In the past two years my views on weight loss, exercise, diet and food have changed dramatically. I think the biggest change for me has been my opinions about dieting to lose weight versus adopting a healthier lifestyle with periods of dieting and Weight loss supplements to lose weight. You should get yourself a home gym, talk to the Gym Equipment Buyers to see if they can help you out.
After I lost all my weight after college, I became a really healthy eater who also had a few bad habits, vices one might say. I drank diet soda daily and alcohol on the weekends. I enjoyed an extra saturated fat burger with cheese and fries every so often as well as a Snickers or a doughnut. But on a daily basis I ate really healthy. I alway had a good breakfast with whole grains and protein, same at lunch and dinner. I ate a lot of fruits and vegetable and exercised on a consistent basis. The first few years after I lost the weight I didn’t have a problem maintaining it because I ate healthy 95% of the time and was active every day. Even on non gym days, I was active. I never thought I was deprived, I never saw it as work. I just was.
When I gained my weight back I gained it pretty slowly though the last 20lbs were from pure gluttony.
In 2009 when I decided I need to do something about my weight I decided from the onset that I never wanted to gain it back. So when I started back on Weight Watchers I didn’t DO Weight Watchers, I USE(D) Weight Watchers. I see Weight Watchers as a set of tools that helps me track a certain amount of calories(points), food groups and exercise a day for weight loss. I see Weight Watchers as an accountability system; every week I put my pounds lost or gained into the system. I see Weight Watchers as providing me with ideas for food and a community for support. But Weight Watchers isn’t losing the weight for me. I am. Weight Watchers isn’t making decisions for me, I am.
And because I decided that I never wanted to gain the weight back again, I decided no matter how long it takes me I’m going to do it the right way. I know I could drop 40 lbs in 4 months if I wanted to. I could easily eat a piece of chicken and apple for dinner or an apple with a few crackers for lunch. But why? That’s not healthy.
Why would I be unhealthy for a period of time when what I’m really trying to achieve is have healthier life? Why force my body into losing weight quickly? Why deprive my body of the proper nutrition that my body deserves? So I can look better on vacation? Fit into a bikini for the summer? Its not logical.
So while my weight loss is slow like my running pace I haven’t faltered and gone off course. When I knew I couldn’t handle losing weight for a period of time I went on maintenance. I wasn’t at goal, but I didn’t want to gain any of the weight back either. I kept my self accountable to a healthy lifestyle and eating, I just wasn’t losing pounds. Its was like the light bulb finally has gone off for me. Don’t undo all the good you have done. Just pick back up when you are ready.
Weightloss is really simple people, its putting in less fuel than you need so you use what you have stored. Its being healthy that is hard.
Being healthy is about making good choices weather your dieting to lose weight or trying to maintain your weight. Its not racing to the end only to crash and burn. And it not making a bad situation worse.
Longterm I don’t want to see losing weight and keeping it off as work. I don’t want to feel deprived now or in the future.
I want to end up where I was, healthy and active everyday with perhaps a few vices. I want to go on vacation and not diet before hand.
For me its about permanent changes, permanent weightloss.
My co-worker and I were having this conversation today! He was surprised I wasn’t signing up for the Biggest Loser Work Challenge. I told him that I didn’t want to eat kelp and watercress to win a contest. I wanted to lose healthy and maintain the loss.
Good post!