Back in late December of 2019, I weighed in at 288 pounds and decided that 12 pounds shy of 300 pounds was not where I wanted to be at 44 years of age. So, instead of being a few burgers and a six pack away from a stroke, I decided to stop fucking around and bet my wife a few hundred bucks that I could hit 258 pounds by July 1. Well, it's June 18 and I'm currently at 257 and still going strong. Here are some things I've learned that may help others out.....
Boozing & Weight Loss - A Fool's Errand
I'll be honest, I enjoy drinking. A few Manhattan's after work? Sure. Beers at the airport? I'll take 'em. Beer and a shot of whiskey at a punk rock show? Absolutely, in fact, give me a second round. Is this a good recipe for weight loss? Not in my experience. One of the first things I decided to do when embarking on my weight loss journey was to quit booze for six months and that's exactly what I've done. While it's certainly possible to drink and lose weight, I personally feel that it makes the journey much more difficult than it needs to be. In my case, I not only identified the empty calories that alcohol contributed to my diet, but also recognized that it resulted in missed workouts, shameful late night McDonald's orders from Uber Eats and general lethargy. So, I cut it out and don't regret that move for a second. Whether it's alcohol, candy, fast food, etc.....identify the low hanging fruit that you can cut out to put you on the right track.
Consistency Is King
When Covid hit, my access to a gym quickly went away. This wasn't necessarily devastating, because I wasn't exactly hitting the gym everyday to begin with. However, knowing that the gym was going to be off the table for a while, I quickly got resourceful and decided that home workouts would have to become a part of my new routine. As such, I ordered a kettlebell and some workout bands and crafted an at home program. I also decided to incorporate a good bit of walking into my exercise program and committed to diving into DDP yoga. The takeaway? While my at home program doesn't allow me to go as heavy (w/weights) as I used to at the gym, it's made me much more consistent. I have no excuse to miss workouts anymore, because they're literally steps away from my couch in a spare room. Consistently working out at home, though it has its limitations, has proven more effective than inconsistent gym workouts. This has also taught me to be resourceful. Even when the gym is safe to return to, I've learned that there are no excuses to miss a workout. Too tired to head to the gym? Do a program in your room. Don't feel like a workout in the room? Take a five mile walk, go jump rope for 30 minutes, etc. As mentioned above, I'm a huge fan of DDP yoga and have to give credit to the fact that it provided me with something challenging to do at home, at my own speed.
You Don't Have To Be Perfect
I'm a big dude, so admittedly weight loss for me is probably a little easier than for someone who is smaller. That said, I've been able to lose weight without being perfect. I keep loose track of my calories, try to be active each day and like most people, have turned to primarily cooking meals (whole foods) at home. These slight changes have clearly been successful but have also showed me that I don't have to be perfect. I still have some ice cream at night, occasionally order a burger for dinner and am not 100% perfect. I suppose that If I was tracking my macros, I could probably be down another 10 pounds or so. However, I've made enough changes that I'm headed in the right direction without feeling like I'm going to break. This is largely possible by the reduction of alcohol, because the reduction of all those empty calories have given me some cushion to live a little. Just know that success can be achieved without being strict to the point of misery.
Cut Yourself Some Slack
No matter how much you're trying to lose, I think it's important to go slow and allow yourself to build momentum. If you decide to quit drinking, quit eating fast food, lift weights 5x a week and run 3 miles each morning, I suspect you will crash and burn. Trying tackling one or two things at a time. Maybe you quit fast food first and commit to walking 3x a week for the first month. Second month you build on that by adding in some lifting. Third month you add another element to fitness or diet, etc. Point is, don't overwhelm yourself. Tackle one thing at a time and as you see results, you'll find that you're motivated to make additional refinements/improvements.
Don't Give The Scale Too Much Power
Listen, it's easy to get frustrated if that number on the scale isn't trending down every week. I know I've gotten pissed off when I've seen a number stay the same or go even go up a pound if I've been working hard for a few weeks. But, I think that's giving the scale too much credit for your journey. The way I look at it now is like this: If I'm eating right, walking, lifting, doing yoga and not drinking and the scale doesn't drop does it mean I've failed? No, it doesn't. My weight may be the same, but my flexibility is better. My body is stronger. My heart is healthier and my liver is no doubt feeling like it hasn't gone ten rounds with body shots from Mike Tyson. So all in all, my hard work has still led to a better me, despite what the scale says. Keep that in mind, because that perspective will always make your efforts feel worthwhile each and every week.
Set A Goal
I can't speak to what motivates individuals, but for me, I didn't want to weigh 300lbs and my cheap ass didn't want to lose a few hundred bucks to my wife. Not sure what your motivation is, but find it, write it down, set a goal and get after it. As for myself, I've decided that I'd like to get to 235 lbs to see what that looks like. Momentum becomes addictive and I'm excited to keep my foot on the gas pedal, dial back the ice cream a bit and see where this goes.
Good luck to you and props to this sub for the inspiration.
[link] [comments]
from loseit - Lose the Fat https://ift.tt/3efAwK1
No comments:
Post a Comment