I lost 10 pounds in the last week or so. That's the good news. The bad news? I am still 30 pounds overweight.
Really, I've stacked the cards against me:
Eating. It's the trifecta of bad eating mechanics - a tolerance for huge quantities, the ability to eat incredibly fast (I can probably eat half of a pizza in the time it takes the average person to eat one slice), and I bite huge mouthfuls of food. I also have historically made poor nutritional choices, based largely around meat. Of course, I can almost always out-eat anybody when it comes to casual competition (I've turned out many a surprised and disappointed contender), but that's quickly losing its appeal.
Drinking. I likes me my beer. And like eating, I can take down a lot of it. My rationale is that the more beers I have, the less mental objections I make to "eh, I could have one more." If you gave me 2 beers, I'd be fine; but give me a 12 pack, and I can polish that off also.
Exercise. I'm pretty lazy and sedentary. I golf sometimes, and practice, but that's not really strenuous. I get about zero aerobic activity. And the worst part - if it wasn't so unhealthy, I'd have no problem with that. I realize that it's not the correct mindset to have, but that's where I am right now. I hike once in a while, but it's so hot around here in the summer that you have to go early or it's just not fun.
So here's how I'm trying to address these issues...
Eating. I've cut way back on meat. A few times a week, and on special occasions (like the cookout we had yesterday). never more than once a day. And I try not to have more than 1200 calories a day. All the fat content stuff kind of takes care of itself If I watch that. I make a mental note of how many calories I've had, and make eating choices accordingly. It's definitely put a dent in my snacking behavior. Pretzels are a healthy snack, for example, but if you go back again and again, and wind up eating half the back grazing after dinner, that's not healthy. I'm trying to eat more veggies and fruit for snacks. I'm trying to eat smaller portions, and have "mini-meals that a more like big snacks". And my secret weapon? Diet Pepsi. I know that stuff is pretty nasty if you read the label - but it is more filling than water, and suppresses the appetite.
Drinking. Less beer. There's a beer night for me. If I'm out, no more than 3 beers for social sake. If I want to get my drink on, its whiskey. Not really super healthy, but I can't take down too much of the ol' gut rot, and it's a lot less fattening than beer. Of course, at 50 calories a shot, it's not like drinking... Diet Pepsi.
Exercise. Eh... cough. I'm holding off on this. Usually my mental jihad against exercise has to addressed mentally first. The other issue is that being so overweight makes the exercise harder than it needs to be, and makes it less likely that I'll com back for more. My agreement with myself is that to go as far as I can with improving my eating habits, and when I hit the wall, I'll add exercise into the mix. I'm guessing I can drop another 10 pounds before I lose momentum, and need exercise to keep the progress moving.
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6 comments:
Just so I get this straight...you've lost 10 pounds in a week WITHOUT exercising and I have been working my ass off daily on the treadmill, completely cut out the beer and have eaten nothing but healthy and have only shed a pound and a half. Life is not fair.
What a coincidence, I was 40 pounds over weight too. But I have shed 4 pounds in the last four days. However, I do not recommend stress, anxiety and trauma as a pleasant dietary plan.
As a filling drink, zero calories, I like lemon/lime seltzer water with a wedge of lime squeezed in.
And I agree with you on the exercise portion, however it is only an avoidance excuse, you do realize.
Good luck, and keep going. Very proud of you, as ever.
I like to eat whatever I want and exercise to compensate, even if that means running 30 miles a week to make up for my doughnut habit. Eating healthy is good too, but I find that when I'm working out enough, I crave the veggies (and a big steak), it isn't a chore.
lol - that post seemed to strike a nerve. I'm kind of taking the inverse approach to Seamus's plan. By limiting my caloric intake to 1000-1200 per day, I don't really have to exercise yet.
To clarify, I intend to exercise, I'm just putting it off until I lose some of the weight. It's not healthy to do just one or the other, but I'm not going to get real far on that treadmill until I shed what amounts to a fully loaded daypack worth of fat.
Doughnuts? Seriously? I thought you were a bagel man. I think the only thing going for me is that I am so not a sweet tooth. More of scotch and chronic tooth.
"I do not recommend stress, anxiety and trauma as a pleasant dietary plan."
Actually, stress and anxiety are great appetite suppressants. Depression, on the other hand, will have me reaching for the large bag of pizza flavored Combos.
Proud of me? You DID read the part about the whiskey, right? Did I fail to mention that when I drink that bottle of Jameson, I take Wendy out into the backyard, toss her over the fence and throw rocks at her until she fights the neighbor's dogs?
That's the joy of owning a runt - they are so tossable. I should have bred her instead of getting her fixed, and I could have sold "tossable Bernese mountain dogs."
A mother's love knows no boundaries. I guess that's carte blanche to be a creep! ;)
"A mother's love knows no boundaries" . . . just check in with Mrs. Jones about that. Oh, and dropped another half pound in last 24 hrs. Stress, anxiety and trauma diet still on track.
As far as the Jameson, hmmm. I'll leave that one alone. You know how much I like my White Zin. (Although it is definitely been outlawed on the stress, anxiety and trauma diet.)
I'll call the B-day girl around 5:30 tonight, your time if that's o.k.
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