Smarter

Eating smarter and making some powerful changes to my lifestyle resulted in losing 91 pounds in 2010 and 2011. 

The transformation I experienced led to a deep passion to help other people experience the same things that I had. 

So, today, I want to remind you of that. No matter what you have been through, no matter how things might have gone in the past, today can mark a new moment in your history. 

You are powerful beyond measure to affect change in your life, and the power of food is one of the greatest tools to help you. 

I hope that what I share on this blog and my obscure website will empower and inspire you to improve your food choices, not just because of the impact they have on your weight, but because the right foods can help make you the best version of yourself.

Welcome Back

I did not post for a long time. 

The first reason was that I regained some weigh and I realized that it would be hypocritical to write about weight loss while gaining weight. 

Then, I got COVID-19 and after recovering, I felt that I deserved to allow myself to eat the “good” food.  

It is not the first time that I moved away from the healthy weight that I worked so hard to achieve eleven years ago. In my previous mini weight gains since then, when the scale showed that I am 10 or 20 pounds above 170, I would go back to stricter compliance with the approach that had led me to the weigh lose before, and it would bring the weight back closer to the 170 pounds point. 

Why would I let myself gain weight? The answer is simple. My arrogance. I thought it wouldn’t be a big deal if I gain a few pounds, because I was a positive example of successful weight loss and I knew how to lose weight if needed. 

Now, however the difference between 170 pounds and my current weight it so big that I am ashamed to write it here. Fear, my strongest motivation for weight loss, is forcing me to take action. My blood test showed that I am very close to diabetes. 

So, the weight loss journey starts again. It actually already started six day ago and I am relieved that it is working. Today, the scale shows that my number is 3.4 pounds lower than what it was on March 2^nd. 

You Will Fall off the Wagon

It is not a question of if - it is a question how quickly can you get back on.

You will fall of the wagon because you are only human, but do you get back next morning, next Monday, or a year from now?

When it happened to me, I used this rationalization: Well, I blew it, I might as well just eat whatever I want.

Unfortunately, with this kind of thinking, small lapses can turn into long relapses.

When this happens, we can undo a lot of positive effects of our weight loss efforts. It is key to get back to your weigh loss supporting behaviors as soon as possible.

Do not wait until tomorrow morning, next Monday, or January 1.

There are many ways to avoid success in life

There are many ways to avoid success in life, but the most sure-fire just might be procrastination. Procrastination is simply the process of putting off something that seems difficult. The bigger the challenge, the more difficult it seems and the more likely you will be to put it off. 

Everyone uses procrastination at some point in their life. Procrastination is all about putting it off until later. It is a learned habit that we create for ourselves to avoid something we are not willing or ready to do. Procrastination allows you to read the health magazines and continue to be inspired by others’ weight loss success stories. Then you focus your thoughts on all the reasons why today is not a good day to start. 

You need to adopt a new approach; “do it today”. This is easier said than done but writing the reason why you want to lose weight can really help you to focus on achieving it. When you are procrastinating this means your “why” is not important enough. 

Why do humans often procrastinate and in particular, why do overweight individuals put things off and do not try to fix their weight problem “sooner than later”? What do you think?

Doing it differently

There's this wonderful sense of renewal with the New Year, and it gives us hope that we will turn things around. 

January 1 inspires most of us to dream big. For many the New Year means a fresh start. On January 1 we make all kinds of promises that “starting tomorrow, things are going to be different.”

And while making the resolution to lose weight is easy, keeping it, can be a challenge. New Years’ resolutions rarely bring the lasting change that you hope for.

The number one resolution - losing weight - makes sense considering the epidemic of obesity and related diseases, and our genuine desire to look and feel better.

Take advantage of these moments of clarity at the start of the New Year and take actions that would commit you to making good decisions in the future.

When you are decide that losing weight is more important than what you are giving up, then you are ready for action and you will likely succeed.

Temporary changes = temporary results

Anything that requires change can be difficult. Yet, in order to learn and grow and make progress, you have to change.

Recognize that change is difficult and move on to decide what is more important to you, losing weight or continue to eat only the food that you like (no change).

Losing weight and keeping it off is not very easy. But there are ways to make it easier. It is still going to be hard work. There are no shortcuts. No temporary changes will create permanent results. Which means you need to change your perspective. It means you never get to be “done.”

The bottom line is always the same: to lose weight, we must consume fewer calories than we burn. To keep it off, we must adopt permanent lifestyle changes. Making a lifetime commitment is essential.

Truth, or more precisely, an accurate understanding of reality is essential foundation for any good outcome. Radical transparency is invaluable for rapid learning and effective change.

To begin effective change, you must see the change as being a necessity. If the change is just “nice to have”, it won’t be sustainable because anything “nice to have” is also “ok not to have”. The stronger your desire for the change, the more effective the change will be.

Environment matters

Environment is the invisible hand that shapes human behavior. You don’t have to be a victim of your environment. You can also be an architect of it. 

Do your kitchen clean out. Double check what you have in the fridge and pantry. 

Get rid of the bad stuff - soda, chips, candy, processed and sugary baked goods - and stock up your fridge with healthy food instead. Food like fresh fruit and vegetables, and lean proteins. 

There is something tremendously empowering about physically throwing away the things you are choosing to remove from your life. 

Environment matters, so make sure the best choice is the most obvious one. 

Making a better decision is easy and natural when the cues for good habit are right in front of you.