Motivation through documentation

Scrambyvision

Hello my fellow MFP members.

Last week I began my journey to skinnier jeans (not skinny jeans -yech). I have struggled with my self image since I was in 4th grade when a friend of mine said I had a potbelly. I have slowly gained weight over the years and topped out at 322lbs. I had tried exercise, tried all kinds of diet, and only ever saw temporary results, if any. I kept wondering why diets didn't work, and the results from exercise was so slow I lost motivation fast.

I have, however, figured out a solution.

First and foremost I looked at my dieting attempts. The problem with any diet is the mentality that we have about diets in the first place. We assume that if we diet, we'll lose weight. Which is usually true. However, we also assume the weight will stay off, however, as soon as we go back to our regular routine, we gain the weight back and wonder why.

The answer is simple. A diet is simply a temporary adjustment that yields temporary results. Hence, we lose weight when we diet, and gain it back when we stop. So why are we surprised by this? The truth is, we need to change the word "diet" to "eating habits" and change "temporary" to "life long." We need to change our life long eating habits in order to have life long results. And that's what I'm doing.

I know one of the hardest things to overcome are the cravings. People with sweet tooths really have it bad. Luckily, I don't have one. I did, however, grow up in Wisconsin and grew up in a house where every meal consisted of some sort of starch and almost always had bread along with it. Eggs, bacon, hash browns and toast for breakfast. Grilled cheese and soup for lunch. Spaghetti and meatballs with garlic bread for dinner. Pasta, rice, potatoes, tortillas, bread. I'm addicted to carbs and have cravings for them. Whenever I eat a meal I always feel unsatisfied if there isn't a starch or carb on the plate.

Through my research I have found that carbohydrates digest into sugar. And what isn't burned off is stored as fat. So, eating huge amounts of carbs is no different than eating huge amounts of sugar. Plus it throws off our insulin and blood sugar levels. So, reducing my carb intake was going to be key to my success.

The way I've found to help with this two fold. First, let's be honest. Eating one hamburger didn't make you fat, so, eating one salad isn't going to make you skinny. With that being said, if you have a huge craving, it's not going to de-rail you to indulge once in a while. Have a piece of cake. Have a slice of pizza. Just so long as you get right back on track. Better to indulge once in a while then to fall completely off course and revert back to your old eating habits. In fact, I set a side one meal of one day to be a cheat meal. Usually friday dinner. I can go out with my buddies, have a beer, some wings, and not get razzed about my new eating habits. With that being said, minimize as much as possible. Get the burger, but, skip the fries and have a salad. Have the pizza, but, get thin crust. Compromise and minimize the damage when you cheat. For me it's low-carb beer and grilled wings.

The other side of the coin is in substitution. I might want to eat noodles but not the carbs, so, I substitute by sautéing some broccoli slaw or zucchini spaghetti (as see on tv) in EVOO and get something pretty close in consistency to noodles and when it's covered in marinara I can't taste the difference. I mean, really, does pasta even have a taste? Honey for sugar. Mrs. Dash instead of salt. Salsa instead of sugary marinades/glazes. Cucumber water instead of soda.

So with all that said, I've decided on a low-carb/low-GI lifestyle. Gone are the days of eating a whole pizza. My burgers are going to resemble salads more than sandwiches. And I'm okay with that. Lots of baked/grilled chicken/turkey and oven roasted veggies. Steak/pork on occasion to break up the monotony. And eggs. I love eggs. Especially for breakfast. Plenty of low-carb/low-sugar fruit (no bananas/oranges, lots of berries and apricots/peaches) and veggies (kale/spinach/tomatoes/carrots/peppers).

All this leads up to my title of this post. To help myself with my motivation I will be documenting my achievement. In fact, I've already started. I weigh myself and take two pictures daily. I will do this over the course of a year and then edit them together with some catchy, over-used 80's motivation music (think Rocky, Scarface or Over the Top), and make a cool youtube video out of it.

I have about 100 pounds to lose. Healthdiscovery.net says a large framed male who is 6'2" tall should weigh between 172-197. I think an even 200 would be a good goal.

When I started on 1/11/15 I was weighing 312, I'm now at 305. And all I've done so far was change my eating habits. I will be adding exercise soon as well. First, will be walks with my dog after work. Eventually I'll get into weight training and cardio. One thing at a time I suppose.


Anyways,

Thanks for reading my post. Add me if you want to chat/motivate each other and share our experiences.

Good luck with becoming a better you!

Cheers!

Donnie

sarann444

Exactly! We don't need to look to "go on a diet". We need to change our lifestyle. Make the decision to be a healthier person! Quit eating processed foods, quit putting things into our bodies that hinder us from being the best we can be. Quit sitting on the couch watching TV all day and move! When we realize this is what we need to do we will succeed.