Losing Weight and Feeling Great
The other night my wife and I were watching a photo slideshow and a picture of me on the beach from 2011 popped up. I was honestly amazed and couldn’t believe that’s really how big I was. I decided I would do a before and after picture and post it on instagram. I’m usually hesitant on what I share on social media because I always feel like people will take it the wrong way. I did this not for people to congratulate me but instead to hopefully inspire someone else. Just as I had been inspired.
I did have a few people ask me how I did it and decided to write this post to share my steps. Of course this could just say, eat better and exercise, but that helps no one. We all know that’s all it takes but changing those habits are hard, so hard! Hopefully this gives a little inspiration for you if you are wanting to slim down.
It all started at the beginning of 2012: I weighed 182lbs, I wasn’t sleeping well, I was snoring, and all around I just felt bad. But none of those made me really want to change my life. It wasn’t until I came across a post by Jack McDade which simplified it so much for me:
This is so much easier than following a diet plan. I literally can eat absolutely anything I want, as long as I don’t eat more than 2,200 calories a day.
I thought to myself yes I can do that. I downloaded the Lose It app just as he recommended and inserted my weight and desired goal. In the beginning I calculating everything. Literally! The first week was so disappointing I was eating and drinking so much junk that I was going over my calorie count before noon.
The second week I got serious, I cut out soft drinks completely and switched to coffee. I never drank coffee before but I needed, ok wanted, that caffeine. I still remember that week and how much cream and sugar I used. 🙂 But it wasn’t long until I just went to straight black coffee to save on those extra calories.
After a few more weeks I started seeing my weight go down and I wasn’t missing out on a lot of the food I really enjoy. This was the start of it all. I kept tracking calories and finally settled on a routine that fit me. Then I added exercise. It was summer by this point and I live very close to some excellent mountain bike trails. I kicked the dust off the bike and began riding at least 3 times a week. I love mountain biking and had forgotten how fun it is.
When the time changed, in the fall, I couldn’t go riding like I was so I had to find another excersise routine. I’ve done the gym before and meh I just can’t get inspired for that. I’m lazy and I know for a fact I wouldn’t commit. Instead I bought the Insanity workout DVD and did it all winter. I enjoyed not leaving the house and would do it immediatly after work every day. It just became a routine.
By the end of 2012 I was down to 144. By BMI standards this was right at the upper limit for my height and I was happy about that. As you know the more you lose the harder it gets. I’ve just kept the same plan since then and I’ve currently stabled out between 132 and 136. I’m no longer doing Insanity because it got boring. Now I still Mtn. bike, do some cardio kick boxing, and road riding with friends on the weekends.
Typically my daily weekday routine is Oatmeal or protein bar for breakfast, Special K cereal for lunch, and eggs for dinner. On the weekends I eat whatever. So no, I’m really eating healthy but it’s better than before. Then I do hard cardio at least three times a week.
In the end what worked for me was very small steps that eventually turned into a life style change. I’m sure this is the same for everyone but it’s so important to change forever. Not just for a month or two.