Hello:
Crazy huh? July is just about over. Man Time Flies.
Posting a video here about my weight loss journey. (I hate that term it has become such a cliche) over the last few months. Please keep in mind I misspoke some in the video. I did not really go back and correct the podcast. I believe the theme of what I meant runs through. I also think it is pretty self evident what my intent was at the times I misspoke. I know two moment refer to "lost the war but I'm winning the battle" ...which I really meant the exact opposite. I guess it depend on how you look at it? I think I also misstated somethings about time meaning week instead of a day ?? At one juncture. I think it is evident what I was trying to say. If there are any questions let me know. I am definitely not perfect. Life is not perfect. I like it like that. The mistakes can be very beautiful at times. I will put something at the end here describing what I mean.
BTW I did not use any weight loss drugs, peptides or even and supplements to lose weight. I am not saying there is anything wrong with doing that. I do think you should be careful and try your best to make informed decisions. Anything in life that is worthwhile takes time, work and effort.
Speaking of work, time and effort Thank You Mark Markowski A financial person I follow that has taught me way more about life than he ever has about finance. I am sure he would be proud for me to say that.
How Did This Come About?
I\ have not been happy about my weight for the better part of a year. I also had a friend who lost a lot of weight and he inspired me to get in better shape.
The real trigger. I actually made a bet with some friends I could get down to 185 lbs by July 4th. I sincerely thought I could. That is high school weight. They were both like like 'no way.' It just didn't seem that unrealistic to me? Maybe I was a little glib. I reached 190. Which was a let down. I must tell you I feel some very good things came out of it.
I gladly paid the bet. Even though I lost, I felt really accomplished.
So Is Losing Still Winning?
Absolutely not. I hate where we reward people for trying. If you lose..You lose!! That is why I was adamant about paying the bet, even though I think my friends would have probably let me off the hook. Maybe not Kyle...lol
All said. - I feel great!! I learned a little about nutrition and what works for me. Life is a learning experience. Winning, losing, good things and mistakes...you can always gain knowledge and self enlightenment. Even more so if it pertain to a personal goal.
How Did I Do It?
First off, everyone is different so this is not recommended advice about health or diet. This is just what worked, to some degree, for me. You should do your research and consult with a professional before making radical changes in your lifestyle pertaining to fitness or nutrition.
CARDIO CARDIO CARDIO. I did cardio at least 1 hour a day. Often twice a day. This made things easy. If cardio can be considered easy. I was able to eat a lot of things I still enjoy, and continue to drop weight.
I got online and did some rough calculating on 'daily calorie requirements.' A quick internet search and you can find daily calorie calculators without much effort. Main thing. Be honest with yourself. You must put in the right data to get a decent reading.
All in all I came to the conclusion - That someone of my height, weight, gender and activity level needed a certain amount of calories daily. I believe, activity level is where some make errors. You must be realistic about how active you are. A lot of us think we are way more active and eat better than we actually do. Once I found an estimated amount of calories I needed to lose weight but not starve I started there.
Counting Calories.
One good thing about restaurants now a days, they are decent at posting their nutritional info. If not, web searches can help you estimate most foods calories. Accuracy is not always great. I would almost always round up. If I had dueling information I went with the highest, at least when I was trying to be honest with myself. If you lie to yourself (by maybe being overly optimistic) it makes things harder. I was surprised by how easy this is to do. I think, due to many factors we have an unrealistic body image of ourselves. Thank you social media!!!
I wasn't crazy about counting calories. I kept track to a certain degree. Often sitting down and totaling up the calories I consumed for the day, at the end of the day. I am certain other methods are better. This at least, did make me more aware of trying to maintain calorie limitations to help reach my goals.
I came to the conclusion I could consume around up to 2,000 calories a day and still actually lose weight. Keep in mind I was doing cardio (mostly stationary bike) for 1 or 2 hours a day.
I often skipped breakfast, except my coffee and creamer. I've experimented with this for years. If I eat early in the day I am just as hungry at lunch time as if I didn't eat a morning meal. I still have not been able to figure out why...lol??
I ate and still do consume a lot of bad food. I just kept counting the calories. In my job I often eat on the road and partake in a lot of fast food. I struggle with food prep, which would probably be ideal. I made sure I was aware of the calorie content. Burgers and fries can add up. The average combo can easily hit 1,000 to 1,200 calories for one meal. I often skipped the fries, usually the drink even though I love them. If I could not keep it within the calories I allotted for myself things sometimes needed to be left off. You can actually be pretty flexible with this. What do you like more? I assumed the calories were more meaningful from the main items, bad as they were, than something deep fried or full of sugar.
On the weekends I tried to eat better foods. I often did make 'top ramen' and other not so great stuff. I often include brown rice or pasta, sweet potatoes, and lots of veggies. I have always had to be careful with bad calories. I can sit and eat a bag of chips or multiple small chocolates without even trying. I usually don't even buy those things just to eliminate the temptation. The office is where I can get in trouble.
I did not beat myself up, Some weeks I actually gained weight. I did get discourages at times. Often knowing it was my behavior that led me to get off track. I hit a serious plateau at just over 200 lbs for weeks. I just could not get under 200. That was a big mental jump once it finally happened. Even then I often would go up above it. I bought a scale. I and was so surprised how much weight you can gain and lose in a day sometimes. Water weight for someone my size could easily be 10 pounds in a 8 to 12 hour period. I would come home weighing 213 lbs in the evening then be around 207 lbs in the AM.
I made a decision to change my lifestyle. I cut down on drinking. I was more conscious on what I was eating. I committed to doing the exercise. The exercise was never hard to me. You can adjust the tension of the pedals to make it as challenging or easy as you want. The time is the biggest factor. Deciding your health and welfare are worth the time, no matter what, made a huge difference. What is more important than your health?
That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
I went from around 235 lbs to 190 in 4 to 5 months. Actually, for over a year I attempted top lose weight, I fluctuated a lot during the early period. It did not happen and stick until I made to decision to change my habits.
MISTAKES
As far as mistakes go I want to put something on here this song:
Baby
A song by two brothers - Donnie and Joe Emerson. This is what I mean about not being being perfect.
Baby
For those who have followed me a bit, this may isa repeat. Even more a repeating theme
The tuning on this song is questionable and the beat is definitely off and out of time. The story goes - These two had a dream to make it in the music business. They recorded this song. In fact, they recorded a few songs and put out a 'self released record'. May years later the song made it into a movie scene for less than 2 minutes. That is where I (and countless others) heard it for the first time. To some degree it went viral. So, despite the flaws it became popular and has touched thousands of lives. The tune touches on love or deep feelings for another. A topic that has been popular for most of the human existence. A good one. We seem to still find mysterious.
Sometimes a piece of art is popular because it is so bad. It becomes like watching a car wreck. This songs goes there to some degree but it is actually in a pretty serious moment in the movie.
If you search 'Baby' in Celeste and Jessie Forever I am sure you can find it. I've posted on this one before. So I'll let you do the searching if it is honest interest for you. BTW, Celeste and Jesse Forever, is definitely an Active Amputee recommended movie. Chick flick for sure. You know love, life and relationships is a lifelong subject full of mystery and awe to ponder about, :)
Don't give up on your dreams. You never know how you may touch another person!!
#amput33 #LuvL1f3
