1000 Posts / 100 Pounds Lost

BRaye325

So here I am on the day I just hit the 100 pound lost mark. I'm contemplating what the key items are that continue to help me be successful with my fitness. I am a firm believer in paying it forward to share whatever works for me so perhaps it can help others that may be where I started last year. Here's my thoughts:

Focus, Track, Move - that's it!

Focus - I'm a numbers nerd and it hit me as ironic that on this day, I also tallied my 1000th post on MFP. If last year someone told me, just start posting comments, questions, suggestions, encouragement, and positive feedback on a fitness website and for every 10 posts, you'll lose a pound, I would have laughed at them. However that's exactly what happened to me. Plugging myself into the social circle here on MFP is what keeps me focused daily on my own goals. It keeps my priorities in line. My health & fitness is something I need to pay attention to every day!

Track - Just do it and do it honestly. My mind can get very creative when lying to myself and tracking my calorie intake needs constant vigilance. It's really almost second nature now that I've been doing it for 419 days. I can recite the calories and macro nutrients on 80% of my diary. Eyeballing portion sizes I'm good at, as long as I want to be, but I find measuring needs to be a pretty regular thing to make sure I stay honest. I need to track everything, everyday.

Move - It doesn't matter if you're only up to picking up one arm and waving it in the air or dancing the chicken dance - do whatever you can do. Last year I struggled to even walk, but I did. Now, I'm riding my bike, lifting weights, gardening, and wrestling on the ground with my grandsons. It means so much to your health to just move!

My initial plan started as just - Track. Then after a couple months it changed to - Track, Move. The last element of adding Focus really happened by accident and has turned into the best thing that could have happened to me. I've made many friends, gotten a great education, and helped others. I'm truly blessed to have the opportunity to learn about how others deal with their health and fitness issues. It's made me more open-minded. I feel like I finally have a mature plan for my continuing good health.

Raemama

Like! Congrats on your success. Nerds are cool.

believeinme0430

Great job!

urloved33

What a great story. thank you for posting ..incredible job!

BRaye325

Raemama wrote: »

Nerds are cool.

Yes we are - and we can give you the stats on that!

20paws

BRaye325 wrote: »

So here I am on the day I just hit the 100 pound lost mark. I'm contemplating what the key items are that continue to help me be successful with my fitness. I am a firm believer in paying it forward to share whatever works for me so perhaps it can help others that may be where I started last year. Here's my thoughts:

Focus, Track, Move - that's it!

Focus - I'm a numbers nerd and it hit me as ironic that on this day, I also tallied my 1000th post on MFP. If last year someone told me, just start posting comments, questions, suggestions, encouragement, and positive feedback on a fitness website and for every 10 posts, you'll lose a pound, I would have laughed at them. However that's exactly what happened to me. Plugging myself into the social circle here on MFP is what keeps me focused daily on my own goals. It keeps my priorities in line. My health & fitness is something I need to pay attention to every day!

Track - Just do it and do it honestly. My mind can get very creative when lying to myself and tracking my calorie intake needs constant vigilance. It's really almost second nature now that I've been doing it for 419 days. I can recite the calories and macro nutrients on 80% of my diary. Eyeballing portion sizes I'm good at, as long as I want to be, but I find measuring needs to be a pretty regular thing to make sure I stay honest. I need to track everything, everyday.

Move - It doesn't matter if you're only up to picking up one arm and waving it in the air or dancing the chicken dance - do whatever you can do. Last year I struggled to even walk, but I did. Now, I'm riding my bike, lifting weights, gardening, and wrestling on the ground with my grandsons. It means so much to your health to just move!

My initial plan started as just - Track. Then after a couple months it changed to - Track, Move. The last element of adding Focus really happened by accident and has turned into the best thing that could have happened to me. I've made many friends, gotten a great education, and helped others. I'm truly blessed to have the opportunity to learn about how others deal with their health and fitness issues. It's made me more open-minded. I feel like I finally have a mature plan for my continuing good health.

Thanks for sharing... I'm on day 4

Timshel_

Awzzzzome!

BRaye325

urloved33 wrote: »

What a great story. thank you for posting ..incredible job!

Thanks and for the FR!

andyajc2015

great job !! congratulations on your success

RunRaineyRun

BRaye325 wrote: »

Raemama wrote: »

Nerds are cool.

Yes we are - and we can give you the stats on that!

I admit it, I snorted when I read that.

RunRaineyRun

p.s. so many congrats on losing 100lbs! That is truly amazing.
Also the 1000 posts... I like round numbers

RoseTheWarrior

Awesome accomplishment! I'll be in your 100 lbs lost club eventually! It's great that you're posting on here and paying it forward. Much like

IILikeToMoveItMoveIt

Yay!

deescrafty

Thanks for your story. I needed that motivation!

BRaye325

Your welcome, here is some more of my 'plan'

Motivation
It has to begin with your commitment to reach a destination at some point in the future - Decide, who do you want to be?
- I created a visualization to help me stay on track. At the beginning of my journey, I pictured myself laying on my basement floor, fat, unhealthy, and badly wanting out of that basement. My goal is to crawl my way out, climb the stairs up to the second floor, run up the attic stairs, out the window to sit with my two grandsons on the roof to gaze at the stars - a healthy slim medication-free new version of myself.
- Now as I am progressing it helps me tremendously. The 100 times a day I need to remind myself why I am making the tougher decision, I picture both that end goal looking at the stars with my boys and exactly where I am on my journey. So far I have climbed the basement steps and the steps to the second floor. I'm ascending the attic stairs, currently on the 6th step. Now it's running up the rest of the attic steps to the roof. Still a long way to go, but I've come so far.
- When I do stall on a step and even take a step or two backwards, I remind myself that I started on the basement floor and I'm a long way from there. I brush myself off, decide again - who do I want to be? and move forward.
- You can do it too! - Decide

pwrfl1

Loved the little unknown fact that posting equates to pounds lost!!!

BRaye325

pwrfl1 wrote: »

Loved the little unknown fact that posting equates to pounds lost!!!

Yes, who knew???

PurringMyrrh

I love the fact that you got smaller and the bass got bigger! :laugh:

BRaye325

PurringMyrrh wrote: »

I love the fact that you got smaller and the bass got bigger! :laugh:

My profile slogan reads, "Larger bass, smaller ***"

kimberlyhurt

BRaye, you're the best!

BRaye325

Thanks Kim! It takes one to know one.

BRaye325

My Top 10 Guidelines:
1) "Visualize the journey" - see above. It gives me ongoing perspective and really helps put me quickly back on track when I falter.
2) "Liar Liar" - be honest with myself. Many of my past attempts have failed because I cheated on myself. Log everything that goes in my mouth - everyday.
3) "Me" - this for me. Give myself permission to be selfish when it comes to my health and fitness. I am always the guy that does anything for everyone else. I deserve this.
4) "Old dog, new tricks" - never stop learning and sharing my knowledge. Use MFP's community daily to find help and make sure to give back at least as much as others give me.
5) "Keep it simple" - don't complicate the process by doing unnecessary tasks. They will drive me crazy and make me fail. Example, I've learned that I am very good at estimating portion sizes, so I just spot check with the scale and measuring cups. As long as I keep hitting goals, that's the big picture.
6) "Small steps with patience" - Pick a best place to start and then see where I am after a month. Make adjustments one at time and then give it 2-4 weeks. It's "my plan".
7) "Don't panic" - the scale is just an instrument, it's not the enemy, it doesn't have anything against me. If it's not showing what I expect, give it more time and then re-evaluate what I'm doing and adjust if needed. It took me many years to get where I am, it isn't going to change overnight.
8) "Commitment" - step on the scale every morning to remind myself of my commitment to make each day a positive step forward - log my weigh-in on MFP once a week to get the big picture.
9) "Roll with it" - I can't predict what challenges are ahead, just do the best I can when they arise. Pre-plan and log ahead of time whenever I know I will be in a difficult environment, like going to a restaurant, get-together, or during a holiday.
10) "LIVE" - I'm in control, do not deprive myself of the things I enjoy. Most things I want to eat can be managed with pre-planning and portion control. A few will just need to wait until I'm at my goal and on maintenance.