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I was obese, with no real motivation to change. My friends and family loved me, I led an active lifestyle, and I was relatively happy. I told myself that diets were too restrictive, too complicated, and ultimately didn't seem to work for most people. But honestly, the main reason that I didn't "go on a diet" was fear. I was afraid that I would try to lose weight and fail. So I didn't try at all.But then I found my motivation.
I am an avid canoeist, hiker, and backpacker. Imagine a 5'4" female adding another 40 lbs. of gear onto a 198 lb. body. My feet couldn't bear all of that weight, and I started having intense pain when I walked. I complained to doctors about my foot pain, and they made vague suggestions about orthotic shoe inserts, but I knew that my weight was the culprit. So I decided that rather than give up my favorite activity, I would [gasp] try to lose weight.
It was January, 2006. I had an expedition canoe trip planned for July, and I wanted to get into better shape, and resolve my foot pain, before I had to carry a 60 lb. food pack on one of the infamous mile-long Boundary Waters portages. So I made a New Year's Resolution (I NEVER make New Year's Resolutions!) to lose weight. I knew that in order to lose weight, I had to change my eating habits, but I didn't think I could follow a commercial diet. I needed something uncomplicated that would take no real planning. Plus, I wanted a strategy that I could follow for the rest of my life, not just while I was trying to lose weight.
I started out with a simple plan. I ate what I normally did for dinner, but I gave up desserts and switched to diet soft drinks. I ate whenever I was hungry, but chose low-calorie snacks like baby carrots and 100-calorie popcorn bags. I quit going back for seconds at mealtime. My one daily treat was a Starbucks grande, non-fat, no-whip peppermint mocha. I exercised for at least 30 minutes at least 4 times per week.
I was in charge. I didn't have a book or a web site telling me what I could or couldn't eat, or what I needed to do for exercise. When someone offered me desserts or French fries or doughnuts, or anything similar that would put me off-track, I would just say, "Thanks, but I'm not eating that right now." I had the freedom to treat myself occasionally, but I knew that treats needed to be the exception rather than the rule.
I made it through the month of January, and though I had changed my eating habits, sticking to my plan really hadn't been that difficult. January 31st rolled around, and I knew I had done well. I eagerly anticipated seeing how much weight I had lost. I stepped on the scales, and after a whole month, I had lost… 5 lbs.
Just 5 lbs. I was discouraged that I had lost so little. I talked about it with my co-worker, Rob, and he gave me the best "dieting" advice that I have ever received. He told me that he has seen many people try to diet, only to become stressed and miserable in the process, and ultimately they fail. He said that if a person isn't happy, then that fact alone could be more harmful than the extra weight they're carrying. As far as fancy diets go, Rob told me that the bottom line was calories in vs. calories out: if you burn more calories than you consume, you'll lose weight. He encouraged me to stick with my plan, since it was a good lifestyle change and I was having no difficulty following it. His advice made sense, so I continued with my plan, even though my results were disappointing.
February brought a few more changes to my strategic plan. I discovered lower-calorie, pre-packaged frozen lunches! I decided that purchasing these lunches would be an easy way to eat a satisfying meal without going overboard on calories. I made rules for my lunch purchases: they had to cost $2 or less, and they had to have less than 300 calories. I added an apple to complete the lunch. This combination was tasty, filling, and turned out to cost less than the lunches I had been consuming before the "lifestyle change".
I made other changes in February. My initial fear of not being able to stay with my plan had dissolved, and I started paying more attention to my dinner choices. I didn't eat higher-calorie foods as often at dinnertime. I stuck with my exercise schedule and upped the intensity a notch. I started weighing myself once a week. By the end of February, I had lost…another 5 lbs. Two months had passed, and I had only lost 10 lbs. But I was content with my plan; in fact, I was still amazed at how easy it was to stick to it.
At this point I need to say something about exercise. I knew that exercise was crucial to my weight loss plan. I also knew that in order to get into the type of physical condition that my canoe trip would require, that I needed to exercise at a pretty high intensity. However, I wasn't a slave to the gym. I worked out 4-5 times a week, and each workout only lasted between 30-60 minutes. Still, sometimes I was completely unmotivated to do this. On those days I would do one of two options: I would either attend a group fitness class, or I would do some form of exercise at a lower intensity. I felt like it would be a mistake to completely miss a workout just because I didn't feel like doing what I had intended to do.
I stuck with my plan through March. I decided that I had done pretty well since the first of the year, so I treated myself to a dish of Graeter's black raspberry chocolate chip ice cream. I felt no guilt. By the end of the month I had lost…another 5 lbs. And a whole pants size! I was so excited and proud to purchase my first pair of size 14 pants in years. I was actually doing it. I was losing weight.
I continued with my "lifestyle change" throughout the year. I lost 5 lbs. a month-no more, no less-for the rest of the year and through the first 3 months of the following year. I treated myself to desserts or to some of my favorite fried foods every so often, but I made sure that these foods were the exception rather than the rule. I varied my exercise routine and increased my intensity as my weight dropped. During the process, my friends would ask me how much weight I planned to lose. I would just smile and tell them that when I stopped losing weight, I'd have the answer.
I'm now 52 years old. I lost 75 lbs. and have kept the weight off for over one and a half years. I went from a size 18 to a size 4. My feet quit hurting. I was able to stop taking one of my blood pressure medications. My total cholesterol level dropped 42 points. I had tons more energy. And the most amazing thing? It just wasn't that hard! I didn't diet-I just changed my eating habits. My only regret is that my fear had kept me from making a change years ago.I know that many people are in the same place that I was at the beginning of 2006. I also know that there are many ways to lose weight successfully. For those who may want to try doing what I did, here are some tips that I found helpful:
1. Find your motivation.
You need to do it because you really want it, not because you feel guilty, or you think it's what you "should" do, or because you think it will please someone else.
2. Be realistic; be happy!
Determine a plan of action that you can realistically follow. Treat your plan as a lifestyle change rather than a diet. Don't try to do too much too soon. Don't deprive yourself of everything that you enjoy. Make small changes, particularly at the beginning. Keep it simple, especially if you already have a hectic lifestyle. Revel in small victories, and don't be concerned if you don't lose as much weight in a certain timeframe as you hoped. Remember, it probably took you a long time to gain the weight, so you shouldn't expect to lose it overnight.
3. Make exercise a priority.
Be faithful to exercise regularly-and vigorously. Check with your doctor about an appropriate activity level, then push yourself to achieve this limit. Unless there is a medical reason that limits your activity, you should be working beyond your comfort level. Sweat! Breathe hard! Make the most of your exercise time.
4. Be friends with your scale.
About 9 months into my "lifestyle change", I started weighing myself every day. I used the same scale, I wore the same clothing, and I weighed at the same time of day. I saw that my weight fluctuated as much as 3 lbs. from day to day. So I don't get anxious or discouraged if I weigh a little more on one day than I did the day before, as long as my weight falls within that 3 lb. fluctuation. However, if my weight goes beyond that 3 lb. range, I know it right away and can adjust my eating habits to stop the upward creep.
5. Don't compare!
People who follow a strict diet often lose a lot of weight really fast. TV shows like "The Biggest Loser" showcase some fantastic accomplishments, but you shouldn't feel like a failure if you can't reproduce the same results. You are not on a diet; you have adjusted your eating habits. You are doing this as a lifestyle change. Don't get discouraged if you don't lose weight as quickly as someone else. You are much more likely to make a permanent change by losing weight slowly.
Losing weight has made a huge difference in my life. Changing my eating habits has resulted in health benefits that have exceeded my wildest hopes. The only difference between you and me is time. Now it's YOUR time to change.
