The Journey
So today I was able to weigh in on the infamous ‘doctors scale” (see changing scales)… so while the POS digital scale weighed me in at 342.4 (officially 64 pounds from all time high!) I went to the more acurrate scale… 347.0… I can live with that… so assuming that my all time high was accurate (it was at the real doctors so I believe it is close) I have lost 57.6 pounds (45 on the Lighten Up program since 6/8/08.. just under 2 months!)…
Eating is getting a little blan.. haven’t been making new dishes or trying new things (one thing I need to start doing again) and the exercise is still not where it should be. Water intake is also WAY down. These basics are all things I have to change now to keep going down the right road.
Just a quick note… after last weekends weight gain I was able to get back on track and refocus on the Lighten Up program.. today I weigh 349.2.. that is 57.2 pounds lost from my high of 406.4!!! And, Since June 8th (when I started the Lighten Up program) I have lost 42.8 pounds!
I believe this is the second largest weight loss that I have even had… and the first one was crash dieting and extensive exercising every day (I was 18 years old at the time. While I need to make myself exercise more often (I only made it to the gym once this week so far, and have not been on the bike or elipcitac at home at all) but the food part has been relativly easy. I do lose a protien exchange and a fruit exchange (going from 2405 calories to 2270) but I also get to live longer… so that’s a fair trade.
I feel good… I am wearing jeans again and some of my 3X shirts… I don’t feel as uncomfortable and not as self-concious about my size when I am in a group.
Steve
After this last weekend was over, I had gained 6 pounds! I really thought I was staying on track, and know I went over on my exchanges a little on Saturday, but I was shocked at the 6 pounds…
So Yesterday (Monday) I was fully back on and lost a little over 2 pounds… so I am refocused and anxious to get to below 350!
It’s really interesting the mental burden that gaining the hard-lost pounds causes… I tried my best to not beat myself up and to not lose sight of the big picture and the ultimate goal, but that is really hard sometimes.
I know that to get through this, I have to exercise more often.. that is the key, I think, to making this work at this point.
So when we got to talk to Richard on his Sirius Radio show on June 15, 2008, he invited us to come to his sudio in Beverly Hills (Slimmons)… we finally were able to make a plan to go yesterday (July 26) What an experience! Richard was friendly and very down to earth… we sat around him and we all talked for about 45 minutes before the workout… it was very cool… the thing that I found was how comfortable it was there… everyone was SO nice, and I didn’t feel uneasy as I usually would in a new environment with people I had never met… after we all talked, the ‘sweat’ class started… and boy did I… I am no dancer, and I have not done more than 30 minutes on an eliptical for aerobic exercise in the last 15 years… it was a killer workout… then we grabbed weights and toned… I never would have guessed that 5 pound dumbells could give me such fatigue in my upper body… then on the floor for some abs and glutes work… after it was all over, we got to say goodbye and thank you to Richard and get our picture taken with him… then it was home to recoup… I am so sore today that I could barely walk.. that is no exagerration… so I am going swimming to try to loosen up some
Thank you to Richard and all the staff that helped set this up
Steve
Hello!
So today is 4 weeks from when I started the Lighten Up program and when I got on the scale it show exactly 30 pounds lost!
That means 134 pounds left to lose! Very exciting and what a difference in the way I feel… I just did 30 minutes on the Eliptical… that would have been just a pipe dream a month ago… 3 months ago I woudl get winded walking 50 yards to my car! Plus my legs/feet don’t hurt like they were.
A few months ago I was not thinking about being active again, but now I am look forward to getting back on the tennis courts (something I haven’t done in almost 20 years) and other activities!
Steve
So I have had a couple of really hard days… and it reminded me of something I heard once (I wish I could remember who said it so I could give credit)… When I finally quit smoking, I quit cold turkey… from almost 3 packs a day to not even a puff… and it was so hard. But I still believe that if I had a single drag off a cigarette today that I would be smoking 2 packs a day in less than a week… it is much easier to not have any than to have a little… I’m sure that is true for drug addiction also.
It would be easier to just quit food… having to eat little amounts is way harder that quitting cold turkey (no pun intended). So as I had my ‘rough’ days I was tempted to not eat, which I knew was not a good choice.
To make the right choice to stay on the program and eat right I went back to something that I was told by a life coach a couple of years ago. Scott Chesney (www.scottchesney.com) made it clear how important gratitude is and how important it is to reflect on that every day. Now when I first heard that I thought “I am thankful for many things everyday already”, but that it so different than ‘actually’ reflecting on your gratitude. For a period of time, I wrote daily what I was grateful for. That is much harder than it sounds… but it really does matter.
So on the rough days I sat and really put some effort into thinking about what I am grateful for.. the obvious ones are easy… my wife and kids… my friends… my home business… having a place to live, in a wonderful and safe city… and then you have to start digging deeper.. and deeper… until at some point you can’t think of any more… when I did this one thing that came to mind was how grateful I am that I am in a position to be able to improve my health, appearance and life… and that lead to being grateful for a program that I have been able to see results with… so when I was sitting there hating being on a diet and hating exercising, my mindset did a 180… I am actually grateful that I am able to exercise and diet and see results from that.
So from that I was re-energized and focused and made it through to fight another day. This one little thing that Scott requested from me that most of us assume we already do made a huge difference… I urge each of you to take 5 minutes at the beginning or end of each day and write down what you are grateful for… there are no right or wrong answers… just take it in and feel grateful for every little thing you have… and keep going!
Steve
So it took me a long time to get in the frame of mind that I am in right now. I have known for so long what I needed to do to lose weight and be healthy. I have know the risks to my health and my life that being morbidly obese has caused. I know that I am shortening my life with my family and kids (whom I love very much)… but none of that mattered for so long.
Now I am looking toward the future. I know I have a long trip to lose the weight and get back in shape, but I see the road there now.. a few weeks ago I saw nothing. I know it will be hard, but I am looking forward in a lot of ways to proving to myself (and others) that I can do this.
How did I get into this frame of mind? I tried for a long time to get into it. I wanted it, but it just wasn’t happening… I was keeping myself from getting there. I know now that it took reaching out and getting support in return and, in my case, reaching out to someone outside of my circle of family and friends. I have a wonderfully supportive group of family and friends, and they are there for me whenever I need them, but I needed something else. I reached out and got some encouragement… then more… and then I found some success and now I am hooked.
I don’t know what will give you that push to get the frame of mind that you need, but I know that if you have tried before and failed, then you need to think outside the box… outside of the circle of support that you have and keep searching until you find it.. it is out there, and you owe it to yourself and your family to keep searching.. just like I did!