This guest post has come from someone who truly understands that weight loss is not a quick-fix….It is a lifestyle change and boy, has she changed her life! Please welcome Mary from A Walk in the Woods: 

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Lose it the way you intend to Live it!

Diets don’t work.  How many times have you heard that statement?  I’ve always sat on the fence in terms of agreeing or disagreeing with it, but lately I’m thinking it might be right.

You see, I’m mid-way through a second major weight loss journey in my life.  This time I set out to re-lose 80 pounds and thankfully I’ve lost 47 pounds so far, but I’m approaching the journey differently this time.  I lost over 100 pounds from 2004-2008 through a combination of diets including a meal replacement programme called “The Cambridge Diet”.

A four-year weight loss journey may have you thinking that losing weight that slowly would be good – however it wasn’t a slow weight loss at all.   It was very fast spurts, followed by periods of gaining back and then starving myself to lose more.  And the most significant factor of all of this that insured I gained most of that weight back?  I did not make permanent changes to my lifestyle.

There are a number of reasons why diets fail.  But in my opinion one of the major reasons they fail is because people only view them as a temporary solution.  Cut down on calories for a fixed period of time, exercise for a fixed period of time.  We don’t deal with the reasons we are overweight in the first place.  Maybe we are emotional eaters, maybe we are binge eaters, and maybe we simply detest exercise.  The fact is that unless we make changes to those areas of our lives – we are effectively doomed to fail.

So, earlier this year, in typical cliché fashion – January – the penny dropped for me!  I can’t describe exactly what happened, except to say that I got “The Fear.”  I knew that I had to lose the weight and suddenly, I knew I could lose the weight.  It was like someone put the blinkers on – I could only see straight ahead.  And immediately, I knew how to do it.  This time I was going to lose it “old school” – count calories and exercise.

There are too many quick fixes in life and my previous weight loss experiences are testimony to that.  I knew that with this weight loss journey, it had to hurt if it was going to work!  So – not only did I make changes to my eating habits (such as doing away with weekend and evening binge sessions!), but I also set out to find an exercise that I loved.  My love affair with walking began long before my weight loss journey even started – the trouble is that I never saw it as the obvious solution to my problems until January.

For the past 15 years my family and I have spent many holidays in a part of northern England called The Lake District.  I could talk for hours about the amazing beauty of the place, the ruggedness, the sheer joy of standing on a lonely mountain top, or walking along a gently lapping lakeshore.  I had found my spiritual home and even better I had found a challenge – fell walking.

The mountains in the Lake District are small by most standards, ranging from 1500-3000 feet.  However, what they lack in stature they make up for in interest, beauty and sheer walking delight.  All summits are achievable in a day, and a considerable number of them can be walked with children.  For me, it was love at first sight – I had found an activity that I absolutely adored.  It gave me a tremendous sense of achievement, climbing to the top of mountains.  It presented me with a challenge – persevering despite the pain and the panting, to get to the top.  And it gave me rewards – the unbelievable, indescribable beauty and solitude at the top.

The only major minus in this entire equation was that I live precisely 6 hours away from this amazing landscape and so relying on fell-walking for my regular exercise was not a possibility.  The fact was, that if I was serious about getting fit, I would have to find an activity that I could do at home.  For me, the obvious exercise was walking.

Walking is an awesome exercise – it builds lean muscle, improves balance, reduces sickness and it boosts endorphins which in turn boosts your mood.  It’s therapeutic – walking and breathing in fresh country air does wonders for the soul and melts away stress!  Plus, it’s versatile – you can go for a simple stroll, walk for distance, speed walking, walking cross country (such as the “Coast to Coast” walk here in Britain), walk a trail (such as the Appalachian Trail in America), and you can walk up a mountain!  In short, there is no limit as to how walking can help you get fit!  And the wonderful thing in all of this – is that walking will help yo

Me before my first 5k race in May 2012 – 40 pounds down

The title of this blog post was something that I saw on another blog post recently.  I cannot think of a better way to describe successful weight loss.  Whatever changes we make in our lives now are changes we must be happy to live with for the rest of our lives.  It’s not about deprivation.  I cringe when I hear that word.  It’s about enjoying all that life has to offer – food included!  But most importantly it is about balance.  Finding an activity that you love will mean that you can engage in those occasional treats and not feel guilty about it.  Life is meant to be enjoyed, so get out there and get fit!

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Posts that May be of Interest to You

My guest post on Abby’s site – Discovering that quick-fixes don’t work

Mind Matters in Keeping Weight Off

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How do you live a life of balance? What do you do to stay fit? And what do you do to enjoy?