Eat What You Want and Lose Weight the Hard Way
The Outline
-Feeling overweight. Use these steps to change something.
Here Are Our 7 Steps To A Healthier You
1. "STOP!!"
2. Find a Tool
3. Document Your Goal
4. Set a Limit
5. Document the Progress
6. Evaluate
7. Repeat
Continue Reading Below to Explore The Explanation
The Problem
It was a sad day when I realized that I was the unhealthiest I had ever been. It really is depressing to suddenly realize that the shape you were in years ago is gone and you are now stuck "IN" what you have done to yourself.
If you are feeling this way. We have put this post together to help.
The Write Up
Here we are, another weight loss blog post that MIGHT work.
I am a dad with kids and needed to be a little healthier in my eating habits. So I found a way to keep eating what I wanted (this changed as I got into this system) and lose weight. Sounds Crazy, I know.
It was a sad day when I realized that I was the unhealthiest I had ever been. It really is depressing to suddenly realize that the shape you were in years ago is gone and you are now stuck "IN" what you have done to yourself.
I looked down and had to lean forward to see my toes, too. I felt diminished, low, unhealthy, a little sad, mostly because I was not in control of me. Is it time for you to make the change?
For many years, I ate whatever I wanted. Just like you. Donuts, and one for the road. Candy bars and soda were a staple on the way to work. One of our vendors brought in a gift basket. Eat it up.
Slowly over the course of about 2 years, I gained about 40 lbs. I didn’t even notice, it had crept on so slowly.
Then I saw it. We had family pictures done and I could see my unhealthy self. I could see the problem with my habits and I knew I needed to change.
I decided to change. I decided to do two things I had never done before. I would limit what I ate and eat healthier foods.
I had cut soda out a few years before that and was living off of Powerade. So I cut that out too and now, I only drink water, except for very special occasions during Holidays. Alcohol and coffee are not part of my consumption either.
I would like to have the calorie and sodium discussion, however. A 12oz. can of soda has about 130 calories. A 20 oz. bottle of Powerade is, pending the flavor, 200 calories. That means if you start your day with soda or other drink from the gas station, you are already burning into your calorie allotment for the day.
The other factor to consider is sodium, not just calories. According to The Nutrition Source produced by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health,
the Adequate Amount of Sodium for all people age 14 and over is 1,500 milligrams. A 20 oz. bottle of Powerade has 150 milligrams of sodium per serving. Keep in mind the “per serving.” There are 2.5 servings in a 20 oz. bottle of most Powerade flavors. That is 375 milligrams of sodium.
That is 25% of you daily allotment. Not to mention the sugar...
Put this in a math graph and the Adequate Amounts allowance gets drank up. Diet sodas still contain sodium. Diet Coke has 25 milligrams in a 12 oz can. Zero Calories though!!
Where to start? How do you change your habits that have been your consistent life for years?
...
One day at a time. Let’s walk through the process.
Our 7 Steps To A Healthier You
Step 1: “STOP!!”
I have found it powerful to yell at myself. Tell yourself “No,” when you want the extra donut.
We are doing baby steps, it's okay to have one when you start but you will soon see that you will talk yourself out of it.
Back to Yelling. Yelling is overstated. I have done that but you just need a verbal jolt. Just make it Authoritative.
I have caught myself saying, “Are you serious right now. What are you doing?” Give yourself the verbal treatment you need to stop.
One of the easiest places to start as far as what you are putting into your body is with soda and sugary drinks. This gives you a better chance of staying in the calorie allotment.
The most immediate thought you are having is, what am I going to drink? Water is the only thing that I know of that doesn’t have any calories, sugar or sodium in it.
There are additives that you can put in water to give it a fruit flavor but they still add calories, sodium and sugar in most cases.
It is not required to cut sugary drinks, sodas and the like. It does give you more room for Ice Cream at the end of the day, however.
Step 2 – Find A Tool
You need some help. This could be an App. My Fitness Pal is the one I used to track all the food I ate. It has a 4.4 Star Review on Google Play. It wasn’t too long into tracking that I gave up all the candy bars, sugar drinks and donuts (200-600 calories each).
There are other tools, too.
LoseIt! 4.5 Stars on Google Play
FatSecret 4.7 Stars on Google Play
Both have good reviews but I have not used either of those.
You could create your own in a spreadsheet if you eat the same thing every week. You will spend a lot of time tracking calories if your food varies. That is the benefit to an App.
Another benefit to the app would be a reminder feature to help you remember to record what you ate.
Step 3 – Document Your Goal
The best way to achieve a goal is to set a goal and work backwards.
Just saying, “I am going to lose 40 pounds ,” doesn’t mean anything if you don’t start.
Obviously the starting place is today but what step will you take tomorrow?
That is up to you. The purpose of documenting is to keep yourself accountable. By writing down your goal, you are telling yourself you are committed.
Having a goal to reference allows you to evaluate.
You might have an idea of what your goal is tomorrow but what about Monday next week or in three weeks. I have put together a sample below.
By working backwards, you can say, "My goal is to lose 40 pounds in 6 months." The date is important. Limits must be set.
Working backwards, at month 3, lose 30 pounds. Month 1, lose 15 pounds. Now that you have worked backwards, work forward.
In one month you have to lose 15 pounds. Some more examples:
Generate a meal plan after researching calorie and sodium facts in the most common foods you eat. Your plan will be unique to you.
You will find that food bought at restaurants is usually higher in caloric content and sodium. I don't know why this is, it is just what I found during my experience.
Track you progress, this will be the best indicator of what to change and when to change it.
You will also find what is working and what it not.
Step 4 – Set a Limit
Your caloric intake is based on multiple factors such as age, height, weight and others. The daily value for me was 2500 calories for my age.
The government sponsored list linked above will give you some direction. Determine what your max is and log it.
Keep in mind that they are basing this information on the average height for men, women and teens. I am a little taller than average.
If you are doing any regular excise in any fashion, be sure to select the correct column.
Step 5 – Document Your Progress
The data doesn’t appear if you do not log it. Input everything that you eat. Be honest. If you are not accurate, this exercise is useless.
Step 6 – Evaluate
Once you have a solid month of documentation, you will start to see where your calories are going and a great evaluation.
I did the evaluation at week 3 and you can probably do it sooner but one month is a great metric to see what your trends are.
Determine where you can improve and move forward!
For me, I decided to cut out breakfast at this point. I was struggling to keep it under the calories and the best way I found to maintain that is to cut out a meal.
About two years later intermittent fasting was a trend, so there could be some truth to all of that. I am not recommending any diet and I say intermittent fasting in relation to frequency of eating. I have no understanding of what the diet actually is.
The fact is, I didn’t restrict any types of food. I ate whatever I wanted, however, I was meticulous in documenting what I ate.
You heard me right. I ate ice cream and donuts and cookies and pie (just in a lot smaller quantities).
I also ate regular food like rice and chicken, eggs, beef and pork with different spices. Lots of vegetables and potatoes. Mashed potatoes with butter and sour cream. You get the idea.
I do not have any health restrictions, if you do, be mindful of that when starting any diet. You may need to consult a doctor. Your situation is unique.
Step 7 – Repeat
This is going to get repetitive. It will get easier to track as you input information. Just keep with it. If you go over the calorie limits, evaluate what you need to change and make the change.
The more you document, the better off you will be. The amount of data produced will you give you a powerful self-specific plan. It will be 100% tailored to you.
The Result
My goal was to lose 40 pounds. At 220 pounds, the heaviest I had ever been, I lost thirty pounds. It took changing my lifestyle and creating new habits.
By overcoming my natural desires of junk food and focusing on healthy foods as a staple and eating in moderation, I was able to lose a significant amount of weight in a six month duration.
I did not work out, the only change I made was tracking what I ate. Essentially holding myself accountable to my goal.
This is the thing that will change your life. When you set a goal, make a path to achieve it and follow that path, you can change. There are going to be trees on the path to climb over, cut out of the way or go around.
There are challenges in achieving any goal. There is reward in achieving the goal, however.
To recap...
Write down the goal, determine the desired result, nail down the path and put it in motion.
After you have accomplished these four steps, the hard work happens. Document, evaluate and repeat. Betteringdads.com put together another post related to changing life's patterns. See our 5 Steps to winning here.
From my experience, I know that sticking with the goal and working your plan will result in a change.
Now go make it happen.