It’s officially 2010. Got resolutions? Of course you do.
Now is the time when many of us re-commit to resolutions that we are determined will improve our well being, but somehow – sooner than later – many lose the willpower to stick to them.
From the day after Christmas until the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve, people plot and plan, reading articles from experts that supposedly equip readers to change their lives forever.
Do I even have to say what tops nearly everyone’s list every year? I didn’t think I did.
We read articles by fitness gurus, join gyms, enroll in a class for the new “it” exercise craze (is it still Zumba?) classes, only to fall off the wagon with that first box of chocolate for Valentine’s Day – if not before.
While fitness experts are invaluable, as a fatness expert, I feel – as many of us do – the need for a little extra motivation. And nothing is more inspiring than someone stepping out of shoes that are just like yours and walking into a new life.
“I always made it my New Year’s resolution, and it never worked,” Nina Ellis-Hervey confessed.
This time, unlike every other year, she was graduating from college and wanted to change for the better – for good.
“Let me start off by saying that I don’t think that everybody is unhappy as a heavier person,” she said. “I just didn’t like the way that I looked in clothes and the way that I felt.”
Four years ago Ellis-Hervey shed the nearly 100 pounds of extra weight she had been carrying around with her throughout her undergraduate studies.
Her weight gain began after adolescence, but was offset by extracurricular sports activities. However, when she went off to Truman State University, her “freshman 15” was more like “freshman 50.”
“In high school, I was in sports,” Ellis-Hervey said. “But when I went off to college, oh Lord, I didn’t do anything but eat.”
And before she knew it, graduation was around the corner and her weight was 220 lbs.
“I was in school earning degrees and was doing everything that I could possibly do, but I felt like I was selling myself short,” Ellis-Hervey said. “Because I still had this thing that was haunting me and my weight was not good for me.”
And so she did what she did best – she studied. She did her homework on what approaches she could take. She studied her body and its response to food. She looked into possible activities and exercise programs with the same meticulousness that she applied to her education.
“The research is important,” Ellis-Hervey said. “It took me six months to actually get in the mindset and actually start seeing some weight fall off.”
But once it went, there was no turning back. She exercises five to six days a week. Through understanding her body, she has kept the weight off for nearly four years – which she attributes to developing a diet and fitness plan that is accommodating to actually living, versus being chained to a point system or frozen meals.
“I’m not downing Jenny Craig or anything like that, but you want to try to prepare yourself for something you can do for the rest of your life,” Ellis-Hervey said. “The way I eat is not by a diet system. I know how to listen to my body now. I know when the hunger is cutting off. I know when I’m not hungry and I’m eating too much.”
While she admits she still enjoys an occasional trip to the boat for crab legs and splurges at parties and events, she plans ahead by being more rigid with respect to her diet on the days leading up to her treat days.
“I’m not saying those systems don’t teach you that, but a lot of people rely solely on that and say, ‘Oh, I’m just going to eat this meal and take in this many points.’”
While she has kept her weight off for a few years, unfortunately she still lies within the danger zone of the vast majority who regain their weight – with interest pounds to boot.
“I always have a fear and when you first lose it, that fear is horrible,” Ellis-Hervey confessed. “But I think it’s good to have some fear. When people gain the weight back, they had no fear. And they haven’t learned themselves and they haven’t learned their restrictions. I know what my trigger foods are. Keeping it off for me has been easy because I worked so hard at losing it.”
Now it’s working for her. She was the November 2009 winner of the MPAC Eye Candy Model Competition.
Ellis-Hervey is finishing her last semester of post-graduate studies at Oklahoma State University where she will obtain her PhD in Psychology. She also has a YouTube channel where she chronicles her weigh tloss success with nearly 15,000 subscribers. To view her channel, visit http://www.youtube.com/user/BeautifulBrwnBabyDol.
Check your motivation
It has been 12 years since Rebeccah Bennett, a life coach, yoga instructor and communications professional, said goodbye to 75 pounds. Now her life’s work is leading others on a journey towards personal success.
“If your motivation is short-term, it’s going to be hard for you to make long-term change – if it’s to get into that dress or anything that not out of a sense of loving yourself,” Bennett said.
“The more you love yourself, the more committed you will be. As opposed to just looking good, you will want to experience good health and establish better patterns – to become stronger, be more resilient and have more stamina.”
Suprisingly, another of Bennett’s nuggets of wisdom for weight loss success is an age-old saying that the elders often impart upon the younger generation as they form friendships and bonds with peers.
“Pay attention to the company you keep,” Bennett said. “Any time you make major changes, you need major support.”
Securing a “gym buddy/exercise partner” or two – or 10 – instantly develops an accountability system. And not just for your own sake. The same person selected to serve as a motivator can be inspired by your commitment to stick to good health for your own good.
“We exist by community,” Bennett said. “We live longer we are feel better likely to do something different to keep up that activity.”
In addition to her work as a life coach and yoga instructor, Bennett is a senior consultant for Vector Communications and is the resident host of the St. Louis American Foundation Healthy Happy Hour events that take place each month at various locations through the area. The next Healthy Happy Hour will take place on Thurs., Jan. 21 at 5 p.m. at the Vashon Community Education Center (3035 Cass Ave).
