A New Lifestyle

A New Lifestyle

Since I have dropped some weight over the past few months, I get asked frequently how I am doing it.  For those of you who have known me for a while, know that I've always been overweight.  I literally cannot remember a time when I was not overweight.  I've made attempts at different times in my life to lose weight.  I've tried many types of "diets" and have had moderate success with some, including low carb, exercise videos, and just eating less.  But those were just simply "diets" to me and I really never changed my overall lifestyle.  As soon as I would let up on the "diet", I would gain the weight back as quickly, or even faster, than I lost it. Most of the time, I usually ended up weighing more than I did when I started.        

So in late June and early July of 2017, I am 38 years old and weigh 292.8 lbs.  During my last health insurance bio-metrics screening (Oct. 2016), my total cholesterol was in the red, my LDL cholesterol was in the red, my waist circumference was 52 and my glucose level was creeping closer towards the red bar.  I started a new job in late 2015 and I either sit at a desk all day or travel.  Sitting at a desk is bad enough and travelling introduces so much temptation around food.  Folks who've lost a lot of weight usually have that one picture which woke them up.  For me, this one was it!  Tired and sweaty from working outside and close to 300lbs.

I knew I had to make a change but I'd failed so many times I wasn't sure what to do.  So, I started thinking back to my previous attempts and developing a plan.  I need to identify pitfalls and do whatever I could to avoid those, so here was my list:

1. Motivation - Let's be honest, sometimes it's just hard to stay motivated, especially in those moments of weakness or when we've messed up. 
2. Elimination of foods - In the past, I had eliminated some of the foods I loved the most.  This was discouraging because I absolutely love food!      
3. Working out or lack thereof - Getting fit is hard, especially when you don't really know how to do it. Gyms are intimidating! 
4. Not tracking my foods - I've had goals and methods to get there before but without tracking my food intake and the types of foods and nutrients I am taking in, measuring my progress was difficult.  

So, here is what I did and am doing to address each one of those:

1. Motivation - I decided to set a goal and reward myself with an extravagant prize once I hit that goal.  For me, nothing is quite as motivating as the purchase of a new truck.  Sure, I could go down to the dealership a buy one at any time but the payments (I know, Dave Ramsey would be disappointed) would feel a lot more justified having lost over 100lbs!  The other motivation I use is looking for stories of others who have lost a lot of weight naturally.  
2. Elimination of foods - I vowed not to eliminate any one food, however, I would focus on the quantity and quality of food.  I love bread and carbs, and those are not bad things by themselves but they're not an every meal, or even everyday, foods for me now. 
3. Working out or lack thereof - A very good friend helped me get into working out in the mornings before work.  He was an awesome encouragement and still is even though we don't get to workout together since the roof collapsed at the office in August.  They gym isn't quite as intimidating as it initially seems and most people there are very nice and courteous.     
4. Not tracking my foods - The MyFitnessPal App is awesome!  I can plug in all my meals, save recipes, and even scan barcodes on foods to pull in the nutritional information automatically.  I track my calories now but even further now is I've started tracking it down to the macros so see how my carbs, protein, fat, etc. are balancing out.  
5. Prayer - this is something I'd left out so many times.  I continually ask for God to provide strength to keep going and taking care of the body He has given me.  

I can't say I've been perfect on this journey so far but I'm trying to stay focused.  Here are some of the things I've noticed since I started this journey in July.  

• My taste buds have changed dramatically!  I crave salads now, I know that sounds crazy to even me, but I love them now!  I've always been a picky eater (part of my weight problem) but now I eat things I'd never imagined and truly enjoy many of them! 
• Dropping the lbs gets harder as you go.  For me, once I'd dropped 50 lbs, the additional pounds are coming slower and slower even though I'm eating healthier than ever and working out more than ever.  
• My recent biometric screening showed that all of my cholesterol numbers were in the healthy range, my glucose was dead on the middle of healthy and my waist circumference had dropped to 44!  
• Strength - I've always considered myself pretty strong but didn't realize how weak I'd really gotten until I started hitting them gym again.  I LOVE working out now and am getting stronger each week.  I'm starting to see definition in my muscles and it's pretty darn exciting! 
• Dropping clothes sizes feels amazing!  When I started, I was getting close to needing an XXXL shirt.  Now I can easily wear an XL shirt!  
• I have so much more energy now.  
• Fitting in an airplane seat is not nearly as uncomfortable as it used to be.  Probably the same for the person sitting next to me as well! 

As I write this, I am down a total of 53.6 lbs.  I still have a long way to go, my goal is 190 lbs.  I don't think I'll consider myself as having "arrived" at 190 because at that point, the toughest journey begins...the journey of sustaining and living a healthy lifestyle.  My goal is to live healthy, be fit and not end up living a life on a regimen of pills to regulate cholesterol, blood pressure and diabetes.  I hope writing this can encourage others who may have tried to get healthy before and failed.  If I can ever be of help to anyone who wants to get started, please let me know!  I am not an expert but I can definitely share the things I've learned so far.  

Even though I still have a long way to go, I'm liking this picture much better than the one above!