As some here may know, I am on the rebound from a successful weight loss in 2010-2011. Although how successful was it if I gained back? But anyway, I lost 100 pounds in 10 months and I was quite pleased with myself. I look back at the pictures from those days (I was ok with being photographed back then) and I wonder what happened and what can I do to keep that from happening yet AGAIN? And I think I have put into place something that will help me from a relapse once I get the weight back off this time.
I did not start off the last journey looking to lose 100 pounds in 10 months. I really just wanted to be a 1-2 pounds a week loser. But I had some crazy success early on, and that got into my head. I remember my first two or three weigh ins, I lost 4-8 pounds each week. Well that was a bad bad thing. Suddenly, only that level of weight loss was acceptable. I always chased that. So I adjusted my diet and exercise routines to get that. I went from a plan that had me getting 2200 gross calories, to 1500-1800 calories gross calories. I went from I want to work out 1 time a day 4-5 days a week, to two workouts a day M-F and then loooooong workouts on the weekend. I was both consistent AND crazy. I don't KNOW this, but I think the reason I was so susceptible to weight gain once I wasn't able to keep up the routine is because my body saw its chance to put some of that weight I just lost really really quickly back on. Now at first I was still eating within reason, but once the weight started to come back on despite that, it stood to reason, why bother to attempt to eat right? So during law school, I abandoned all attempts to eat well and voila, here we are today.
So here is what I do now, and so far it seems to be working really well. I have settled on 2000 NET calories a day, not GROSS. I have an app that gives me an idea how many calories my workouts burn, then I round that down to the nearest whole 100 number. I only workout once a day 4-5 days a week. And I don't have any LOOOOONG workouts. I may step up my workouts later as I lose weight and get in better physical condition, but for now, I will not get CRAZY, but I will be CONSISTENT. And the last thing is that I am not doing anything TODAY that I can't keep up realistically after getting the weight back off. I used a lot of mental energy up keeping myself psyched up to do all that work in 2010-2011, and that led me to go into a "intuitive eating phase" so I could take a break and catch my breath. No more of that either. now that I am only being consistent rather than crazy, I foresee no more "burn out" once I get to where I am going.
Friday, January 23, 2015
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
I Have Terrible News
I know I am guilty of this, and I bet most if not all of you are too. I have in past weight loss journeys had the idea that when I got skinny, I would magically be happy. Like it was a magical spell or a wish from a genie, and POOF all will be fixed in your life. I have been the guy with the big weight loss. Trust me when I tell you, your life is still your life when you get skinny. If you were frustrated in your job, friendships, family life, etc. it doesn't just go away. Life goes on as it always does, just now, you have a physical transformation.
But it isn't all bad news. Once you get skinny, the problems may still be there, but two things have changed. First of all, you may not have fixed ALL your problems, but you did fix ONE issue in your life that likely has been giving your grief for a long time. At the very least, when you have reached a weight or fitness goal, you dropped off one of the things that keeps you awake at night. Another thing you have done is to equip yourself with a tool to deal with the rest of life's troubles that can wear on you. Had a bad day at work? Rather than coming home and binge eating on junk as a coping mechanism, now you have the option to strap on the running shoes and go run off the crazy, or hit the gym and get a good weight work out on. Because we all know how the binge eating solution ends up.... you having had a bad day AND and bad evening in the end. None of us have ever said "I really regret that great workout" but we have all said, "I can't believe I at the whole thing" (you may or may not get that joke).
But it isn't all bad news. Once you get skinny, the problems may still be there, but two things have changed. First of all, you may not have fixed ALL your problems, but you did fix ONE issue in your life that likely has been giving your grief for a long time. At the very least, when you have reached a weight or fitness goal, you dropped off one of the things that keeps you awake at night. Another thing you have done is to equip yourself with a tool to deal with the rest of life's troubles that can wear on you. Had a bad day at work? Rather than coming home and binge eating on junk as a coping mechanism, now you have the option to strap on the running shoes and go run off the crazy, or hit the gym and get a good weight work out on. Because we all know how the binge eating solution ends up.... you having had a bad day AND and bad evening in the end. None of us have ever said "I really regret that great workout" but we have all said, "I can't believe I at the whole thing" (you may or may not get that joke).
Monday, January 19, 2015
Be Specific
As this journey goes along, I am learning that one of the keys to success is to never leave yourself in an open-ended goal. Never say I want to or I hope to. That leaves the possibility of failure open, and those easy outs are dangerous. Also, when you are doing your planning for the day or the week, never be general, be specific. I am getting very good at this. I don't say I want to work out 4-5 days this week, I say I am going to work out Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. I always decide what workout I am going to do the day before. I am very specific and goal oriented now. I am a to do lister, so when I make the list, it gives me great satisfaction to get the list done.
I also discovered that my night eating problem is an easy fix. I am very specific about what can be eaten after supper. I can have either or both a piece of bread with peanut butter on it and one packet of meat with a cheese stick rolled up inside of it. Those are the only options, and I am very specific about it.
On a very important side note, I am in such a good place. My wife Kathy has been charging ahead in getting fit and eating healthy. If the truth is told, the reason I started back going strong is that she has been getting up every day and walking out the door to the gym at 4:50 a.m. and she has adopted the mantra "No Excuses" so that she doesn't talk herself out of it like she used to. She has also made it impossible to get an unhealthy snack around the joint. I was rummaging the other day trying to find something to eat that I shouldn't be eating, and there is NOTHING! I wound up eating carrots and hummus and some peanut butter that day! It is a great problem to have though!!
I also discovered that my night eating problem is an easy fix. I am very specific about what can be eaten after supper. I can have either or both a piece of bread with peanut butter on it and one packet of meat with a cheese stick rolled up inside of it. Those are the only options, and I am very specific about it.
On a very important side note, I am in such a good place. My wife Kathy has been charging ahead in getting fit and eating healthy. If the truth is told, the reason I started back going strong is that she has been getting up every day and walking out the door to the gym at 4:50 a.m. and she has adopted the mantra "No Excuses" so that she doesn't talk herself out of it like she used to. She has also made it impossible to get an unhealthy snack around the joint. I was rummaging the other day trying to find something to eat that I shouldn't be eating, and there is NOTHING! I wound up eating carrots and hummus and some peanut butter that day! It is a great problem to have though!!
Friday, January 16, 2015
The Stuff I Missed
As much as I try to let this journey be its own, I often think about my success from 2010-11 and what I did and the crazy awesome results. I have stated before that I really didn't start off with the idea that I would lose 100 pounds in 10-11 months. that Literally just came out of nowhere. Now I worked hard, but when I set out, my hope was to lose that much in say a year and half or two years. But I kid you not, the weight just kept coming off, even on the weeks I had terrible eating habits. I was a hard worker in the exercise department, but at least once or twice a month, I would have a day or two that I just didn't do that well on the diet.
So awhile back, I decided it was time to be taking my blood sugar and working on my diet based off those numbers. My first time out I think my blood sugar was like 287 or somewhere in that range. I know, that is pretty bad. But over the course of the last few weeks, my eating has been for the most part really good. I have been tracking calories and getting 4-5 good workouts in a week. Also, the quality of food I take in has improved dramatically. Lean meats like chicken, shrimp and fish, lots of salads with yummy vegetables, fresh veggies as sides, beans galore! I have noticed that over the last week or so, my blood sugar has started to nosedive. I just took my blood sugar before starting this post and it was 143!! And that is after supper! So anyway, back to my point. I remember a loooong time ago, I was diagnosed diabetic and was told to take metformin and exercise, eat less, etc. and that if I did that, the weight would fall off of me when I got my blood sugar back right. I took the pills........ the rest, meh. Anyway, it occurred to me that I probably missed that the first time around, and that is likely why I lost weight so fast. My blood sugar was under control for the first time in years, and as the doctor predicted, the weight fell off. So now, I am adding the tracking of my blood sugar to my daily routine so that I can learn what foods do what to my blood sugar and tailor a diet around that. How did I miss that?
Also, there is a solution to a problem I had that I apparently just wasn't bright enough to figure out until 3 days ago. I know by now you all have to be tired of hearing me gripe about my after supper eating. And I don't blame you, I am tired of it too! So in a sudden epiphany ( I am sure it was Divine Intervention) it occurred to me that the solution was simple. I now have a menu for what I can have after supper. Rather than leave it to subjective decisions each night, which we all know is a slippery slope, I went with the decision to make the after meal snacks set in stone. I get one piece of bread with whatever the name of the small spoon is full of peanut butter and a glass of milk for one snack, and the other snack is a packet of Carl Buddhig lunch meat with a pepper jack cheese stick inside of it. That is it. Those are my only options. The first two nights it was like a load was lifted off my shoulders when I knew that I wasn't in for a debate about what, when and how much to eat. How frikkin' simple is that, and how did I miss that solution?
So awhile back, I decided it was time to be taking my blood sugar and working on my diet based off those numbers. My first time out I think my blood sugar was like 287 or somewhere in that range. I know, that is pretty bad. But over the course of the last few weeks, my eating has been for the most part really good. I have been tracking calories and getting 4-5 good workouts in a week. Also, the quality of food I take in has improved dramatically. Lean meats like chicken, shrimp and fish, lots of salads with yummy vegetables, fresh veggies as sides, beans galore! I have noticed that over the last week or so, my blood sugar has started to nosedive. I just took my blood sugar before starting this post and it was 143!! And that is after supper! So anyway, back to my point. I remember a loooong time ago, I was diagnosed diabetic and was told to take metformin and exercise, eat less, etc. and that if I did that, the weight would fall off of me when I got my blood sugar back right. I took the pills........ the rest, meh. Anyway, it occurred to me that I probably missed that the first time around, and that is likely why I lost weight so fast. My blood sugar was under control for the first time in years, and as the doctor predicted, the weight fell off. So now, I am adding the tracking of my blood sugar to my daily routine so that I can learn what foods do what to my blood sugar and tailor a diet around that. How did I miss that?
Also, there is a solution to a problem I had that I apparently just wasn't bright enough to figure out until 3 days ago. I know by now you all have to be tired of hearing me gripe about my after supper eating. And I don't blame you, I am tired of it too! So in a sudden epiphany ( I am sure it was Divine Intervention) it occurred to me that the solution was simple. I now have a menu for what I can have after supper. Rather than leave it to subjective decisions each night, which we all know is a slippery slope, I went with the decision to make the after meal snacks set in stone. I get one piece of bread with whatever the name of the small spoon is full of peanut butter and a glass of milk for one snack, and the other snack is a packet of Carl Buddhig lunch meat with a pepper jack cheese stick inside of it. That is it. Those are my only options. The first two nights it was like a load was lifted off my shoulders when I knew that I wasn't in for a debate about what, when and how much to eat. How frikkin' simple is that, and how did I miss that solution?
Sunday, January 11, 2015
Where Does The Common Sense Go?
If you are reading this, the odds are you, like me, are trying to effect a life style change. You are unhappy with your current weight and physical fitness. It also stands to reason that if you are in this subset of the blogging world, you are at least average, if not above average intelligence and looking for not only support, but to broaden your knowledge of what works and doesn't work by gleaning ideas from your peers. So to recap, we are smart but overweight/out of shape folks here.
Despite what all the fad diets and special drinks/food/supplements would have you believe, I think we all know that weight loss is by far the simplest math equation possible. Eat less calories + burn more calories= burn off excess fat/build lean muscle. Seriously, how much easier can it get? But how many times have we sat around, hacked off because we just upsized our shirt size, or got winded tying our shoes, but continued to stare at a tv/ipad/video game screen for hours? The most activity we got was getting up to go to the bathroom or get something to eat. How many times have we had something delicious to eat, and though we aren't hungry, we go get more? Because it was just that good. How many times have we had an hour to burn before some event, and made the decision that the only viable option was to stop for some food somewhere? All the while, our self loathing brewing beneath the surface.
I say all this, because this morning, I made me a sausage patty for breakfast. My wife used to make fun of me because I made hamburger sized sausage patties. I have managed to downsize them quite a bit in the past couple of months. But anyway, after I finished my sausage patty this morning, I thought man that was good! I SHOULD COOK ME ANOTHER! Now it is important to note that after eating, I wasn't hungry, not in the least. I just WANTED another couple hundred calories that would serve no purpose but to up my calorie count for the day! Granted, it was a fleeting thought, and I never acted on it because my common sense took over. I want to be thinner, and I won't get there by eating seconds when I am not even hungry!
But the question stands, when we are making terrible choices after deciding we are tired of being overweight and out of shape, where does our common sense go? How do we reason that sitting here rather than cleaning the house or doing yard work is the best course of action? How do we rationalize that I am not happy with where I am physically, but I will still have that second slice of cake or 5th piece of pizza when we know the math doesn't add up to what we state our goal is? Where does the common sense go?
Despite what all the fad diets and special drinks/food/supplements would have you believe, I think we all know that weight loss is by far the simplest math equation possible. Eat less calories + burn more calories= burn off excess fat/build lean muscle. Seriously, how much easier can it get? But how many times have we sat around, hacked off because we just upsized our shirt size, or got winded tying our shoes, but continued to stare at a tv/ipad/video game screen for hours? The most activity we got was getting up to go to the bathroom or get something to eat. How many times have we had something delicious to eat, and though we aren't hungry, we go get more? Because it was just that good. How many times have we had an hour to burn before some event, and made the decision that the only viable option was to stop for some food somewhere? All the while, our self loathing brewing beneath the surface.
I say all this, because this morning, I made me a sausage patty for breakfast. My wife used to make fun of me because I made hamburger sized sausage patties. I have managed to downsize them quite a bit in the past couple of months. But anyway, after I finished my sausage patty this morning, I thought man that was good! I SHOULD COOK ME ANOTHER! Now it is important to note that after eating, I wasn't hungry, not in the least. I just WANTED another couple hundred calories that would serve no purpose but to up my calorie count for the day! Granted, it was a fleeting thought, and I never acted on it because my common sense took over. I want to be thinner, and I won't get there by eating seconds when I am not even hungry!
But the question stands, when we are making terrible choices after deciding we are tired of being overweight and out of shape, where does our common sense go? How do we reason that sitting here rather than cleaning the house or doing yard work is the best course of action? How do we rationalize that I am not happy with where I am physically, but I will still have that second slice of cake or 5th piece of pizza when we know the math doesn't add up to what we state our goal is? Where does the common sense go?
Saturday, January 10, 2015
The Bow on Top
I have to admit, overall it has been a pretty great week. I talked in my last post about the things I have noticed that weren't necessarily any of my goals, but were sign posts. Since that post I have added a couple of things, one of which I am calling the bow on top of the present.
First, I have had a hectic week. This go around, both divisions of the circuit court are having their pre-trial hearings within 3 days of each other. And in division 2, we didn't have pre-trials until yesterday and trial week is next week, meaning that we weren't going to find out if we had trials next week until yesterday. As luck would have it, it looks like I have a trial on Thursday. But I digress. So anyway, preparing for court left me a bit haggard this week. And Thursday was one of those days I really needed a workout. I was not able to get one at lunch like I usually do and that had me worried. I am on a pretty good streak and didn't want to start the downfall. Good news is, unlike any other time, I decided that since i was not able to get to the gym at lunch, I was going to walk that night. AND I DID!! Not only did I walk that night, I went a half mile further in that walk than I have been going recently!!
The one of the goals I have not met so far is the goal shirt. I am so close, but I am not calling it yet. BUT.... I have a pea coat that has both a zipper, then a row of buttons I can button up to make sure the wind doesn't get in. Recently I have declined to use the zipper because it would go, but it was a bit uncomfortable on my belly to zip it up. Friday, I zipped it up, and while it isn't all the way comfortable yet, it was considerably closer to being comfortable!!
Now all that is great, but today, the bow on top of the present came along. I decided that weigh day would be Saturday here while back and so today I got on the scales first thing this morning. I was down 2 pounds from last week!!! I was completely shocked to see that number because I had two days in a row where I struggled to keep the calorie count for the day below 2,000. It goes to show that hard work pays off! I now have a second wind that will help fight off tough days for the next couple of weeks. After weigh in this morning, I just keep thinking "get to 269, get to 269" I bet I can get there by mid February!!
First, I have had a hectic week. This go around, both divisions of the circuit court are having their pre-trial hearings within 3 days of each other. And in division 2, we didn't have pre-trials until yesterday and trial week is next week, meaning that we weren't going to find out if we had trials next week until yesterday. As luck would have it, it looks like I have a trial on Thursday. But I digress. So anyway, preparing for court left me a bit haggard this week. And Thursday was one of those days I really needed a workout. I was not able to get one at lunch like I usually do and that had me worried. I am on a pretty good streak and didn't want to start the downfall. Good news is, unlike any other time, I decided that since i was not able to get to the gym at lunch, I was going to walk that night. AND I DID!! Not only did I walk that night, I went a half mile further in that walk than I have been going recently!!
The one of the goals I have not met so far is the goal shirt. I am so close, but I am not calling it yet. BUT.... I have a pea coat that has both a zipper, then a row of buttons I can button up to make sure the wind doesn't get in. Recently I have declined to use the zipper because it would go, but it was a bit uncomfortable on my belly to zip it up. Friday, I zipped it up, and while it isn't all the way comfortable yet, it was considerably closer to being comfortable!!
Now all that is great, but today, the bow on top of the present came along. I decided that weigh day would be Saturday here while back and so today I got on the scales first thing this morning. I was down 2 pounds from last week!!! I was completely shocked to see that number because I had two days in a row where I struggled to keep the calorie count for the day below 2,000. It goes to show that hard work pays off! I now have a second wind that will help fight off tough days for the next couple of weeks. After weigh in this morning, I just keep thinking "get to 269, get to 269" I bet I can get there by mid February!!
Wednesday, January 7, 2015
The ABCs of Life Style Change= Always Be Conscious
I am starting to see some pretty decent benefits of having been "on" for the past month, give or take. Now I say that to say this. One of those benefits does not happen to be any scale victory, nor have I managed to get into my next goal shirt as of this writing. That COULD lead me to some moments of frustration and possibly to a "why bother?" attitude. But it hasn't. And that is because I have a talent for seeing little improvements and recognizing them for the blessings they are. That is because I am practice the Always Be Conscious method of Life Style Change. It applies to all sorts of things, but the most useful one to me is recognizing that there is more to this than what the scale says or the tag of my shirt says.
Take for example my exploits at the gym. I have been doing three different forms of cardio, rotating them each visit. I do the arc trainer (think eliptical but a little harder), the stationary bike, and then I have taken to jogging in interval training on the treadmill. I run 3 minutes, walk 2 minutes for 1/2 hour. Since I started working out and eating better, I have gone from jogging at 4 mph on the treadmill to 4.7 mph on the jogging intervals. On the arc trainer, I moved up a level on the program I am using, and I can do the whole half hour at speed, rather than slowing down for a little bit on occasions. And on the bike, I am up 2 levels on the program I have been using. Add to that that I have gone up in weight on every single strength training exercise I do and I am having a heck of a lot of stuff to be thankful for! But I have to be conscious of those things as being just as good as lbs or XLs, and they are all sign posts on the road to my goals.
I also have been conscious of my success in the eating realm. And I credit that to my return to the legal pad! I am once again logging my calories on a legal pad. This helps me stay conscious of how much I have eaten today, and more importantly, I can look back at the days prior to today and see how well I have been doing!
The last thing I use to keep my conscious on track is my whiteboard. It is in the entry way of my bedroom, and it is immediately across from the restroom door. I see it first thing when I wake up each morning, and it reminds me that I am on this journey first thing in the morning, helping me get the right mindset before i have a chance to start thinking about what all I have to do today.
Take for example my exploits at the gym. I have been doing three different forms of cardio, rotating them each visit. I do the arc trainer (think eliptical but a little harder), the stationary bike, and then I have taken to jogging in interval training on the treadmill. I run 3 minutes, walk 2 minutes for 1/2 hour. Since I started working out and eating better, I have gone from jogging at 4 mph on the treadmill to 4.7 mph on the jogging intervals. On the arc trainer, I moved up a level on the program I am using, and I can do the whole half hour at speed, rather than slowing down for a little bit on occasions. And on the bike, I am up 2 levels on the program I have been using. Add to that that I have gone up in weight on every single strength training exercise I do and I am having a heck of a lot of stuff to be thankful for! But I have to be conscious of those things as being just as good as lbs or XLs, and they are all sign posts on the road to my goals.
I also have been conscious of my success in the eating realm. And I credit that to my return to the legal pad! I am once again logging my calories on a legal pad. This helps me stay conscious of how much I have eaten today, and more importantly, I can look back at the days prior to today and see how well I have been doing!
The last thing I use to keep my conscious on track is my whiteboard. It is in the entry way of my bedroom, and it is immediately across from the restroom door. I see it first thing when I wake up each morning, and it reminds me that I am on this journey first thing in the morning, helping me get the right mindset before i have a chance to start thinking about what all I have to do today.
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