A Weighty Post

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I contacted a customer a couple days ago and asked if she’d like to have lunch.  She’s a consultant on style.  I told her that I could use 2-3 pointers since I’d lost weight [with a little more to go], changed careers, and generally have no style.  lol  She zeroed in on my weight loss — 40 lbs in two years — and said she’d love to have lunch and could I share my secret.  OK, well — not to be flip but — burn more calories than you consume.  That’s the ’secret’ and has been for generations now.

I know, I know, that was a smart *ssed response.  And I really don’t want to be that way — right now.  But it’s true.  The difficulty comes in the self-discipline.  I could do an entire book on how the country’s society has destroyed the self-discipline of it’s people with all the ’studies’ on how punishment destroys self-esteem.  I’ll save that for later.  I do believe that we have prevented many of our citizens from developing good self-discipline because of the decrease in discipline overall.

My journey began well over three years ago.  Although I do not suffer from diabetes or heart disease, my parents do.  My mother has both and a family history of high bloodpressure and stroke.  My dad has smoking related heart disease and is very overweight.  Cancer is strongly evident on both sides as well.  I began to experience some health issues, relatively minor, and each doctor I went to told me to lose weight.

I didn’t think I was THAT overweight.  But, a quick BMI check called me obese.  That hurt!  I have a little bit of vanity in me and to be labeled obese was a shock.  When I had to purchase sized 18 clothes … the picture was getting clearer.  A sleep study workup suggested that my difficulties were related to weight.  My back problems were exacerbated by my increasing weight.  The circulation issues in my legs were complicated by my weight.  I’ve even developed a hiatal hernia.   I had to do something.

I started with Dr. Adkin’s.  It was refreshing to be able to eat all the meat and cheese I wanted.  I also found that the sugar-drop shakes I was subject too stopped while I followed Dr. Adkin’s recommendations.  I was able to lose 15 pounds, but it got old and the sodium in most of the products caused me more problems.   So in October 2005 I joined the local Weight Watchers. 

They have two options of plans to choose from: The Points Program and The Core Program.  I chose the Core Program because I felt I had more flexibility.  I know what I can eat that doesn’t cost me points.  I know how many points I have to spend.  The difficulties come in the self-discipline.  It is up to ME to stick to the plan, just as with any diet or lifestyle change.  I attend the weekly meetings because I need to.  I need to feel responsible to report my progress.  Not everyone needs that, but I am aware that I do. 

I am responsible for getting in my water/caffeine-free drinks.  I have to have 24 ounces of just plain water everyday.  In total I have to have six glasses, or 48 ounces of caffeine-free drinks everyday.  For every 8 ounces of caffeinated beverage I consume I have to drink 8 extra ounces of water/caffeine-free liquid.  Why?  Because my body needs water in order to function properly.

I have learned how to make better choices in the foods I cook and the foods I request at restaurants.  I love chili and have a great recipe for chili using ground turkey, cilantro, and white beans.  Mmmmm I also have a recipe for a crustless pumpkin pie.  Oh!  And there is a chocolate pudding pie with graham cracker crust, and a white chocolate dessert with pineapple ….. ooohhhh  mmmmm! 

It’s funny.  My extended family is constantly saying “you can’t have that” when we go out to eat.  “Yes I can!” comes out quickly.  Because, that’s the truth.  I CAN have whatever I want.  I just have to account for it.  I have to know the points value, or calculate it, and be prepared to make the appropriate adjustments in my meals and exercise.   After a while it becomes automatic.  I know that I can go to Bob Evans and have the Homestead.  I substitute whole-wheat toast for the biscuits as a rule, but once in a while I have the biscuit.  I don’t pour the gravy on my bread, I use a fork to spread it like any other topping.  I get the same great taste but I don’t suck down a whole 8 ounces of gravy.  At steak places I order a baked potato with the butter on the side.  That puts me in control of how much grease I’m eating on that potato.  If they screw it up and put the butter on anyway the first thing I do is scrape it off.

If I go to Bob Evans I make adjustments the rest of the day.  I’ll have a chicken salad with fat-free dressing for dinner and I make sure I hit the treadmill or work outside, or something.  But that’s what you HAVE to do.  If you don’t, your body punishes you by holding onto the food in the form of fat.  If you don’t want punished you must exercise self-discipline.

I was at Cilantros the other day with my son.  They didn’t offer a taco salad, so I opted for a chicken burrito with rice, beans and a shot of sour cream.  I’m not kicking myself for eating forbidden food.  I’m adjusting what I eat and how I exercise.  I’m taking responsibility for eating food high in fat and calories. 

Do I screw up?  Oh hell yes I do.  But you know, I don’t eat as much sh*t as I used to.  I rarely have a hamburger and fries or chocolate dipped ice cream cone.  When I do, I feel crappy for a couple days afterward from all the grease and sugar.  I can honestly tell the difference.  Similar to the true music aficionado discerning the subtle difference between the live instruments or a computer generated one in a song played on the radio.  Most people would never understand that synthesized violins sound different than real ones.

I need to lose an additional 20 pounds to be at my target weight.  Then I have to learn not to gain it back.  It’s been a slow process.  But, I didn’t gain the weight quickly.  I see the ads for these programs that sell you pre-packaged food.  They don’t teach you how to cook for yourself.  They don’t appear to give you moral support.  I can go to my meeting and say “Man, did I have a crappy week,” and there are about 25 other people [men and women] who will nod their heads and say “Been there, done that!  This is what helped me…” 

I believe it is a great disservice that there are these pills that absorb fat and surgeries that reroute the digestive tract.  These processes do not teach people new behaviors, they mask the affects of bad behaviors.   Eating McDonald’s food as part of your normal breakfast routine will freaking KILL you people.  Eating McDonald’s once a month as a treat probably won’t, especially if you exercise.

If you want to lose weight, you have to start with understanding what it is really about.  You need to understand why you gain.  You need to understand the best way to lose.  You need to understand there will be failures.  You must think about your lifestyle and prepare yourself for some changes.  It doesn’t have to be a punishment.  Then you have to decide to do it.  If you screw up, suck-it-up and move on.  No one can do it for you and your failures are your fault, not someone elses.  Your successes, too, are your successes.

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Tags: , Adkins diet, blood pressure, cancer, diabetes, health, heart disease, stroke, weight