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johnstonmrCurrent Weight: 268 lbs.
Target Weight: 200lbs
Two years ago, I realized one day that I weighed 310 lbs. That number staggered me -- I knew I was fat, but I honestly had no idea I was that fat. I resolved to get on the Weight Watchers program, and I did so. I didn't really exercise at all, but I paid attention to what I ate. The program worked despite my lack of exercise. On it, I lost 50 pounds over a year and a half. And that was good. But sometime after that, I fell off the program.
It was never a conscious decision: I never once said, or even thought, "Eh, whatever. Forget this." I just slowed down -- I reached the "plateau" that nearly all weight-loss gurus tell you about, and I got discouraged, and I stopped paying attention. This time last year, I weighed 258 pounds. I gained ten back by last christmas, and I've fluctuated between 260 and 270 ever since.
Well, enough of that shit. I'm back on the journey once more. This time, I'm trying something new. No Weight Watchers, no real "point counting" (though I'll probably still think about that at least a little). No, this time, I'm going to stop worrying so much about points, and worry more about what it is I'm eating. Which means healthier meals, and less eating out. Which means exercise, at least three times a week, in the school gym*. Which means walks, biking, and sleeping better. Which means, in a nutshell, working at it.
This doesn't mean I'm always going to eat healthily. There's still room in my diet for pizza, for hamburgers -- even the bad kind -- but those things have to be the exception more than the rule, now. They have to be treats, and not standard fare. No more eating fast food all the time. No more eating Carls Jr. more than once a month (if even that). No. More.
Because I'm sick of looking like a pear. I'm sick to death of looking in a mirror and grimacing. And I'm damned if I'm going to be huffing and puffing, bent over my knees, when my children want to play with their dad**.
I'm not dreaming, here. This is going to be hard. Damn hard. And, diet change or no, I'm never going to be running -- it's just not possible on my knee.*** But I'll be able to move quickly, and I'll be able to catch up to a four year-old, or an eight year-old, and not feel like I just ran the Bay to Breakers.
And I intend to keep journalling about this. This post is public, but future posts won't be. If you're interested in keeping up with this journey I'm starting -- whether out of curiousity, or because you're travelling it with me, or just to see if I succeed or fall on my ass -- let me know, and I'll add you to the filter. If you don't, I won't think less of you.
Ready? Let's go.
* My goal is to prove, to myself and to my wife both, that I can stick with a workout routine, and if I can do that, to eventually invest in home equipment (provided what I want can fit in the house, which isn't certain even with the folding stuff I like. I HATE working out in a gym, but if I can make myself go there and do that, then I can stick with it here. And, of course, I may decide in the end a home setup isn't necessary or worth it.)
**These would be currently hypothetical children. We're not breeding yet.
***Even when I was younger, slim, and in fairly good shape, I couldn't run more than 20 yards without hurting myself. It's a structural problem I've had since junior high, not a weight-related problem.
Target Weight: 200lbs
Two years ago, I realized one day that I weighed 310 lbs. That number staggered me -- I knew I was fat, but I honestly had no idea I was that fat. I resolved to get on the Weight Watchers program, and I did so. I didn't really exercise at all, but I paid attention to what I ate. The program worked despite my lack of exercise. On it, I lost 50 pounds over a year and a half. And that was good. But sometime after that, I fell off the program.
It was never a conscious decision: I never once said, or even thought, "Eh, whatever. Forget this." I just slowed down -- I reached the "plateau" that nearly all weight-loss gurus tell you about, and I got discouraged, and I stopped paying attention. This time last year, I weighed 258 pounds. I gained ten back by last christmas, and I've fluctuated between 260 and 270 ever since.
Well, enough of that shit. I'm back on the journey once more. This time, I'm trying something new. No Weight Watchers, no real "point counting" (though I'll probably still think about that at least a little). No, this time, I'm going to stop worrying so much about points, and worry more about what it is I'm eating. Which means healthier meals, and less eating out. Which means exercise, at least three times a week, in the school gym*. Which means walks, biking, and sleeping better. Which means, in a nutshell, working at it.
This doesn't mean I'm always going to eat healthily. There's still room in my diet for pizza, for hamburgers -- even the bad kind -- but those things have to be the exception more than the rule, now. They have to be treats, and not standard fare. No more eating fast food all the time. No more eating Carls Jr. more than once a month (if even that). No. More.
Because I'm sick of looking like a pear. I'm sick to death of looking in a mirror and grimacing. And I'm damned if I'm going to be huffing and puffing, bent over my knees, when my children want to play with their dad**.
I'm not dreaming, here. This is going to be hard. Damn hard. And, diet change or no, I'm never going to be running -- it's just not possible on my knee.*** But I'll be able to move quickly, and I'll be able to catch up to a four year-old, or an eight year-old, and not feel like I just ran the Bay to Breakers.
And I intend to keep journalling about this. This post is public, but future posts won't be. If you're interested in keeping up with this journey I'm starting -- whether out of curiousity, or because you're travelling it with me, or just to see if I succeed or fall on my ass -- let me know, and I'll add you to the filter. If you don't, I won't think less of you.
Ready? Let's go.
* My goal is to prove, to myself and to my wife both, that I can stick with a workout routine, and if I can do that, to eventually invest in home equipment (provided what I want can fit in the house, which isn't certain even with the folding stuff I like. I HATE working out in a gym, but if I can make myself go there and do that, then I can stick with it here. And, of course, I may decide in the end a home setup isn't necessary or worth it.)
**These would be currently hypothetical children. We're not breeding yet.
***Even when I was younger, slim, and in fairly good shape, I couldn't run more than 20 yards without hurting myself. It's a structural problem I've had since junior high, not a weight-related problem.
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While I'm technically doing Weight Watchers at the moment, I'm really only using it as a guide to get myself back on track with healthy habits. After trying every diet under the sun in the last number of years, it's most important to me to be eating properly long term and to be able to cook and put together meals that reflect that.
I'm with you on the gym-loathing. I've only ever been able to make it work when I've had someone else to go to the gym with. I've been doing a lot more walking lately--and having stairs to head up and down at home as well as being within walking distance of most of my amenities in an area where parking is impractical, if not impossible, have helped me fit more exercise into my every day--which long term is going to be the only way for me to sustain a level of exercise.
But I've been on my plateau too long, and have been too complacent there. I've only got 60 lbs to go, and for my health long term it needs to happen!
Fear my excessively long post of "I'm there with you!" ;)
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and feel good... I didn't realize exactly how over weight I was until I got on the scale and it screamed. (330lbs)
hugs
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Count me in...
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One of the things that has always helped me is to make a point to weigh myself every morning. If I lose wieght from the day before -- any weight -- I mentally pat myself on the back. If I gain weight, I scowl at the scale, blame water retention, and vow to make it go down tomorrow. Overall, I get a mental trend graph on my wieght, and it gives me the motivation to behave myself at the table, and work a little harder whenever I'm active.