I realize that I lump myself in with the millions of cliche Americans that vow every new year to make themselves less fat. I KNOW that I've gone on more diets and eating plans than I can remember or care to count. I'm to the point now where I don't even mention it to people if I'm doing something to try to lose the weight.
I suppose I'm breaking that right now as I'm about to complain about my current weight loss venture. I'm fat. There aren't any nice ways to put it. Now I have not ballooned out to an all-time high, but I am fat none the less. Normally this wouldn't bother me. I would simply drown the sorrows of my fatness inside the maple-buttery goodness of a plate of Solo's chicken and waffles. But, I have a kid on the way. And I would prefer not to leave my wife a widow in her thirties and my child fatherless due to his/her father's lack of self discipline.
So this approach is a bit different. I've curtailed my use and consumption of sodas; yes, even the diet ones. I drink large amounts of water each day even though 50% of the time I can't stomach it. I hate water. What a horrible drink. More so in the morning when there's still remnant sludge inside of my mouth making the water taste even worse. I'll have the occasional coffee or tea, with no sugar and no creamer but for the most part am trying to drink as much water as I can.
I own P90x, an intense work out program geared to kick my butt and turn me into a hunky piece of man-meat. I said i "own" it. I did not say I "use" it. I've tried. But the leap from doing nothing to starting P90x is a huge one. Instead, I've purchased a six-week cardio-max work out from, you guessed it right, The Biggest Loser. I figure if I can get through 6 weeks of this perhaps the leap to P90x won't be so drastic. Bob is the devil disguised behind a happy fit man who likes to smile a lot when he works out.
I enjoy the biggest loser dvd more so than the P90x one because it's FAT people working out. I LOVE IT!!! I feel at home. I remember vividly going through one of the P90x workouts and feeling horrible about myself because the dude with the prosthetic leg on the dvd did better than me with my two healthy natural legs. I can't even outwork a ONE LEGGED MAN!!!!
On top of the dvd and the lack of soda I'm also trying to eat like someone who isn't a 500 pound fool with a death wish. I usually have one of those "instant breakfast" drinks in the morning because I'm not a morning eater. For lunch I'm usually eating a turkey sandwich with some swiss, VERY little mayonnaise and some Baked Lays. And then for dinner I'll eat what we normally have, I just only get one serving instead of 2 or 3 or 4.
I'm fat and I'm tired of being fat. I've got it cemented in my mind that there is no quick-fix here. So let's hope these small changes begin to equal a couple pounds a week off my fat body. I see people all around just shucking off weight. I see friends losing it by the truck load. I see family members who continue to lose. I see wives with their husbands (their very fit, very healthy, very toned husbands) and I feel bad for Melissa because she's stuck with me.
So here's to change. I'll keep the blog posted on how much weight I'm losing each week. I weighed in this past Monday and will do so again Monday morning. Let's hope I can keep this up with more discipline than I have in the past.
After all, what baby wants a fat dad?!?!
until next time....adios!
a brief look inside the mind and thoughts of a husband, father and minister....
Awesome!
ReplyDeleteI hope I don't sound like condescending weight loss guy, but from my experience it sounds like you're handling it the right way. It's easy to lose 10-20 pounds real fast with a hardcore diet, but if it doesn't come with a lifestyle change it'll come back.
The best thing I did to lose weight was stop eating like a gordo (which it sounds like that's what you're doing), but also counting calories. I know it sounds like no fun, but understanding how many calories you can have in a day takes some of the stress out of it for people that like a good burger once in a while or that sometimes over eat (both of these describe me).
Knowing that it actually takes WAY more calories than people think to gain weight, if you stumble every now and then, you won't give up. I figured out before I started losing weight (75 pounds ago) that I was pulling in 3500 calories a day. Average healthy diet is 2000. Over the last two years I've gradually lowered it a few hundred calories every few months (if you drop more than like 500 at a time it can actually stall weight loss) to about 2100.
Exercise is important too, but if the diet isn't right, then it won't do much. The two of them in conjunction will combine with powers like Captain Planet. That's probably how you'll look when this is all done, minus the suit.
Anyway, sorry for the long winded comment, and I really hope I didn't sound like jerky weight loss guy. Good luck!
-Eddy
I'm proud of you Asa, and you too Eddy! Losing 50 pounds (yes 50) was the best thing I ever did. It's not easy, it took me 2.5 years to do it ( I had my ups and downs), but in the end it is so worth it. Hang in there!
ReplyDeleteLove you guys,
Erica