Welcome to my Effortless Eating Weight Loss plan! As promised, every Monday I’ll post another effortless weight loss strategy that can help you on your way to losing weight.

Personally, I believe that many people struggle with their weight because they look at life and eating as an all-or-nothing deal. Either you’re “on” a diet and follow strict rules regarding rations, portions, and ingredients, or you’re not and you feel free to put anything you see into your mouth. I blame this mindset on our “win-or-lose”, “dead-or-alive” society. It convinces us that if we “fall off” our “diet”, we might as well give up. Right?

Sigh.

But really. Life is all about those shades of gray in between winning and losing. It’s the give and take that’s crucial. The small concessions. The little choices we make and the ripples felt from the effects.

That’s why I don’t like to focus on “losing weight.” Rather, let’s focus on getting healthy, on giving our bodies what they need to function effectively and efficiently. Once we do that, the weight will sort itself out as a natural byproduct. The body seeks an equilibrium: our job is to give it the right ingredients to enable it to so healthily.

Why am I qualified to talk about this? Yes, I’m a Certified Nutritional Consultant, so I know about holistic nutrition and healthy bodies. And I’m an MS sufferer, so I’m concerned with having as healthy body as possible. But I’ve also lost 30-50 lbs. at four different times in my life! So I know what it is like to struggle with weight loss and feel out of touch with my body.

Most of the time, I feel pretty comfortable with my weight and my body. I’m not a 5’10” model in a size 2 body, and if that were my goal I would surely feel devastated most of the time! Nope. I’m 5’3″ and pretty sure my growing days are long gone. When I follow my own advice, I don’t have to think about what I eat or how much and my body sticks around at a size 4 or 6. Yet, even I don’t have full control all the time. Here is a photo of me after my last pregnancy and second c-section (I can’t believe I’m going to post this, but in the interest of full disclosure, here goes…).

Now I look like this. I feel strong and healthy, capable and powerful. And back down to my desired body size.

So, let me start by sharing my first weight loss/healthy living tip: a drink of water. Start each day with 12-16 oz. of water, chugged or gulped as quickly as possible first thing in the morning (before coffee or anything else!). This will act like a fire hose racing through your intestines and clearing out any debris. Be prepared to hit a bathroom soon afterward, especially as it becomes a routine and your body knows to expect it.

Constipation issues? This will help! The action of drinking the water early and quickly becomes more effective the more often it is practiced, so the first day you might not see an immediate effect, but by the tenth day you certainly will. This will also give you a head start on hydrating yourself for the day, so even if you don’t drink another sip all day, at least you will have gotten some water in already.

Try to drink filtered water, but if all you’ve got is tap water, then use that. We’ll talk more about water in another discussion.

Tell me: does this seem difficult? Overwhelming? Doable?

Baby steps to a healthy life and weight.

Next tip to come next week on Monday!