I was mortified after my first week of eating healthy. How am I going to do this for the long term? Eating right is too hard. Tracking what I eat is tedious and time consuming. How am I going to succeed?
After the second week, my feelings went from mortified to concerned. Am I going to be able to do this for the long term? Eating right takes a certain education and understanding. What is the best way to track what I eat? How am I going to fare over the weekend?
After my third week, my feelings went from concerned to encouraged. I am going to try and keep doing this cause I’ve gained a little knowledge about food and my body. I think I understand the best way to track what I eat and understand cause and effect. I learned that if I ate ‘x’, then ‘y’ would happen.
Now, entering my 7th month of weight loss, my feeling is one of enlightened. I AM DOING THIS! This is my life. Tracking calories is quick and easy. Knowing what and when to eat is easy. Preparing food for those times takes minutes. I already know the effects certain foods will have and now I avoid them. Knowing what to avoid, while it took time to learn, is essential and is easy now that I have the knowledge.
Losing weight actually gets easier over time. It gets easier everyday. You learn what to eat, what not to eat, when to eat and when not to eat. You learn what certain foods do to you. You learn what emotions make you want to eat. You learn what and when to avoid foods and situations. You learn other ways to deal with emotions. Equipped with this learning, education and understanding, losing weight gets easier.
It take some time to learn and I fell down quite a few times in my education. But everytime I got back up, took away a lesson and kept going. Its easy to read “its gets easier” and say “yeah right, I want ice cream at 11pm”. But just know, if you can keep on track and learn things along the way, losing weight gets easier.
I told myself that I am making changes to habits that I have taken a lifetime to create. They won’t go away overnight. However, once my new habits take hold, it will be second nature. Just like, not too long ago, it was second nature for me to pull into a drive through and gorge. New habits take time to develop, but as time goes by, it gets easier!
Be Well. Be Active. Feel Great.If you ever talk with someone who is serious about losing weight, they are doing it for a reason. Some reasons are medical in nature, some are personal, some are for fashion and some are to simply get in shape. I have a litany of reasons why I am losing weight. I’ve written a post about that already. The reason for this post is that I have found a muse, something that really inspires me and actually helps push me forward.
I use an iPhone app called LoseIt! to keep track of what I eat, calorie limits etc. This app also has a web site (www.loseit.com) that has a very vibrant user community. The sie has a forum where users post and discuss various topics. There are several people posting in these forums that are living proof that life changes are possible. These people have sacrificed and pushed themselves to transform from morbidly overweight to healthy, happy and full of life.
The forums/discussion boards at Loseit.com are my weight loss muse. I read the forums multiple times per day. The positive energy, inspiration and motivation I get from reading the success and struggles of others is priceless. There are people out there that face the same challenges of life that I do. To see that they have over come and how they have been able to achieve instills hope in me. It gives me a little taste of victory and pushes me to persevere on my own weight loss journey.
Much like an artist paints for fame and/or money and/or expression, they have a muse that sparks creativity and ideas that help them put the brush to the canvas; I continue to lose weight for reasons I have previously mentioned, the LoseIt! community is my muse and inspires me to step up to my weight loss canvas to create my own masterpiece.
Keep in mind why you want to lose weight, but find someone or something (aka a muse) that sparks inspiration and dedication. You can and will do it!
Be Well. Be Active. Feel Great.Holidays, birthdays, special events, weddings, BBQs
All of these events are the nemesis of people trying to lose weight. You can be doing so well losing weight, and then you go to a Labor Day BBQ, throw back a few drinks, eat a few burgers and before you know it, you are in a downward spiral and falling back into the bad habits that made you overweight in the first place.
When I read blogs and/or forums and I look for solutions to this seemingly complex problems, I read tricks that people have to avoid this situation. Some people say that you should go to the event, but resist temptation and just eat a salad. Some say that you should eat before you go so that you are full and won’t eat at the event. Some even say to avoid the entire thing and not go.
I went to a BBQ last weekend and I decided to experiment on how I handle the situation. Instead of resisting temptation, I allowed myself to eat a little of everything. This way, I didn’t starve and I didn’t have to resist temptation. I was worried what the scale was going to tell me the next day. Much to my surprise, it didn’t have any effect on my weight loss.
I can’t really stop holidays, weddings, birthdays BBQ etc from happening…I just need to control myself at these events. The old me would have devoured everything in sight and would have went back for a second plundering. I am proud of myself, I was able to control what I ate and, at the same time, I ate until I was full. I didn’t go overboard.
Controlling what I put in my mouth, in hindsight, was actually quite a bit easier than I thought it would be. I basically showed myself that I can go to an event and eat right and be happy.
Be Well. Be Active. Feel Great.I woke up this morning, stepped on the scale as was happy with what I saw. The scale read 227 pounds. Thats 27 pounds less than when I started in February. Its also halfway to my goal of 200 pounds. It was a great way to start the day!
During this past weekend, a friend asked how I was losing weight. I taught her about Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) and how eating less than your BMR results in a caloric deficit which results in weight loss. Then I showed her how she can adjust her consumption to lose weight as fast or as slow as she wants. After she computed her BMR, she said “that’s too few of calories, how am I gonna survive with only eating that much”?
I chuckled at her response. When she asked why I was laughing, I told her that her reaction was the same reaction I had when I computed my BMR. She then asked “How did you do it? How are your surviving on much fewer calories?” I didn’t have an answer ready. I never really thought about it. So I shrugged my shoulders.
Not knowing how I am doing it was bothering me, so I gave it quite a bit of thought. And the answer I came up with? I just am. I don’t know how I did it or how I keep doing it. I just am doing it. And that’s what it takes. The desire and determination to just do it. Day in and day out.
If you want it, you’ll do what it takes.
Be Well. Be Active. Feel Great.
Ahh…haters. They are everywhere. Lurking. Observing. Waiting. These are the things haters do. Notice I didn’t say “Doing.”? Haters don’t do, they just criticize those who are doing and accomplishing.
Haters hide in the shadows and wait for their opportunity to talk down, criticize and to knock you off your feet. They don’t what you to accomplish what you set out to do. Why? Because they can’t do it themselves and if they can’t do it, they don’t want you to do it.
The advice I hear the most? Ignore them, they are just trying to get a reaction. However, ignoring haters is easier said than done, especially if they are part of your circle (friends, family etc). So if you can’t ignore them, what should you do? My solution…..use it as fuel. If I tell someone a goal that I want to accomplish and they hate and say that I can’t, I use that as fuel. I love it.
Some would say that this isn’t the best approach because you are then taking action in spite of them instead of doing it for yourself. BUT its the approach that works for me. It motivates me. It pushes me. And when you are trying to lose weight, motivation (in any form) is good…at least for me.
I love haters. They are helping me reach my goals and pushing me to achieve.
Hate on Haters, hate on. I love the fuel!
Be Well. Be Active. Feel Great.When you attempt to lose weight, every victory (no matter its size) is huge and provides a huge boost in motivation and self-esteem. These victories are what keep me going. Over the last month or so, I’ve learned there are a few things that give me a great feeling, provide the best boost to my morale and propel me to keep going:
- When someone tells you that you look great or ask if I have been losing weight – This brief sentenced, when spoken by someone else, is one of the greatest feelings ever. It is confirmation that I am doing the right things. Its confirmation that all my hard work and dedication is paying off.
- When an old shirt fits – I had this happen to me last night. I bought a shirt on my honeymoon that was a little snug, so I never wore it. It was at the bottom of my drawer and I decided to try it on. Not only did it fit, but it looked good. Fitting into previously small clothes is a great feeling. Its like getting a whole new wardrobe. It makes me feel good when I can fit into pants or shirts without looking like a stuffed sausage.
- When I have to make a new hole in my belt – I haven’t actually done this yet, but I will probably need to do so in the next few days. Pants are no longer fitting (baggy) and my belt isn’t much help. I could go buy a new belt, but its so much more gratifying when I show people the hole I poke in my belt. It makes me feel good that I can see my progress by looking at the difference between old holes and new holes in my belt.
Weight loss is tough. It takes mental fortitude and determination to lose weight. You must survive the emotional roller coaster. Finding things that make me feel good help ease the pain of the emotional valleys that come when you embark on a weight loss journey. Good feelings are the reason I am losing weight. I want to feel good all the time…not just when I get a compliment.
Be Well. Be Active. Feel Great.Losing weight is a tricky thing. It gets even more tricky and diluted when you try and learn about your health. Every time I turn around, I read something about an indicator that I need to track for good health. Good Cholesterol, Bad Cholesterol, BMI, Body Fat, Waist Size, Carbs, Sodium…it goes on and on. There is no possible way I can keep track of every statistic.
I’ve learned that there are only a few numbers that need to be monitored and tracked and there are several numbers that are meaningless…they are ignored.
Here is my list of things I ignore on my weight loss journey:
Be Well. Be Active. Feel Great.I am an active member of a weight loss forum, and I say a topic posted today asking people why they want to lose weight. The obvious reason is to be healthy, but that begs the question “Why do you want to be healthy”. It took me a minute, but I have a litany of reasons why I want to lose weight and be healthy:
- First and foremost, my wife and I are finally ready to have children and I want to be healthy for kids. I want to be around as long as possible!
- I don’t want to have sleep apnea anymore. I don’t want the medical implications of lack of oxygen while I sleep.
- I have gout. I don’t want to have to worry about gout. Gout is awful.
- I am scared of Type 2 Diabetes
- I want to go to a pool and feel comfortable taking off my shirt. I’ve never felt good about it…ever.
As I look at my list of reasons, it strikes me that all of these reasons are for me. None of them are for anyone else. This makes me feel good and gives me a sense that I am on the right track. If nothing else, I want to be healthy for myself. To feel good about myself. To be happy.
What are your reasons for wanting to lose weight and be healthy? Are your reasons for you or are they for other people?
Be Well. Be Active. Feel Great.Outside of the building where I work sits a food truck. Its there every single day about lunch time and the line to order from this truck is consistently about 12 people long. This isn’t an ordinary lunch truck, its a gourmet cupcake truck. As I went outside today to take a walk for exercise, I stopped to observe the people in line. Out of the 18-20 people I observed, I only saw one “skinny” person. The rest of the people in this line were overweight or obese.
As I stood there and watched, one guy stood out to me. He was my height and looked to be about the same weight/proportion I was 4-5 months ago. It dawned on me that I was actually looking at myself. If I didn’t make the decision to lose weight and get healthy, I would have been in that line looking for a carrot cake cupcake, without a doubt.
I started to wonder about this guy. Does he have sleep apnea causing him to wear a C-PAP machine when he sleeps? I do. Does he have gout from his unhealthy eating behaviors? I do. Does he hate that he can’t tie his shoes without it being a chore? I do.
I smiled and went on my walk. I was proud of myself. I didn’t fall to temptation. In fact, I wasn’t even tempted to order a cupcake. I know that it probably tastes like heaven, but now I know better. I smiled because that is no longer me. I am a different person that I was 4-5 months ago. I like the new me. I like eating healthy.
I like tying my shoes.
Be Well. Be Active. Feel Great.When I was at my heaviest, I dreaded the scale. In fact, I hadn’t stepped on one for a least a year. It was my enemy. Of course, I was my own enemy, but the scale was visible and tangible proof of that battle. It showed me how far I have left myself slide.
Losing weight has made me look at things from a different perspective. I actually look forward to my weigh-in days. I look forward to stepping on the scale and seeing progress in the diminishing number on the display.
The scale is now my friend. Weird. This new perspective is refreshing.
Be Well. Be Active. Feel Great.