I am 1000 days into my lifestyle change. A few thoughts...including getting rid of the word "diet"
Last edited Sat Sep 14, 2013, 06:43 PM - Edit history (1)
In January 2011 I weighed 258 pounds - 54 years old, 6 feet tall. Bad knees. After a heart to heart with me by my wife and one of my daughters, the next day started my lifestyle change. Not diet.
today - it is September 2013 - I weigh 205 lbs, and I tend to drift between 196 and 208 over the course of the year. I am not dieting. I am living. I've changed how I've eaten and worked activity into my day since that chat with my wife and daughter in January 2011.
I feel great. Today my breakfast was cereal with blueberries and granola and soy milk, with coffee. I took my daughter to lunch and had hummus and pita, then a corned beef and swill on rye, with fries. We went for ice cream. Tonight I wanted to compensate, so just had dinner - yogurt with granola and blueberries. That's it....in a few hours, I will take the dogs on a long walk.
If I look into my google calendar, I can see what I've eaten every day since mid July 2011. I weigh in weekly. Writing it all down - everything - total honesty - and weighing in weekly keep things on track for me. When I go shopping, I park pretty far away from the store...I take stairs when possible. As many of you know, my main activity is gardening - actively. We bike, kayak, walk, hike. But not at a crazy level.
I have bad knees, but they feel great - and have ever since I got rid of the 50 plus pounds I lost.
How did I do it? My wife agreed to join Weight Watchers with me at the start, and we did that for six months - that got rid of 40 lbs. I joined a gym, increased my activity, and hold my daily calorie intake to between 1500-2000 calories. Ten more pounds vanished when my wife and I did the Whole Foods sponsored Engine 2 Vegan challenge for a month.
The word "diet" means doing something for a short period of time, knowing that eventually one can go back to what they were doing. so it is doomed to fail.
The phrase "lifestyle change" means just that - a change. Whether it is eating healthier, being more active or both, it is a change, and in my mind, there is no going back. I love focusing our meals on grains, vegetables, fruits - with occasional seafood, and even more rarely, meat. We have no food on a "do not ever eat" list - we just either don't buy it, or eat it in small portions.
I fully expect to stay at this weight or less, and eat and live this way or less, for the rest of my life. I can't preach to anyone to do this because XXXX or YYYY. It is a personal choice, and is not easy for most of us. But I love a challenge, I love my wife and daughters and dogs and cats, I love my life. I want to be around as long as I can; doing what I am doing of course offers no guarantees. But it can't hurt.
So, anyway, 1000 days into this, I thought it would be a good time to share and let you know what has worked very well for me.
ask me anything!
Oh yes - I am convinced - fad diets, book diets, anything that sounds like you get something for nothing - they don't - and can't - work. At least I don't think so. Because they are called "diets" and that means temporary.
I told you it was not that easy, but to be truthful, it hasn't been hard - it has been wonderful, challenging, enjoyable, and fun.
= new reply since forum marked as read
Decided to toss the "big clothes" too - no turning back!
haven't had a carbonated beverage (well, soda - can't toss beer totally over the edge!) in over 6 years - water, water, water.
Best part could be how good - great - I feel every morning!
Last edited Sun Sep 15, 2013, 09:17 AM - Edit history (1)
Most days my lunch is yogurt and granola...a treat now and then is why it works...for me.
was on my phone - will add more....My past failures at this (which I labeled "diets"
were in part due to the denial thing. Part of what motivates me is that now and then I allow myself to have something from my past choices that I enjoyed - but in moderation. So once a week I have lunch with friends - my "meat fix" - burger, whatever - but it is then easy to get back on the healthier stuff.
Key for me is the self awareness - writing it all down!
enjoyed reading your story. I‘m trying to stay on a weight loss journey of my own.
right back at ya!
Saw this today on Facebook and couldn't agree more. It is about changing your lifestyle and it is a challenge everyday but I do it for me.
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Response to NRaleighLiberal (Original post)