That didn’t go quite as expected

No, I didn’t fall off the wagon already. After my post yesterday, I proceeded to get incredibly sick, barely able to hold down any food or even liquids. So sticking to the diet hasn’t been a problem for the past 24 hours. But even so, this sickness actually serves a purpose on its own right. That is, it makes you think about what’s really important. 

 

I didn’t have a craving for something sweet yesterday; I didn’t absolutely have to have a huge burger to satiate a craving. I needed only the basic necessities: bland food that would keep my stomach easy, water and some diet ginger-ale to calm the nausea, and plenty of rest. It makes you think about what’s important, and causes one to wonder why we don’t stick to those necessities when we are feeling perfectly well. 

 

But I didn’t come here to tell you that. I have some info that helped me in the past, can help you, and I know will be helping me this second time around. Today I want to talk about the things that keep you full. I’m sorry, but that Reese’s cup doesn’t do a whole lot in helping you through the day. So what does? The first thing I want to discuss is fruits and veggies.

 

One of the core elements of Weight Watchers, for those who are familiar with it, is the points system. That is, food and drink have a certain points value, and you are given a specific points goal for each day. That said, fruits and veggies have no points. You can eat them to your hearts content. While there are some diets that might not allow this, it is certainly worth pointing out that it worked wonders for me. In other diets, even counting calories, I always felt hungry. While there is nothing wrong with that, it can certainly be discouraging to your progress. With Weight Watchers, I never once felt hungry, because I knew that I could always grab a banana or some carrot sticks to tide me over until my next meal. This brings me to what I consider the wonderfuit: bananas! I like to give credit where credit is due, and I honestly believe that wonderful piece of fruit was at least a quarter of the reason for my success. One banana was enough to fill me up for at least an hour or more. At around 70-100 calories per banana, it’s a relatively pain-free way to keep you going throughout the day. Secondly, water. It is so simple it almost seems overlooked in some diet programs. But 2-3 glasses of water before a meal is not only good for you, but it will trick your mind into thinking you are full, leading to less eating during the meal and drastically reducing the likelihood of binge eating. 

 

As you find out when you are sick, it is about what keeps your body going. You don’t think about food, which is one of the primary pitfalls for me. If you think about food, it becomes almost like a hobby. I will admit this is a problem for me. This is why dieting doesn’t work! It isn’t just about skipping that piece of cake after dinner; it’s about not giving that cake a first thought to begin with. Move your attention toward something else and away from the food. I will say it again: dieting doesn’t work. Because honestly, changing eating and exercise habits is truly only a part of making it all work. You have to change your mindset entirely; change how your mind works. That is why, beyond certain foods and tricks, I have found that having a hobby of some kind truly helps as well. Instead of crashing on the couch in the evenings with a bag of chips (guilty) sit outside with a good book or take up journal writing. If it’s a nice evening, skip the restaurant, pack a picnic with the healthy foods of your choice, and enjoy it with that special someone. 

 

I believe that just about covers it today. Two days in, doing well. I will be weighing in on Sundays, and posting my progress then. Until then, I will update the blog with the different things I eat and what I do that particular day  I am recovering from the illness and I’m still a little woozy, hence the absence of my record of food/activities. I should be able to update tomorrow with a more lengthy post. In the mean time, I will leave this fascinating article on calorie conversion for you to enjoy. 

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=labels-that-translate-calories-into-walking-distance

 

Have a great Monday, folks! 

 

Want to lose weight? Stop dieting.

Have you ever wanted something? Like, really wanted it? Whether it’s a car, a job, some new gizmo, or maybe even just an ideal, everyone knows what it’s like to want something so badly you can’t stand it. So what do you do in those situations? You work toward completing the goals that will gain you that particular thing. Have you ever wanted something so badly and yet told yourself that you just hoped it would come to you? Maybe. But we all know that won’t happen. If I have only learned one lesson in my very short twenty-two years on this earth it would be that nothing just comes to you. So why do we expect such a thing?

And yet weight loss seems to be that expectation. A great percentage of the people on earth would like to be smaller, admittedly within the US. So why do we not work for it? We’d rather have the burger than the abs, and we think we’d enjoy an extra helping more than we’d enjoy that smaller pant size. Why is that? We really want something, and yet we don’t work hard toward it. If I want to go on vacation, I work hard and figure out what it takes. I research it, save up the money, and enjoy the spoils when I actually get the leave the house. But with weight loss it seems so much harder.

That difficulty is at least ninety-five percent of the reason I started this blog. I never blog otherwise, and I realize that blogs have somewhat passed their prime. I don’t know if anyone will read this, but it’s worth it to publish my thoughts and attempts in an online forum where anyone could see.

In 2011, I was at my smallest, weighing in at a steady 185, I was happy, skinny, and confident. However, it was not to last. I started a new semester of college, work picked up, and I didn’t have the time to keep up with it. At least that’s what I told myself. Looking back now, I am still mad at past-me for giving it all up. I am now at 234 and rather miserable, to be quite honest. I didn’t come here for a pity-party; I came here because I intend to change it. I have tried a few times to lose that weight again, but nothing serious ever came of it. Quite honestly, I am just getting tired of dieting. But saying that to myself made it clear what I had to do: I had to stop dieting.

I know what you’re thinking, and no, I am not affiliated with the magic banner ads that promise health, good fortune, and six-pack abs if you pay a little bit of money and hope real hard. The truth is, dieting doesn’t work, and that’s due to one simple fact: It’s a short-term fix to a long-term problem. If you’re like me, you carry weight around your middle, and it is just about as stubborn as your Uncle Bob on a fishing boat in the pouring rain: it’s not leaving.

Now, I shouldn’t be too harsh on dieting; it’ll help you lose weight, no doubt. But I would go so far as to argue that losing weight isn’t the real goal. Rather, it’s about keeping that weight off when it’s gone.

Returning to my original statement, “dieting doesn’t work,” it seems that we as a chubby generation should broaden our focus. This isn’t about the weight so much as it is about a lifestyle change. If you have extra weight it’s because you aren’t eating right or exercising enough. The weight isn’t the problem; you are. It’s harsh, and I am saying this to me more than I am to anyone else. The point is, the lifestyle has to change. I can’t keep going the way I’m going and expect to lose weight or feel better. When I lost all of the weight before, I was doing the right thing in the wrong way. Let me explain.

Think of when you first learned to read. I know it’s been a long time, but really remember. What if you had learned to read all of those words that were in the book but didn’t associate them with anything. You could read and pronounce any word, but if you didn’t go out of your way to pick up a dictionary, look up the word discover its meaning it would have been pointless. Weight loss is exactly like that. If you simply learn the words without learning what they mean, you are working to a goal that will eventually be null and void.

At 234 pounds, I am obviously no expert. However, I have been on both sides of this, and I know what does and doesn’t work. Therefore, I am restarting. Today, I started weight watchers again, which is what helped me the first time.

So what’s different? Me. I am looking at this differently and going at it with a different perspective. I want to be smaller so I can fit into my old clothes; I want to be in better shape so I can do all of the activities I love without feeling miserable.

This blog will chronicle my journey. I have a series of goals, leading up to the mac daddy of expectations for myself. The first goal is to reach 199 pounds. Why 199? Because it will have a 1 for the first digit instead of a 2. That will be a HUGE accomplishment in my opinion. From here it will be quite a task, but doable. I expect, if I lose the healthy standard of two pounds a week I will be there by mid-July. I usually lose weight quickly at first, so I will adjust that goal accordingly. Even so, that is the absolute latest I must reach that goal; no excuses! Secondly, I want to get down to 185 again, just like I was before. It will be an extra fifteen pounds after my first goal, and I am sure I will hit a few plateaus between 234 and 185. My ultimate goal is to reach somewhere between 175-180. While this may sound like an excuse, it is not. However, I am built rather large. I am 5′ 11″, and at my skinniest my chest was still 42″ around. Yeah, husky doesn’t even begin to cover it. That said, with the doctor telling me 190 was low enough, I know from experience that 175 would be perfect for me.

 

So follow me. I have done this before, but I am doing it differently now. As I lose weight, you’ll be watching with me. I know it will work, so why don’t you try with me? It’s great to have a friend on a journey like this. Today was merely the introduction. Today I plan to go grocery shopping and find some diet-friendly foods. As I go, I’ll be sharing tips that have worked before, new lifehacks I learn along the way, and just generally show you what is working for me. Please comment as I go along with your own suggestions, tips and tricks, and, most importantly, your success stories.

 

While I can’t promise a post every day, I will try my absolute best to accomplish just that. Tomorrow I will look at some specific foods that promote weight loss and why. Also, I am using this blog to keep myself accountable, so you will be seeing all of my successes and failures. But in order for today’s post to not be a complete failure, I will include two tips. 1) Music is great. If you are a bored eater (like me), music keeps your mind off of it. The melodies help release endorphins and the lyrics give you something to think about. (so much more on music in a later post, I promise; I can’t understate it) 2) Black coffee. The health benefits are amazing (check out this article from Bodybuilding.com: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/5-unexpected-health-benefits-of-drinking-coffee.html) Also, it is an appetite suppresant and will trick your mind into thinking it’s not hungry for a while longer. Plus, the caffeine boost is basically what gets me through the morning.

I would say something like “today is the first day of the rest of my life,” but that’s just cheesy. More tomorrow! If you’re reading this, please leave a shout out; I can always use the motivation.