Half Size Me

Help share the maintenance mindset by supporting the Half Size Me Podcast! As a podcast premium subscriber, you’ll get TONS of access to benefits like early releases, bonus podcasts, audio-recorded Ask Me Anything episodes where I answer your questions, a HUGE library of past shows no longer available to the general public, and more! Get all of the Coaching Karolina series plus exclusive Ask Me Anything sessions, podcasts no longer available to the general public, and bonus episodes. Become a premium podcast subscriber today and make Heather and the Half Size Me show a part of your weight loss journey! In episode 583 of The Half Size Me™ Show, Heather talks with Jenna about how to find balance with her habits while trying to get pregnant, plus what habits to start with why paying attention to protein in important how to factor in breaks and more! Do you want to get support and connection at a price you can afford? Then check out the Half Size Me Community here: https://halfsizeme.com/join About Half Size Me The Half Size Me™ Show is a weekly podcast. It will inspire and motivate you no matter where you are in your weight loss journey. Whether you're just getting started losing weight or having worked on your health and wellness for years, this show is for you! The Half Size Me Show is hosted by Heather Robertson, who lost 170 pounds over a period of about 5 years. Heather did it by learning new eating habits, getting regular exercise, and changing her mindset. On her popular weekly podcast, The Half Size Me Show, Heather shares her own lessons and struggles with you, and she shows you how to handle the real challenge of any weight loss journey... weight maintenance. Be sure to subscribe to The Half Size Me Show and join Heather every week as she shares information, inspiration, coaching, and conversations with REAL people who've learned weight loss isn't only about losing pounds, it's about finding yourself. Disclaimer: Heather is not a doctor, nurse, or certified health professional. What worked for her or her guests may not work for you. Please talk with your doctor, dietician, or other certified health professionals when seeking advice about your own weight loss or weight maintenance plan. All information included in The Half Size Me™ Podcast and on HalfSizeMe.com is for informational and inspirational purposes only. For additional disclaimer information, please visit HalfSizeMe.com. To contact Heather about the show, please click here to use the contact form.

In EPISODE 500(!) of The Half Size Me™ Show, Heather talks to you about the 6 most important lessons she has learned in the past 15 years of losing 170 pounds and maintaining that weight loss. She shares all about why you don't have to lose weight why you need to take responsibility for all your actions (including being in a yo-yo diet cycle) how to stop creating diet drama how to ditch the scale and more!     To celebrate our 500th episode, we're offering you a limited-time opportunity to join the Half Size Me Community for $5! Join anytime from now until 9:00 PM EST on September 13 and use the promo code PODCAST500 to take advantage of this great deal: https://halfsizeme.onfastspring.com/half-size-me-premium-monthly-membership-1995-2020 Do you want to get support and connection at a price you can afford? Then check out the Half Size Me Community here: https://halfsizeme.com/join About Half Size Me The Half Size Me™ Show is a weekly podcast. It will inspire and motivate you no matter where you are in your weight loss journey. Whether you're just getting started losing weight or having worked on your health and wellness for years, this show is for you! The Half Size Me Show is hosted by Heather Robertson, who lost 170 pounds over a period of about 5 years. Heather did it by learning new eating habits, getting regular exercise, and changing her mindset. On her popular weekly podcast, The Half Size Me Show, Heather shares her own lessons and struggles with you, and she shows you how to handle the real challenge of any weight loss journey... weight maintenance. Be sure to subscribe to The Half Size Me Show and join Heather every week as she shares information, inspiration, coaching, and conversations with REAL people who've learned weight loss isn't only about losing pounds, it's about finding yourself. Disclaimer: Heather is not a doctor, nurse, or certified health professional. What worked for her or her guests may not work for you. Please talk with your doctor, dietician, or other certified health professionals when seeking advice about your own weight loss or weight maintenance plan. All information included in The Half Size Me™ Podcast and on HalfSizeMe.com is for informational and inspirational purposes only. For additional disclaimer information, please visit HalfSizeMe.com. To contact Heather about the show, please click here to use the contact form.

In this episode of The Half Size Me™ Show, Heather talks to Megan about why she's never had a problem with binge eating and secret eatingwhat she's done to set food boundaries while traveling and how it's helped herhow she lost weight while traveling for work 50% to 80% of the timeand more! JOIN The Half Size Me™ Community waiting list! Learn more about the benefits of community membership and get notified when we open again for new members. About Half Size Me The Half Size Me™ Show is a weekly podcast meant to inspire you and motivate you no matter where you are in your weight loss journey. If you're just getting started losing weight, or if you've started and stopped so many times you've lost count, this is the show for you! Hosted by Heather Robertson, who lost over 170 pounds by learning new eating habits, getting regular exercise, and, most importantly, changing her mindset. She shares her own lessons and struggles as well as how to handle to real challenge of any weight loss journey... weight maintenance. So, join Heather every week as she shares information, inspiration, and interviews with women who've learned weight loss isn't just about losing pounds, it's about finding yourself. Disclaimer: Heather is not a doctor, nurse, or certified health professional and what works for her or her guests may, or may not, work for you. So, please be sure to talk with your doctor, dietician, or other certified health professionals when seeking advice about your own weight loss or weight maintenance plan. All information included in The Half Size Me™ Podcast and on HalfSizeMe.com is for informational and inspirational purposes only. For additional disclaimer information, please visit HalfSizeMe.com. To contact Heather about the show, please click here to use the contact form.

In this episode of The Half Size Me™ Show, Heather talks to Lindsey about how eating healthier helps with depression what her first key to weight loss was what were the steps she used to gain control over binge eating and much more! To join The Half Size Me™ Community waiting list, learn more about the benefits of community membership, and get notified when we open again for new members, please go here: http://halfsizeme.com/join About Half Size Me The Half Size Me™ Show is a weekly podcast meant to inspire you and motivate you no matter where you are in your weight loss journey. If you're just getting started losing weight, or if you've started and stopped so many times you've lost count, this is the show for you! Hosted by Heather Robertson, who lost over 170 pounds by learning new eating habits, getting regular exercise, and, most importantly, changing her mindset. She shares her own lessons and struggles as well as how to handle to real challenge of any weight loss journey... weight maintenance. So, join Heather every week as she shares information, inspiration, and interviews with women who've learned weight loss isn't just about losing pounds, it's about finding yourself. Disclaimer: Heather is not a doctor, nurse, or certified health professional and what works for her or her guests may, or may not, work for you. So, please be sure to talk with your doctor, dietician, or other certified health professionals when seeking advice about your own weight loss or weight maintenance plan. All information included in The Half Size Me™ Podcast and on HalfSizeMe.com is for informational and inspirational purposes only. For additional disclaimer information, please visit HalfSizeMe.com. To contact Heather about the show, please click here to use the contact form.

by Geralt License: CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) - Public Domain I recently posted how happy I was to RSVP for my 20 year reunion. And if I had not lost the weight, I would have more than likely tried to lose it before the reunion, or just said no due to being ashamed of my body. I got a concerned email from a listener who said statements like that may not be sending the right message to women who are struggling with their weight or body acceptance. They may see my statement as a message that says, "If I am overweight maybe I should be ashamed of my body and not go to my reunion." I realized after reading this email that I hadn't properly express my true, pure joy about this situation. So I felt the need to share my thoughts about this more in depth. Right now I am technically considered over weight. I am between 5’4” - 5’5” and weigh on average 157 pounds, so based on the BMI scale I am 7-12 pounds outside of the normal range. Outside the normal range. Even if I wear a size 6 pants and small clothes. Even if I have a waist of 30 inches (a waist of less than 35 inches is considered an indicator of a healthy body). These are the success markers of other people, not me. My new, personal success marker is doing pull ups. It's helping me love my body and changing how I view my success. There would have been a time not so long ago, even after losing weight, I would have wanted to drop another 10 pounds before the reunion. However, I didn't feel that way at all when I RSVPd for the reunion. To not feel the need to change more just for an upcoming event is real progress for me. I feel free. I'm free from the shackles of trying to live up to someone else's standards and not my own. I see my body differently as of late. I am worrying less on "society's" definition of success and focusing more on my own. Even if the reunion was tomorrow, other than buying a new dress, I would not change a thing. That is progress. Now, it would be a total lie if I did not address this very real feeling many people have when they approach a major event like a reunion, wedding, or graduation. Those are big days, and we know there will be photos. Also, it may be a time we see others who we have not seen in a long time. It can be a real internal struggle when we are faced with these events. So do you go or do you avoid it? If I was still heavy, I would have said yes to thw reunion invite, but would have planned on dropping weight before the event. I'd tried this multiple times in the past only to gain more weight. Then I'd have to have the bride's maid dress, or whatever clothes I was going to wear, altered right before the event. I was never very good at getting ready for big events in regards to my weight. The reason I was so happy about RSVPing for this reunion was about more than just weight loss. It is a normal human reaction to want to look your best. However, most of us try to lose weight for these events only to gain it back after it is over. But this time I did the opposite: I lost the weight and kept it off. Now the event is coming and I am prepared. I don’t feel the need to "get ready." I am ready. Being healthy and fit is just part of who I am now. I don’t feel a big event is something I have to get ready for as if I'm not enough as who I am right now. For so long, I felt like I was not enough. However, now that I'm focusing on fitness goals, and less on scale goals, and I don’t care what the BMI scale says. I am a success. I no longer feel bad about myself when I RSVP for something. In the past, I would have said no to the reunion, but today I can say yes without batting an eyelash. And for me that is a big step in the right direction! So, I guess the message I hope to send is that if you're overweight and ashamed of your body, and if you feel the need to diet down before an event say, "Screw the event!" Instead of waiting for an upcoming event to motivate you,

Photo credit: Krista76 / Foter / Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) by Heather Robertson In this audio blog, I share with you what I've learned about what's really "behind the curtain" when you reach your goal weight. Click play to listen!   Transcript: In the Wizard of Oz , Dorothy and her companions travel a long way. She meets friends along the trip. They have fun, sing songs together, and enjoy each others company. The goal for them is to get to the Wizard of Oz . They’re focused on that the entire trip. They face set backs and obstacles in their journey, which bonds them closer together. When they get to the Wizard and finally look behind the curtain they’re disappointed. Why? They got to their goal. Shouldn’t they be happy? This story mirrors the experience of weight loss perfectly. You will face many set backs and obstacles, find new friends along the way, and one day you will get to goal and you may feel a sense of completion, happiness and fulfillment. But then a few days, weeks, or months later you may feel sadness, frustration, an itchiness. The question you will have is, “I hit  my goal. Why do I not feel happy?” In your Wizard of Oz  story, instead of a small man with a sound system, when you pulled back the curtain you got another path to continue on. That is the secret that most people need to know: there is just a new path. Maybe it’s a different color with new scenery, but just more walking, singing, and meeting new characters. I firmly believe humans need something to work towards continuously. They need new goals. We are never happy with where we are, or with what we have, for very long. Remember at the end of the Wizard of Oz  when Dorothy had to say goodbye to everyone? She was sad and would miss them. Those relationships were meaningful to her. The experiences she had with the Lion, Tin Man, and Scarecrow are what made the journey happy for her. The few minutes she spent with the Wizard of Oz  did not have the same impact. I am sharing this because one of the biggest lessons for me (since hitting goal back in Jan 2012) has been that it never ends. There is always another path you have to go on in your life. I now face all new goals differently than I did during my weight loss. I document all the small victories: the few pounds I increase on the bar, the extra rep or two I pushed out, the strength gains I made in a four-week-plan. This is now my focus; not getting to the wizard. I enjoy the journey. I realize just as soon as I complete this goal there will be a new one. So, it’s better to experience all the small changes along the way and worry less about just the one moment of hitting the goal. If my goal right now is to do one pull up unassisted, then when I can do that I’ll set a new goal like working up to three pull ups unassisted. The process of getting to one pull up versus getting to three will provide many victories to celebrate along the way, but when you cross the line and do what you set out to do, you’ll find something else to fill that void. My message to you today is enjoy today. Look at what you did well this week, this month, and how you have changed. Realize that when you hit your goal weight there is another path for you. The secret is it’s all about the journey and not about the goal. Keep a list of all of your victories. It will do two things: one it will show you how awesome you are and how much you have changed, and two it will keep you in the present. You will not feel the only way to be a success is to hit the goal weight. I share this because I have learned this lesson the hard way, and I feel sometimes hearing these things could help save some of you from losing sight of what is really important. How have you been appreciating the journey?

by Heather Robertson In this audio blog, I share with you the results of my experiment to increase my calories and reset my metabolism. In case you don't know about my experiment, after doing a metabolic reset from April until the end of July, I decided to take a deficit on my calories to lose fat. For the month of August, I reduced my caloric intake by 15-20% of my total energy expenditure, which was based on data collected from my Body Media Armband*. Once you hear what happened, I think you'll be really blown away... I know I was! I hope my experiment can help you realize starving yourself to lose weight is not the answer. To find out more, please download and listen. (*This is an Amazon Affiliate link. When you use this link to order a product from Amazon, you pay nothing extra and you're showing your support for Half Size Me!) AUGUST NUMBERS So, here are my numbers for the month of August: Monthly calories burned according to Body Media Band 76,089 Monthly calories eaten 62,533 Total deficit in calories not eaten 13,556. If you divide my total deficit by 3,500 (number of calories in a pound), it comes out to 3.8 pounds. My deficit percentage for the month was 17.8% Average daily calories burned for the month 2717.46 (per day) Average daily calories eaten for the month 2233.6 (per day) Average daily deficit of 484.14 calories (per day) THE RESULTS .... you will need to listen to the audio blog to find out :) CALORIE EXAMPLES The following are examples of how many calories I burned and how many calories I ate each week. Calories burned each day (results calculated by my Body Media Band): 8/15: 2502 8/16: 3040 8/17: 2677 8/18: 2703 8/19: 2675 8/20: 2716 8/21: 2754 Calories eaten each day: 8/15: 1911 8/16: 2305 8/17: 2498 8/19: 2615 8/20: 1987 8/21: 2292 WORKOUT EXAMPLE The following is an example of my workouts for one week: Thursday: 10-minute run with 20-minute yoga flow Friday: 15-minute run warm up; 60-minutes weight lifting Saturday: 45-minute run Sunday: 30-minute walk Monday: 10-minute run; 60-minute weight lifting Tuesday: 35-minute interval training Wednesday: 10-minute run ; 60-minute weight training AUDIO BLOGS MENTIONED Audio Blog 002: Why I stopped trying to lose the last 10 pounds Audio Blog 007: The Best Five Pounds I Ever Gained! (Part 1) Audio Blog 008: The Best Five Pounds I Ever Gained! (Part 2)

by Heather Robertson In this audio blog, I share with you how I found love for my body... by adding weight. Notice I did not say "gaining" weight, but rather adding weight. This is because I have truly begun to love my body since lifting heavier weights (aka adding weight to the bar). For many of us, we think when we hit goal we will be magically at peace with our body. Unfortunately, that is too often not the case. Click play to hear more of how shifting my own goals after weight loss has helped me find love for my body, and more importantly, myself.

by Heather Robertson In this audio blog, I share with you an experiment with the Body Media arm band helped me trust myself. (CLICK HERE to check out the BodyMedia LINK Armband Weight Management System*) What would it mean for you to learn to trust yourself more? Let me know in the comments below. *This is an affiliate link. If you decide to try out the Body Media arm band and purchase using this link, you're helping to support Half Size Me at no additional cost to you!

by Heather Robertson In this audio blog, I continue telling you about the best 5 pounds I ever gained. Last week, in Part 1 (click here to listen), I shared with you why changing my mindset was key to finding long term happiness with my body and myself. This week, I'll tell you what I did to begin this part of my journey. My hope is that by sharing my experience, you'll be inspired to start viewing your own health and fitness goals differently.   In the comments section, please share what it would mean for you to finally find acceptance and happiness in your own fitness journey !