If a picture paints a thousand words, then a picture of a fat guy probably paints several thousand.
That was me. A fat guy. And the pictures were taken several years ago at my brother’s wedding when I was standing with my three, very thin nephews.
As I looked at the pictures, the Sesame Street song “One of These Things is Not Like the Other” kept running through my head. And I was the thing.
That was the day I started on, what has been a three-year odyssey to get thinner and in doing so, healthier.
For those of us that have struggled with their weight for years, losing it is easier said than done. There are so many places to start when commencing the journey. I realized my journey needed to start in my head. I needed to change the way I looked and thought about food. Again, easier said than done.
For me, the revelation came when I started to assess the quantity of food I was eating. Let me just say, I love food. I love everything about food. The way it tastes, the way it smells, the texture as it gently rolls across my tongue. Sorry, that was gross.
I started to cut back on what I ate. I found I didn’t need more than one helping of anything to be full. I just wanted it. So, I started not to want it. I also cut out eating anything after dinner. This was hard because I used to love a bowl of cereal right before bed.
But cutting down on food alone was not going to get me to where I wanted to be. So, I contacted a friend that was a trainer and asked her for help. She put together a beginner’s work-out that gradually intensified to where I could feel the difference.
In the first year, I went from 340 pounds down to 285. But I was nowhere near being finished.
Year two, I changed up my diet again. I cut out bread, which was like losing a best friend, and other carb related products. I also reduced the amount of red meat I ate and focused more on chicken, fish and vegetables.
Success begat success so as I continued to see the weight dropping off, it inspired me to keep going on a steady course. By the end of year two, I had dropped from 285 down to 210. And that is where I frustratingly sat for months.
Then a friend sent me a link for an abdominal workout video, provided by a sassy little Aussie in the form of a 20-minute visit to hell. I tried, not always successfully, to do the workout every night, whether I was up for it or not. At the same time, I started running. Not far at first but gradually adding a bit more distance. Gosh I hate running. But I knew it was helping.
For those of you sitting on the edge of your seats to see how much I have lost in total, and yes, I realize no one is sitting on the edge of their seats, drum roll please; I am weighing in these days at 187. While I’m not great at math, that puts my total weight loss at 153 pounds.
Is there one secret approach to take when losing weight? Yes, but I’m not telling. Just kidding.
I would simply quote Yoda: “No! Try not. Do. Or do not. There is no try”