Dear James, Daniel and Emily,
Lately I have been pondering why, much to my surprise, I have taken to running. It has been a given to me over the years that I only enjoyed exercise when it was a part of a team sport, or at least with someone else involved. But with the walking and then running I have been doing I am starting to think that either I have changed or maybe I talked myself into the former as an excuse not to exercise. Because I have to say now that I really look forward to the time I get alone for my walks and runs.
Admittedly this also might be a reaction to the fact that I don't exactly get a lot of alone time any more, what with my loving wife, 3 kids and a hyperactive puppy. And I am used to having some amount of alone time, having had a lot of it for most of my life (either purposely or just because that was my life). But I don't think this is the same, because I have the option to just take this time I have carved out and do other things: paint, read etc. But I have reached the point where I would rather use that alone time to take a walk or run.
I would say the jury is still out on whether this is a total lifestyle change, but I am definitely leaning that way. I think I have turned the corner and either found something in me that was hidden before or at least discovered something new. And it is a very good thing to have found.
One of my best friends has asked me to outline for him what I have been doing to lose all this weight. I have been thinking about it for a while now and here are my general principles
1. Schedule
Have a set eating and exercise schedule, this helps your body attune itself and regulate. Just eating when you want, or when you feel hungry is a recipe for overeating. Whereas having a schedule makes it a little easier to adhere to a diet. And an exercise schedule is also important so you insure you are doing something every day, but also not overdoing it on any given day. And last, give yourself a day off, where you can eat what you want (within reason) and not exercise, lets you rest up physically, emotionally and mentally. I have made it a practice of having my official weigh in the same morning as my day off, so I can reward myself for the progress of the week, which is actually another point: have a regular weigh day and time so you are always tracking your weight consistently.
2. Know what you're eating
Have some method to track what you're eating. I have an excellent iPhone app call Loseit that I use. But this could be anything, from a notebook or diary, to a spreadsheet to any of a large number of online services. I don't agonize over every single little calorie, I do a lot of rounding or guesstimates. But I still track what I eat, and (this is the biggest part) what I burn. Because that balance is what causes the weight to come down. That net intake number is the key. I generally come in below my ideal goal for the day. And how much you should be eating for a gradual weight loss is different depending on how much you weigh. When I was first using the LoseIt, and weighing in around 220 I could net 1900 calories a day, but now my ideal daily Net is around 1500 calories a day.
Fortunately I was not on a restrictive diet as far as certain kinds of foods that I had to watch due to high blood pressure, cholesterol etc. But if you are then the tracking becomes extra important to know what is happening with your diet. It is really amazing how quickly the calories add up, particularly if you eat out. But it is also amazing how big a difference the exercise makes. On days that I run I can afford to eat considerably more (although I try not to overindulge) due to that extra burn.
3. Patience
Rome wasn't built in a day, and it didn't take 6 months to gain the 50+ pounds I dropped or develop all those bad eating habits. Most of what I have done is built around a lifestyle change. If there is any one thing I take away from watching The Biggest Loser, is that while anyone can blitz through a boot camp style diet and drop weight, it won't stay off you don't change the rest of your life. Which is why so much of what I have been doing has been based on overall lifestyle changes rather than focusing on weight.
And there will be plateaus, times where it feels like the weight just won't come off. there are 2 important things I did when I hit those. First, not give up, just keep up what I was doing, I know I am doing the right thing. Second, evaluate to see if I can do more, in many cases I was able to change up my exercise schedule and increase burn.
4. Motivation
Have a reason to do this. And it can't just be fear, where you have been told by your Doctor that if you don't do it you will die. Fear can be a motivator, but it's not generally a healthy one. There has to be a healthy reason for wanting to change your life. I have a lot, the biggest being my family, I can get so much more enjoyment out of my family now than I did before. But there has to be something to keep you going, to help get through the plateau's. And recognize that if you do this, the motivations might change as you progress, a snow ball effect can take place. A year ago I would have not even considered wanting to run in a 5K, now it's a big deal for now, and the idea of maybe running something bigger.
5. Flavor over Bulk
This is a subtle but big deal. When eating, especially when eating out, substitute something with more flavor for something big. Let's be honest, pretty much any fast food burger is relatively flavorless, so the only real difference between the single patty burger and the double or triple is bulk, wanting to fill yourself up. But there will always be more burgers, pizzas, ice cream, whatever, and your taste buds are just searching for flavor when you are convinced you want more.
Here's what sounds like a strange example of what I'm saying. Taco Bell introduced it's Fresco Menu several months back. And I am not sure exactly what they changed overall, but for the regular tacos it appeared they just exchanged cheese for some kind of pico de gallo. Doing so dropped 50 some calories per taco. And to be honest they not only taste better but they are just as filling as before. That pretty much sums up what I am saying: you can improve the flavor of what you eat, and still feel just as full.
I think that about sums up the key elements to what I did to lose my weight. None of it is guaranteed for everyone, and a lot of it is general advice. But it has worked, and can easily be tailored to your individual preferences and lifestyle. The important thing is to fall back on the old Nike Ad: Just Do It! There is no time like the present to start changing, and if not now when?
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