There’s been an ongoing struggle with me and my fat for several years now. I continue to tell it it’s not welcome on me anymore, I’ve hung up eviction signs, and I’ve even been pretty forceful, but it seems as though fat is a worthy opponent of virtually anyone, and not something to be taken lightly. Though I am not finished with my body sculpting, I am now a lot more knowledgeable of what needs to happen in order to continue on my journey. What I have learned about this process, I will now share with you, so maybe others know exactly what they’re getting into when they decide to change their bodies for the better for the long term. Some background is necessary.
I remember being fat for all of my adult life, and most of my childhood. I’m not sure when exactly it started, but I do remember being 6 or 7 and being stick-thin. Then, in middle school, I blew up like a balloon. I don’t think I ‘grew’ into my body until after college, when I was playing hockey more, and eventually I did thin out a little, but nowhere near what I should have been at. Still, I didn’t do much to change as I was content enough to just bitch about it. Fast forward to my move to phoenix and my ballooning to 215 pounds. On a 5’8 frame, that kind of weight is not pretty. It was a trigger for me and those around me that it was time for a change. I set my goal to 160 pounds. A good weight for someone my height and fully 55 pounds lighter than what my fat ass was carrying around now. That was early 2006. I’m now 182 pounds, 3 years later, and have been steady at this weight for approximately 7 months. While once frustrated at this fact, I now understand it to be incredibly important. Why is coming up. So without further ado, some things I’ve learned while on this road:
1. Quite possibly the most important thing to realize when you set out to drop weight is that this is not a diet and there are no quick solutions. I know saying that this is a life change you have to make is a total cliché, so let me put it in just a slightly different perspective: This is a life changing process, and not something you turn on and off. You are either committed to it or not.
2. Once you’re committed, it’s absolutely no longer about losing weight. I know it may come as a shock to think your weight loss journey is over as soon as you commit to it, but it’s the truth. You are dedicating yourself to a lifetime of health. Weight loss? That’s just one of the benefits.
3. Dropping your first 10 pounds is one of the easiest things in the world to do. Keeping it off is a nightmare, and you’ll find out if you’re really ready to do this or not. Don’t be surprised if you drop weight like bricks in the first few weeks as your body re-adjusts. It’ll happen. It’s bound to. But once everything levels out, you’re going to hit a wall, or “plateau”. Congratulations, you’ve reached your first major hurtle. The weight won’t come off as fast after this point, and it’s easy to get frustrated and give up if you don’t lose anything at all for 2 weeks, 3 weeks…. A month… if you give up now, you can put it all back on in a few days.
4. You are always fighting an uphill battle against the scale. I hate my scale because it never points to where I think it should. It’s always higher. I’ve come to realize however, that after 7 months, while the scale hasn’t gone down, it hasn’t gone up either, and I’ve managed to keep the weight I did lose permanently off. This is a victory.
5. Victories are important. My ultimate goal was to lose 55 pounds. It was noble to set, awesome to work towards, but ultimately incredibly stupid. As I keep mentioning: this is a process of baby steps, and nothing will help more than setting a lot of little goals to help keep you motivated in the right direction. This is an incredibly long and daunting task, one I would ultimately get frustrated with should I not have my victories.
6. You absolutely cannot under any circumstances ever reward your weight loss victories with food! I cannot stress the importance of this enough. I fell into this trap with, I’m sure, a lot of others, and it won’t be the last time. This is exactly the condition you need to break! You can’t think “oh, I’ve lost 30 pounds, I’m down to 178, I’m totally going to Outback and ordering a huge steak!” This ends up being negative re-enforcement, and belittles your efforts.
7. If you want a Sundae, god dammit, go out and have a sundae. This looks like it completely contradicts lesson number 6, right? GOOD. It’s supposed to. There’s a difference between indulgence and reward, and while rewarding yourself that way is a massive no-no, indulgence, as far as I’m concerned, is completely necessary. You need to keep in mind that you’re not dieting. You can still eat these things and be OK with it. You will no doubt need to eat them a lot less frequently (and in smaller portions) than you used to, but guess what? You can still eat them! The freedom to know you can still have something makes it easier to say no to. Sound strange? It is, but it works.
8. You must. Must. Must. Count calories, measure food, and write down how much you’re eating. This was the WORST for me. I still hate doing this and don’t a lot. And it costs me, I know it does, because I know food goes into my mouth and I don’t think about it when I try to keep a running tab in my head. I’m a horrible mindless eater. Writing things down will not only keep you accountable, you may in fact, be surprised just how much you’re eating. I know I have been.
9. Variety is essential when it comes not only to eating, but to exercise as well. When your body gets used to a routine, you do it so efficiently it becomes less and less effective. You have to keep changing what you do, between weights, and cardio. Don’t get comfortable!
10. Aside from workout variety, you will also have to continue to increase intensity. This means adding 5 pounds to your weight lifting routine whenever possible, or increasing running time – if you can run 10 straight minutes, try going for 11! It’s extremely difficult to do, but you will feel so accomplished when you do it!
Here’s 10 things I’ve learned. I’d like to hear about anything others have done too, so feel free to let me know! Once you’ve started on your way, and you keep at it for a long time, and become successful, people say you’ll have more energy and feel better about yourself and be happier. I can tell you from personal experience that I do have a lot more energy now, and people have not only commented on how much better I look and how much weight I’ve lost, but also how much happier I am! This will come to you to, you just have to put forth the effort.
