30-Days - Down 23lbs and 24-1/4 inches but will I keep it off?

I feel great and am excited to continue to my goal of losing 100lbs.

A BIG question that people have, and that I had, is: Will I keep the weight off?

No matter how you lose weight (calorie reduction, exercise regime) you will need to keep doing whatever that is to maintain the weight loss.  First I had to reflect on why I gained weight back on past diets...

• NutriSystem (1990, lost 60lbs) - eating 100% of their food - it didn't taste that good and wasn't that nutritionally healty, just low in calories, went back to eating regular food and gained weight
• Atkins (1995, lost 30lbs) - couldn't give up bread and carbs forever!
• Weight Watchers (2007, lost 40lbs) - works for a lot of people but for me, all the sugar free foods and snacks were laden with fake sugar substitutes which are really unhealthy and actually kept me craving sugar products so I had no will power against cake, cookies, etc.  I later realized I was a sugar addict and gave up sugar and sugar substitutes entirely in Aug 2008 - no more cravings and willpower is a breeze
• Later tried the WW method but even though I had given up sugar, the weight was stubborn and would not budge (now I know why)

Why do I expect that the Isagenix weight loss will be sustainable?

1. I can see that great nutrition will help my body lose weight naturally so instead of just consuming food to fill up I am thinking about the nutritional content and gylcemic index
2. Following #1, feeling healthy (like I do now) encourges healthy eating - feeling fat and sluggish just made me want to eat more unhealthy food
3. I saw the effects of cleasing to release toxins and how that makes everything else work like it's supposed to (fat burns, joints feel better), the body will heal itself
4. I am learning that the right types of foods and snacks eaten at regular intervals (and it doesn't take much) will keep me satisfied with no hunger pangs
5. I can still eat foods I like (pizza, hamburgers, pancakes) BUT, in moderation... instead of four-five pieces of pizza, two pieces with a salad
6. Stress has caused overeating (especially at night), these products help decrease stress (the whole cortisol thing - not an expert at explaining how it works but it does)
7. Isagenix is not a "diet" (see previous blog entry), it is more like a body fortification system that, in turn, allows the body to do its job of burning fat and building lean muscle tissue 

There is no "diet" or eating plan that is going to let you eat fast food, junk food, cakes and cookies and still lose weight. Even if you eat horribly and mange to maintain weight by exercising your body won't be healty inside, leaving you suseptible to sickness and disease.

So here's my plan to keep it off and it does include Isagenix (I don't see how I would want to give up putting these nutrients into my body):

- Isagenix shake for breakfast (works perfectly with my busy schedule, the best thing I can do for myself in less than 2 minutes)
- Cleanse for Life - as the name suggests, cleansing is going to be part of my life forever (two days per month is what most people do on maintence)

The above products (enough for one shake a day and two full cleanse days per month) is $106 or $3.50 per day - about what I would spend on a latte at Starbucks of Dunkin'. I expect I will be taking several other of the products as well (in place of the vitamin supplements I was taking).

ANYTHING you do to lose weight must be maintained to keep it off.  After many attempts at keeping weight off I am happy I found something that I believe I can continue successfully. So I'll look back at this blog entry for inspiration once I get to my goal weight.