I promised my friends over at Jenny Craig in Bellevue that I would post some of my methods for moving toward my goal weight so quickly. I’m actually at my halfway point.

When I left Inman’s Real Estate Connect in San Francisco last year, I picked up the book Skinny Bitch to read on the airplaine on the way home. Nothing says “lose some weight” like speaking on stage to over 1,000 people in the audience. There’s no way to stop people from snapping photos and posting them on the internet or podcasting presentations and putting them out on Inman TV. So losing weight became a priority before Inman’s 2008 Real Estate Connect in San Francisco for me.

What’s this have to do with Seattle and Real Estate? Lots! Truth be told, the “dirty little secret of moving to Seattle”, especially from year round warmer climate areas, is you gain weight. Just before I moved to Seattle back in 2004, Tom Leykis did a piece on the radio about his visit to Seattle and the women having the biggest butts he’d ever seen. Crude, and my butt didn’t get big, but the weather does lend itself to weight gain if you are the type that likes outdoor exercise vs. going to a gym.

When cooking, I often read five recipes for the same dish, and then make it based on a combination of them all. Same with weight loss. I integrated a bit of the Skinny Bitch principals to the Jenny Craig plan. I had been to Jenny Craig years ago after I had my three children two year’s apart, with good and lasting success until my move to Seattle. So I had no doubt that I would accomplish what I set out to do. When you are in the business of helping others achieve their goals, achieving your own goals is paramount. No room for maybe won’t.

The first week I lost 3.6 lbs and then 2.8 lbs. pretty consistently for each of the 4 other weeks. Never even a fraction of a lb. UP in that time. While I’m not a vegan, like Skinny Bitch espouses, there is very little meat in the Jenny Craig food, so that principle is somewhat covered. What I don’t do that Jenny Craig says to do and Skinny Bitch suggests, is I never eat when I am not hungry. I don’t space out the meals and my Jenny Craig friends laugh when I tell them that I pile my lunch and breakfast on top of my dinner and eat it all at once at night LOL!

My days go by so fast in real estate, that I often don’t stop to eat, though I am drinking the 64 ounces of water prescribed under the plan during the day. No one wants to drink 64 ounces of water all at once, especially before going to bed.

Moral of the story, don’t fight your natural eating patterns and don’t eat when you are not hungry. For the first 3-4 weeks I did not change my exercise activity. Some exercise, but not more than my normal. I adjusted to the 1,200 calorie per day pattern first, and that was enough to lose the initial 10 lbs or so. When the weight loss looked like it might be slowing down from the food change alone, I kicked in the exercise. I play disco music and walk around the block several times, reversing the direction each time I get back to my house. There’s a nice hill going up 1st Street and a slightly less incline coming up 2nd Street, so I go one way and then the other.

I either play The Rolling Stones Disc 2 of the Forty Licks CD set, or a walking disco tape. I’ve been doing my step exercise with Mick Jagger for years, since my Richard Simmons Sweat and Step tape got eaten. I see it is back in print while writing this post. YAY! I’m ordering that right now! I try to add a song each day (thanks Jeremy Keener for that tip) instead of counting the trips around the block. I haven’t made it through Jack, Jack, Jackie yet, which reminds me of my daughter Jackie, but it keeps me close to home in case all the water I am drinking while walking (usually 32 ounces) has an affect 🙂

Drinking the water is often the hardest part, so I did buy two things from Jenny Craig. One is their scale because I swore that the reason my weight didn’t seem to change for three years no matter what I did was the scale’s fault. I ditched the “meany scale” and bought the Body Balance Scale at Jenny Craig that records digitally in ounces, and I get weighed every morning to make sure I’m not kidding myself into thinking I’m on track if I’m not. The other is the Jenny water bottle with built in straw and water filtration system. Drinking two of those vs. throw away water bottles is better for the environment and the purple cap reminds me not to eat or drink anything that doesn’t have the Jenny Craig seal of approval.

I did take Sarah Washburn’s brother Ovid out to lunch yesterday over at the Pumphouse. But had no problem eating my Chicken Caesar salad with no dressing and a sprinkling of plain vinegar, while he downed a big burger and fries. I took one fry and put it on my plate to show that I could, but the plate went back with the salad gone and the lone french fry proudly placed in the center of the plate. When I went to the ladies room I told Ovid that if he were my friend he would hide that fry while I was away. We then removed it from its hiding place and put it on the plate as the waitress came to clear the table.

The waitress smiled, and in that smile I could see that seeing someone being steadfast in their goals, gave her a feeling that she too could achieve her goals…whatever they may be. Sometimes we stick to our goals and objectives to show others that they too…can be successful at just about anything they want to achieve. We support one another the way the ground on your property supports the structure next door. We are an interdependent society, and the ripple effect of leading by example, is an awesome and rewarding responsibility.