Who Is on a Weight-loss Journey

May 1, 2015May 5, 2015/Shelley A Sonnenberg/3 Comments

Losing weight is one of the most popular topics on the planet today. It seems like almost everybody is thinking about it, talking about it, reading about it, blogging about it and tweeting about it, but very few people are actually successfully doing it.

Do you know somebody who both needs to lose weight and has a desire to do it, but can’t quite make any program that they try work? Maybe they need some help and maybe you are just the person to provide it! Now, I know some of you reading this are saying, “But what can I do? I am not a doctor, or a nutritionist or a personal trainer! What could I possibly do to help?” Actually, there are numerous things that can be done to assist a loved one on their weight-loss journey that do not require special training or a college degree! This is especially true if the person who is working toward reaching a weight-loss goal lives with you!

This photo of my father and me was taken before I began my weight-loss program. I weighed about 281 pounds at that time.

I recently lost 159 pounds during a fourteen month period and one of the things that really contributed to my success was the ongoing help of my family and friends during the whole journey and even beyond that, as I have been working to maintain my weight.

Here are some things you can do that would definitely be appreciated:

Start a support group. This group can be comprised of friends, family or both. My parents and I formed a support group the day I began my program and we still support each other now! The best part about supporting each other is that everyone wins. Not only did I lose weight, but they did too!
Listen to the person who is on a weight-loss program and discuss what is going one in their lives. Many people eat as a form of comfort and in order to stop doing that they need to develop relationships with people they can confide in, discuss positive solutions to problems and also just have fun!
Volunteer to help your loved one with some of their daily chores such as house cleaning, grocery shopping and cooking for them so they can have time to exercise. You don’t have to help them every single day to be appreciated. Just do what you can!
If the person who is working at losing weight has children, you can really do a great deal to assist them by helping with child care. Many parents, especially single mothers find a starting an exercise program practically impossible because of the needs of their kids. You can volunteer to care for the children yourself so the parent can go to the gym alone or you can pay for a babysitter so they can go to the gym with you. Either way, this can be extremely helpful!
Speaking of gyms, you can also help pay for your loved one’s membership if they are facing financial difficulties. If they want to go to the same gym that you do, ask about what it would cost to add the person trying to lose weight to your membership. Sometimes you can get a discount this way.
Help your rapidly shrinking loved one with acquiring new clothes! One of the biggest challenges during a weight-loss program, especially a successful one is figuring out what you are going to wear when you are changing sizes so often. Buying new clothing all the time can be really expensive and before you know it, whatever you just bought is already too big! One of the really wonderful things my Mom and several ladies I know from church did was to clean out their closets and give me free gently used clothes in the size I was wearing at the time. They took turns doing this as the need arose and I can’t begin to tell you how thankful I am for that! Not only did they save me a tremendous amount of money, but I was also reminded how much I was loved and supported every time I opened my closet! I especially appreciated help with acquiring exercise cloths. It was nice to feel well dressed while I was working out!
If the person you are supporting lives with you, volunteer to keep tempting foods that they are trying to abstain from like ice cream out of the house while they are actively trying to lose weight. This does not mean that you can’t sneak out for an ice-cream cone or other sweet treat at a restaurant when they are not with you. Just don’t wave the tempting foods under their nose!
If you really want to be a hero, volunteer to follow the same food plan your loved one on the weight-loss program is following! This is especially effective if you are living together, because you will find it’s easier to shop and cook meals when everyone in your house is eating the same things and also your loved one will feel really cared for and supported. This works just as well whether you are following a pre-planned program from a weight-loss book or designing you own program. In my case, I designed my own weight-loss program and then wrote a book about it after my program was successful. The title of the book is No Salads Required! How I Lost 159 Pounds without Salads, Celery, Sit-Ups or Surgery and How You Can Too! and it will be available to order from Amazon.com and other places in either late summer or early fall of 2015.
Gather your support group together at least once a week to discuss how your weight-loss program is going and what you can do to help each other. If you are all following a program from the same weight-loss book, it might be helpful to discuss one chapter of the book every week. This not only will give you something interesting to discuss, but it will help you keep motivated to stay on the program and to read the whole book! Some weight-loss books, including mine have a discussion guide in the back designed to stimulate thoughtful conversations about the information the book covers. These talks can be both and helpful and entertaining!
Think of your own ways to help! The ideas I have listed here are just the tip of the iceberg! Use your creativity and extend your hand of help in whatever way is needed! If you are not sure what the person needs, ask them! You are not only offering love and support by doing so, you could also be helping to save their life!

This photo was taken just a few days ago. I love being at a healthy weight and I am willing to work hard to stay there!

As Time Goes By: Tips on Maintaining Your New Figure Once You Have It

April 28, 2015May 5, 2015/Shelley A Sonnenberg/2 Comments

I recently lost 159 pounds in fourteen months and I have to say it’s great to have a new figure! I feel great, have lots of energy and can wear clothing styles and sizes that I could have only dreamed of wearing just a couple years ago. I started what I call the “intense phase” of my weight-loss program in January of 2013 and completed it in February of 2014. From then I have been in what I refer to as the “maintenance phase.”

This picture was taken a few months prior to the start of my weight-loss program. I weighed 281 pounds at that time.

Maintaining a new figure once you get one can be especially challenging, because unlike the original period of time when a person is actively losing weight, which usually has a start date and an end date, maintaining your new figure is supposed to last a lifetime! Of course this means that the newly slim person needs to figure out how to live through all of life’s ups and downs and still remained reasonably disciplined where food and exercise is concerned. So far I have done pretty well, but my journey has already had several bumps in the road and if I know anything about life I can only guess that there are more up ahead.

The good news is that there are also plenty of days in life when things are going reasonably well and if I just stick to the good habits I put in place when I was actively losing the weight I should be able keep most of the weight off all the time and also re-lose any pounds I temporarily pick up due to a problem like an illness or injury that keeps me from exercising for a short while. I did have a couple of such situations already in the last few months and I am happy to say that I am feeling fit and fine and am back to my exercise program full blast.

Another type of problem that arises from time to time on a maintenance program is the temptation to overeat due to emotionally charged events that can arise in one’s life. I find the best way to deal with these things is to turn to God, friends and family instead of the refrigerator! One of the nice things about modern technology is that almost everyone we know can be reached by phone or social media even if they are physically far away. There are few things as comforting as talking to somebody who loves you and is willing to stand by you no matter what problems you are facing! Sometimes I still catch myself eating when I should be praying or phoning somebody, but I have gotten a whole lot better in this department and it’s my goal to someday master that completely!

Social eating can also be really challenging when a person is trying to maintain a figure because sooner or later almost everyone finds themselves at a wedding, birthday party or holiday event where cake and other special foods are being served and it’s both pleasant and polite to eat some of it. Do you want my advice on how to handle that situation? I say, “Go to the event, eat the food and enjoy yourself!” Of course I would also suggest that you use some common sense about how much you eat of everything, but if the only time you eat high-calorie items is when you attend a special event like a wedding you probably are not going to gain so much weight that you can’t easily re-lose it once the day is over. Of course, if you are a busy and successful professional wedding planner and eat wedding cake at every wedding you plan for somebody, you may run into some difficulties, but for everyone else the occasional sweet treat at a special event is nothing to worry about.

I have also learned that exercising regularly is extremely helpful when it comes to keeping the weight off. Now, I understand that every person reading this has their own situation to consider, but in my case I have found that if I don’t schedule doing an exercise I enjoy almost every day, I am going to start gaining weight again. I am 5’2” with very tiny bones and my natural metabolism is extremely slow. In order to kick my body into high enough gear to stay in shape I need to exercise at least a couple hours most days. On the other hand, I have a couple friends who very seldom exercise and they never gain an ounce. This does not seem fair, but it’s the way it is! Someday when I get to heaven I hope to ask God about why he made people so different in this regard, but for the time being I find it better to stop wondering about things like that and just get moving!

Fortunately, I have discovered there are several exercises I really enjoy. My favorite is fitness walking. I do it with a friend whenever I can, but I also walk alone outside or on my treadmill. There is also an exercise bike in our house that I have just started riding on a regular basis and I enjoy using that too. My secret for enjoying both of those machines is that I never get on either one without bringing along my little CD player that also has a radio in it. I love playing music while I exercise, because it not only makes the time go by fast, but it also can inspire me to exercise more enthusiastically. This is especially true when I am on the exercise bike. Fast music really helps me move my feet!

I also have a gym membership and I enjoy going down to the gym and lifting weights once in a while. My goal is to go down there a little more, but I am still figuring out how to work that into my busy schedule. When I figure that out I will tell you all about it in a future post! Meanwhile, I am happy to say that it looks like “the new me” is here to stay!

I have found the whole process of transformation from my initial weight-loss to my current maintenance program to be much more fun than I ever thought possible during the 32 years that I struggled with obesity. I wish I had started this program a whole lot sooner! Of course, one of the reasons I have been having such a good time was that I designed my own weight-loss plan with the intent of enjoying it. This was especially important during the first thirteen months when I was losing the weight initially. I ate only healthy foods that I wanted to eat and did only exercise that I liked to do. I share my whole program in my upcoming book, No Salads Required! How I Lost 159 Pounds Without Salads, Celery, Sit-Ups or Surgery and How You Can Too! This book contains my personal story, lists of recommended foods, 30 suggested meal combinations, insights on how to succeed, poetry just for fun and much more! You will be able to order this book from Amazon.com and other stores starting in either late August or early September of 2015.

This picture of me with the "Before" photo that I use when I do motivational speaking was taken by my father on April, 24, 2015.

The Power of Positive Shrinking: How an Upbeat Attitude Can Help You Lose Weight

April 25, 2015May 5, 2015/Shelley A Sonnenberg/Leave a comment

There are many names for a cheerful outlook. Norman Vincent Peale called it “positive thinking”, my parents called it a “good attitude” and a famous song referred to it as “the sunny side of life.” The truth is that whatever name you give it, a positive attitude can do wonders for any weight-loss program and often makes the difference in whether or not a person is successful in reaching their weight-loss goals.

Recently I lost 159 pounds in fourteen months and I have to say that one of the most important things I did to lose the weight was to believe that my goals, though large, were completely possible to attain. I actually think this attitude was even more important than the food I ate, the exercise I did or the weight-loss and nutrition products I used, because even though all those things made a huge difference, I would not have made it through one day of my program if I wasn’t enjoying it!

Now, I do admit that when I first considered starting a weight-loss program I was a bit unsure if I wanted to undertake such a big project, but once I embraced the idea I did so wholeheartedly and never looked back! One of the first things I did to inspire myself to think positively was to write a simple, but powerful slogan that I said over and over to myself and anyone else who would listen. It was: “I am going to eat and exercise like a skinny person until my body figures it out!” I knew that if I was going to lose weight, my lifestyle that had caused me to become morbidly obese had to be abandoned and what better way to do that than to adopt the type of lifestyle that millions of skinny people were practicing successfully?

I also committed myself to the idea that my weight-loss program was exciting and that it was going to be lots of fun to watch myself transform into a healthy woman with a new figure. My program was in no way a punishment for eating unwisely in the past or a deprivation program that somebody else was forcing me into. Quite the opposite!

In fact, as I have mentioned in a previous blog post, I designed my weight-loss program to include only healthy foods that I liked to eat and exercise that I enjoyed doing! For example, I really am not much of a salad eater and I don’t like celery at all, so I decided not to put either of those items on my daily weight-loss menu. Instead, I ate foods like barbequed spare ribs, corn on the cob, apples and grapes! If you think that sounds like a whole lot of fun, you are right! It was! I was watching myself shrink and also was walking around with a big smile on my face. I had never enjoyed trying to lose weight before, but fortunately there is a first time for everything!

I tell my whole story about my weight loss and the specific details of exactly what I did to lose the weight in my upcoming book, No Salads Required! How I Lost 159 Pounds without Salads, Celery, Sit-Ups or Surgery and How You Can Too! The book will be available to order from Amazon.com and other stores at either the end of August or the beginning of September 2015. I hope that everyone who buys it and tries my program has as much fun as I did!

A positive attitude is also a very important part of keeping a healthy figure once you get one! I have been maintaining my new weight for over a year now and one of the ways I do it is to remind myself of all the good things I enjoy about being thin like being able to easily cut my own toenails, tie my own shoes, bend over without getting nauseous and fit into any restaurant booth or airplane seat I want to sit in without a problem.

This photo of my mother and I was taken just a few months before I started my weight-loss program. I weighed 281 pounds here.

Now for those of my readers who have never been extremely overweight these little blessings may not sound like much, but trust me when I say that I am thrilled every day to be able to do these things again. I am 5’2” with very tiny bones, yet I weighed 281 pounds when I started my weight-loss program and my hips measured 5 feet around. I understand what it’s like to have a serious weight problem and I also understand that if I don’t keep up a good attitude about living a healthy lifestyle I could end up in that position again.

Fortunately, I am having a wonderful time eating the healthy foods I came to love while I was losing weight and I am also enjoying learning to prepare new healthy recipes. My exercise program is a delight too. In our house, we have both a treadmill and an exercise bike and I enjoy using both of them, but recently I have returned to outdoor fitness walking. I have a neighbor who I walk with several times a week and we really enjoy both taking care of ourselves and having someone to talk to while we do it. Sometimes her husband joins us and we often see neighbors who are outside walking dogs or working in their yards and we talk to them too. We also often see other neighbors who are fitness walking, jogging or riding bicycles and several of them have told us that watching my transformation and seeing my friend and me walking regularly has given them the hope and inspiration to begin their own exercise program. If this keeps up soon everyone in our neighborhood will have a weight-loss story to tell!

So now I have a question for you: Are you considering starting a weight-loss program? If you are I want to encourage you to make sure it’s a program that is both based on the principles of healthy living and also one that you can enjoy every day that you are following it If you choose a program like that and stick to it cheerfully, before you know it, you will not only have achieved your weight-loss goals, but you will find yourself following other exciting dreams as well! What’s next for you after weight-loss? There are all kinds of opportunities that you could use your newly acquired positive attitude to attain. All you have to do is pick the ones you want and go after them until positive thinking and living becomes a regular part of your life. Once that happens you will be able to join my friends and me as we joyfully shout, “My future is so bright, I have to wear shades!”

My future is so bright that I have to wear shades! — My future is so bright, I have to wear shades!

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!

April 15, 2015May 5, 2015/Shelley A Sonnenberg/7 Comments

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!

Shelley A. Sonnenberg

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

Tag: diet