It's Not
About
the Scale

By Karen Preston

Karen lives, plays, and works
in Portland. A member of TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly), she also founded Pounders, a weight-loss support group focusing on being fit through exercise and healthly lifestyle changes. Her story
was recently featured in Self magazine (September 2003).

I still find each
day too short for
all the thoughts
I want to think,
all the walks I want
to take, all the books
I want to read and
all the friends
I want to see. 

— John Burroughs

A Work in Progress

Many of you reading this know that I lost 184 pounds over the course of nearly three and a half years. What I haven’t yet shared with you is that I’ve gained back some pounds in the last year. A combination of injuries, working two jobs, and marital problems added up to a truckload of stress and 27 extra and unwanted pounds. After quitting my second job a few weeks ago, I’m back on track working to lose a pound a week. Three weeks of losses have already made a difference in the way I feel.

As I write, it’s the beginning of the marathon-training season. Half a year from now thousands of men and women will line up to walk 26.2 miles during the Portland Marathon. By my count I should be right back to my goal weight by then!

So I can hear you asking, “Karen, what are you doing to lose those extra pounds?” Good question! Of course there’s no way I can discuss all the different techniques I use in one column, but it all boils down to the three keys of losing weight. One, is eating the right foods in the right portions. Another is exercise — getting out there and burning off extra calories. The last, but most important, is attitude. It’s hard to accomplish the first two keys if you aren’t feeling positive. That’s the area where my column usually focuses.

Your attitude affects both your healthy eating and exercise. To make exercising easier, pick activities you love doing. I really enjoy cycling, dancing, and, of course, walking. Because of my busy life, it’s easiest for me to walk in the morning before work. Everyone is different, but I find that too many distractions come up in the evening for me to consistently follow through with my walking plans. The great thing about morning exercise is that I feel so much more productive afterwards. I seem to have extra energy on the mornings I walk.

In the past I’ve found that exercising with a partner helps keep me motivated. When I don’t have a buddy to accompany me, it’s much easier to hit the snooze button and grab a few extra ZZZ’s before work. I’m not likely to sleep in if I know that someone will be waiting at the corner for me.

Finding a willing walking partner was harder than I expected. But I knew how important it was in my success, so I kept asking friends and acquaintances until a friend mentioned a woman who lives close to my neighborhood. I made a phone call, and the next day Mary and I met for an early morning walk. How quickly that first walk went while we got to know each other! That’s another nice thing about walking with someone else – the chance to make a friend.

Luckily Mary and I are both training for the marathon. If you aren’t always motivated to go out and walk, sign up for races. At this time of the year, there’s something to enter nearly every weekend. I’ve found that it helps to have an event I’m “in training” for. Believe me, a 5k or longer race every month or so keeps me focused on putting in the mileage. I’ll keep you updated on my weight loss progress and look forward to hearing about yours.