Losing weight or making money - similarities...

BinaryFu

I wanted to share a blurb from my personal blog this morning as I felt it may be of help to others just starting out as I am (for the 3rd and final time).

" I was taught many years ago - if you're excited and thrilled and nervous about an investment, you'd better think twice over it. If you're bored with the idea and just want to set it and forget it, as they say, then you're on the right track. Making money is dull and boring and predictable. You find what works and you keep doing it. I feel like losing weight may be the same thing - I have no need to do anything fancy or different, just keep plugging away, no major sacrifices necessary and I'll retire rich and trim." -Me

To expound upon this a bit, I was shown that if you have two investments, one is a 2% guaranteed ROI (return on investment) annually and the other is a 15% ROI with a risk of losing everything, your logical course is generally the 2%. That's how you make money, you find something that works, you repeat the process over and over again. Repetition is boring. Repetition however, is simple. You can train yourself to do it without thought practically.

Taking this same thought process to weight loss, I realized the method utilized by MyFitnessPal is just that - simple repetition. Lose up to 2lbs guaranteed per week (unless there's something medically wrong going on) or lose 10lbs+ per week with miracle X pill! With the chance of losing it all (by gaining it all back and then some) when you stop taking it.

My first week was up today and I had dropped 2.2lbs. I was...well...excited and yet at the same time perplexed. I didn't really feel like I had sacrificed all that much. I didn't switch to eating salads 24/7, I didn't go on a liquid diet, I'm certainly not busting my butt at a gym five days (heck, not even one day) a week. In short, it was simple, boring and predictable. They said 2lbs per week, I lost 2lbs. That's math, people.

I just followed the simple formula they use (and the same one we should all stick to):

Calories In < Calories Out = Weight Loss.
Calories In > Calories Out = Weight Gain.
Calories In = Calories Out = Weight Maintained.

Now other than that, I try to focus on protein first in my food choices and I try to make fats I eat worth it - like using real butter in my cooking and skipping desserts. I'd rather have a whipped herb butter finish on my steak than a cupcake, no question. But I do have a sweet tooth and to satisfy that, I've found that taking something I enjoy (Like, Junior Mints as an example) that has a large quantity for a serving size (Junior Mints are 16 = 1 serving, I believe) I will have ONE serving...throughout the entire day. So I might allow myself 3 Junior Mints (I keep bringing that up because I just invested in the company and I want you to buy a lot of them - kidding!) at a time, up to five times a day.

In doing so, I've found that generally I have that sweet tooth hit me only 2-3 times during the day, but I am now programmed that a serving of Junior Mints is three pieces, no more. So even if I have Junior Mints 4-5 times a day, it's still only one serving overall.

I also make sure to drink my water. Ice cold water, 8-10 cups daily. It really makes a difference. I don't get as hungry between meals, which is a huge plus for me.

So, that's my take on weight loss - once you understand the math, the first part of it becomes a lot easier. The second part is trying to find the healthy calories to consume while avoiding the bad ones. The Junior Mint example is a great little trick I've learned to help me feel satisfied and not denied.

What tricks do you use? Share!

majigurl

What?
No.. that theory doesn't work for me. Maybe for you, sure, fine. But no way me.

FUN FUN FUN! If I'm not having fun, I don't do it. lol

Yes, you need to understand what you are doing, but why can't you be excited and thrilled and "WOOT" about it also?

I'm always looking for new fun ways to drop this weight and get healthy(er). Swimming, rock climbing, dancing stupid to music videos.. whatever it is... I can't do repetitive boring. It's just not me.

Same with food. I LOVE trying new healthy meals. We hardly ever eat the same meal twice at my house.

There is so much opportunity for "woot" in life, why take the boring repetitive route?

Learn what works for you and the math involved, which you CAN make fun also , and go go go!! Get your "woot" on!

BinaryFu

majigurl wrote: »

What?
No.. that theory doesn't work for me. Maybe for you, sure, fine. But no way me...Same with food. I LOVE trying new healthy meals. We hardly ever eat the same meal twice at my house...There is so much opportunity for "woot" in life, why take the boring repetitive route?

Learn what works for you and the math involved, which you CAN make fun also , and go go go!! Get your "woot" on!

I can *totally* see where you're coming from on this and yes, there is a part of me that gets excited over losing weight - it's also the part that wants to step on the scale daily and fret over every pound I don't lose, or every time I step on and there's a gain that is nothing more than a daily fluctuation. This is why I'm weighing in once a week and not before. It's also why I'm looking at it from the boring, logical and repetitive side. If it's simple, boring, logical and repetitive, then that part of me can just relax and be excited later on - like when we've kept the weight off for a long time or...my *woot!* moments (I love that you use woot, I even use that in my oral vocabulary!)

Okay, so for me the *woot!* moments are: When I reach my milestones (First one is to drop below 300lbs) and make healthy DELICIOUS meals - I am very passionate about cooking, so that's where I get excited. Math is also fun for me and so understanding that formula really gets me stoked.

However, when it comes to losing weight, I don't want to get to the point of going, "Oh, if I do X exercise for X time, I can justify eating X more calories!" I have an addictive personality and I could see myself making every calorie count.

I'd much rather stop obsessing about food, exercise when it's necessary (like moving into our new home or assembling a media center) or when it becomes fun (I have a goal to be able to go rock climbing) and focus on making what I love to cook healthier (which is a fun challenge and I cannot see a downside to wanting to perfect my meals taste and health-wise.).

Cheers!