M 45 5’7” 190(ish) to 135(ish)
So its the new year, and I suspect a lot of people who have decided that now's the time to make that lifestyle change. My friend was talking to me the other day about my weight loss and my ability to have kept the weight off for about five years now and they said that I really needed to share some of the things I’ve learned because, she said, "it’ll help others with their journey". I rarely post anything here, although I'm a regular lurker. I don’t care about the magical internet points, nor am I looking for kudo’s. I’m so much more content in my own skin now that, honestly, I am only posting this with the hope that it may help others.
First, I was a bit of an athlete in High School and College. Raced bicycles, ran track, cross country and all that. I was “top-gun” in my army unit for push-ups, sit-ups, etc., I never learned how to eat right because I just ate anything my little heart desired. Then in the Army suffered a back injury and combined with getting older and shitty diet choices. Well... We all know. I never got super heavy, but when I was at my prime I was a lithe 120lbs of lean muscle, but at my worst, I was rapidly heading towards 200lbs. I, literally, tried to lose weight for fifteen years before I figured it out. Fifteen years of failure after failure. (I don’t really have any pics of me at my heaviest, but anyway)
Exercise didn’t help me lose weight
Part of my journey involved rekindling my love of mountain biking. I ride several times a week, racking up over 2,000 miles a year. I eventually even got a Fat Bike so I can keep riding during the winter. Everyone thinks that my weight loss came from all this activity. It really didn’t. I mean, it helps, but you have to ride so long and so hard so frequently for it to really matter. If I’m not making good food choices, even riding this much, I’ll start packing the pounds back on. The only way I’ve been able to successfully shed the el bee’s is through diet. I now tell people that exercise makes you strong, but diet defines your weight.
My greatest success/understanding came from an unexpected place.
I don’t mean to get preachy here, as everyone's journey is different. But I saw the first half of the documentary Earthlings. The emotional impact of that film made me decide to never eat another mammal. My animal protein comes almost exclusively from fish, occasionally turkey or chicken. And cheese, I couldn’t give up cheese. I guess you’d call me a pescatarian for the most part. As soon as I did this, fifteen pounds just melted away and never came back. This was four years ago. At the end of all this, I basically ended up on the Mediterranean diet. Fish, tons of veggies and fruits, some breads.
It’s amazing how little food you actually need
At my most disciplined I’ll eat one modest meal a day, usually dinner with my wife or friends, and then munch on healthy snacks, mostly fruit and nuts every couple of hours throughout the day. The great thing about plant-based foods, you can eat as much as you want. You’ll never get fat off apples and broccoli. Eat until you are about to explode, the next day all that fiber is just going to move it all out anyway. :)
Step on the damn scale
My wife teases me because I step on the scale pretty much every morning and I record that weight, every day. This starts me off every morning thinking about where I am, what I accomplished or how much I’ve slipped. Like many other things I bring up here, when I get lazy about the scale, the weight starts creeping back on because without that quantifiable data it’s easy to assume you are doing fine.
A Border Collie
This also wasn’t part of the plan, but it was part of the success. We rescued a little border collie. Not sure what we were thinking but holy crap, those dogs have energy. I simply could not walk far enough or fast enough to make him tired. And if he didn’t get two walks a day he would destroy everything in the house. I couldn’t keep up. This is a big reason why I got back onto the mountain bike, just so I could manage to go further and faster and get him the exercise he needed. I don’t recommend getting a dog as method for weight loss, but jeez-louise, he never let me get lazy. I owe a lot to my pal.
Discouragement Came From Those Closest to Me
I don’t take this personally, but I think since so many of us struggle with weight, a lot of discouragement came from family and friends, even my beloved wife to a certain extent. Particularly when I first started seeing success my family especially would tempt me with the bad foods that I love the most. I suspect that my success just reminded them of their failures. It took a couple years of me just not eating what was presented (which is so hard to do) and now they don’t really bring it around anymore. I think their idea of who I am has changed. I suspect, in their minds, I’m just not the chubby guy anymore. My humble advice; if this happens, don’t take it personally, it’s not about you, it’s about them.
Entropy is real
If I stop paying attention to what I eat, even for a couple of weeks, I can easily put on ten pounds. During the California wildfires this summer, the smoke was so bad I didn’t actively exercise for about two weeks. The amount of strength and how much harder I had to pedal up the steep pitches was demoralizing; particularly since they were not a problem before the break. I’ve decided there is no “I hit my goal weight and I can relax now” - There is no relaxing. I suspect this is probably similar to any other addiction. There is always that fat guy wanting to get out. I had to give myself a constant reminder to stay in the game.
Sorry that this is a bit long, and I sincerely hope that my journey, and my success helps. Remember; the best things in life are the result of discipline. Good luck, you can do it!
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