I think we all want to be in good shape and healthy, and most people who are overweight probably don't remember how they got there.
I know that over the past 10 years my weight has been a yo-yo. One day I will just be brushing my teeth and notice my belly has a little wiggle to it and that usually sends an alarm to my brain that it is time to drop 10 - 15 pounds. I also have this weird measurement that my pecs ( chest ) has to be larger than my belly. Sure, it is a rather vain measurement, but it works :) Usually at 185 pounds my belly overtakes the chest and wiggles when I brush my teeth, which means I need to drop that 10-15 pounds. However, once I lose that weight it usually starts to creep back up and the process starts over and over and over again.
About 6 months ago I said the heck with that process. Enough is enough. I either have to just live with being 10 - 15 pounds overweight or consistently make healthy choices and exercise regularly so that I can maintain a lean, healthy weight. The easy way is just to give in, but I always feel bad about myself when overweight so that wasn't going to do. I had to find the will power to drop the weight, but more importantly, maintain the weight.
To know me knows that I don't trust any type of commercial dieting plan. They could be respectable, but I just think they are a marketing scam to make money. I also know a lot of people who have used the diet plans only to pack the weight on later. Even famous people on commercials who swear by the program a lot of times gain back the weight, which is a truly embarassing in my eyes as the whole world is there to watch them fail after bragging about the program for so many months.
No Jenny Craig, SouthBeach Diet, Weight Watchers or any of that other stuff. Besides, have you looked at the ingredients of the food they want you to eat? Sure there aren't many calories and fat, but there also doesn't appear to be much nutritional value and you can't even prononounce most of the contents. Not for me. I chose to lose weight and be healthier using a few practical and healthy ideas in my humble opinion:
- Physical - First thing I did was go to the doctor. Had my blood work done. Had my blood pressure checked. Had him poke and prod my body to make sure I wasn't out of wack and was healthy enough to diet and slowly ramp up my exercise. Better safe than sorry. Looks like things checked out okay and I will be on this planet a little longer :)
- Patience - I am in this for the long haul so I don't need immediate returns. Therefore, I chose not to have any crash diets or make radical decisions regarding the foods I eat and exercise I do. I slowly and consistently adapted to a healthier lifestyle so as not to hurt myself or jeopardize my health. Safety first. And, hey, I saved money not doing the diets :)
- Reminders - I left little reminders that I am choosing a healthier lifestyle. These reminders kept me aware of my promise to myself so I didn't get off-track. I needed these reminders until living healthy and making healthy choices became a habit. I needed to break the old habits which was hard to do.
- Portion Control - This was my first step ( and hardest ) in terms of food management. I needed to be aware of the portions I ate and be comfortable, but not “full“, when I walked away from the table. I was reminded of the phrase “All you care to eat“ as opposed to “All you can eat.“
- Make Small Food Changes - I don't think it is healthy to radically change my diet, but every week I made small changes. I gradually phased in things: 1) Avoid sodas and beverages with empty calories. 2) Do I really need the mayonnaise on my sandwhich. 3) When I need a snack choose a healthier snack over something more fattening. 4) Introduce more veggies into my meals. 5) Eat leaner meat. 6) Drink more water. 7) Make a smoothie. 8) Green Tea instead of coffee. etc. I made small steps so my body could comfortably get used to the changes in a healthy way, but I kept up with the healthy choices so I did lose the weight and became healthier.
- Incorporate Daily Home Fitness - This was another big challenge for me. I needed to find the motivation to work out at home. With my busy schedule, the trip to the gym is not always feasible and hence exercising daily at home became key. Again, I slowly adopted an exercise program that consisted of lifting weights, cardio, etc. Baby steps is the key to not hurting yourself. Slow and easy until your body gets used to the exercise, but muscle confusion is key. As mentioned, I got a physical to make sure I could do this first.
So I did all the above for 3 months and lost 25 pounds. 6 months later I am still sitting at a lean 161 pounds, which is pretty amazing for me as I broke through some plateaus. I never thought I would get lower than 170 pounds let alone 165 pounds. 161 pounds seems to be another plateau for me, but this is my healthy weight. Getting any lower than 161 pounds for me would make me look a bit sickly in my humble opinion.
I am also in pretty good shape thanks to my Bowflex Dumbbells, Ab Rocket, and Iron Gym Extreme. It is easy for me to get in a good 15 to 20 minute exercise at various times of the day, which not only helps me physically but can also be a good stress reliever. It also helps me sleep better at night.
Over the next few weeks I want to talk more about what worked for me and more details regarding how to do it healthy and safely. I didn't need to make any radical changes or spend a lot of money. I focused on breaking bad habits, creating good ones, and consistently making good choices. As mentioned, six months later I am still making those good choices and my weight is no longer a yo-yo ( knock on wood ). I truly believe the weight will stay off because those good habits are a part of my daily life.
Best Wishes to You. Stay Healthy!
David Hayden