I've lost -74 pounds in less than 4 months

"Daily Discipline - My lifestyle change!"

People ask what I was doing to lose weight, so here it is...everything that I am doing! My first step is that I truly wanted to lose the weight. I compare this journey to me accepting Christ and walking with Him. I always knew that following Jesus was what I was supposed to do, but I had to make up my mind to do it! The same with my weight loss/lifestyle change, for years my family and friends said I needed to lose weight, but I had to decide for myself that is what I wanted to do. Enough preaching!

My weight loss program was designed by me for me. (Disclaimer: I am not a dietician or a personal trainer.)

My motivation is to be around for my wife, sons, & my family. I also decided that I needed to take better care of my “Temple” that God gave me. I didn’t want a doctor telling me that “I had to lose the weight or…”

My goal is to lose -120 pounds in one (1) year (3/1/10 - 3/1/11). So far I have lost -74 pounds with His help.

All 10 steps are equally important, but to me #10 has been the most important and the most educational! Below are my 10 steps.

1- I pray and ask God for His help with my will power. So that I can have DAILY DISCIPLINE.The Bible verse that I lean on for inspiration is: "Let us not become weary from doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up" ~ Galatians 6:9. The song that inspires me is "Run Til' I Finish" by Smokie Norful.

2- I don't get any calories from beverages (except V-8 vegetable juice); other than that it's water (at least 10 - 8oz. glasses per day), Sobe ZERO, Vitamin Water ZERO or PowerAde ZERO. With every meal, I drink HOT tea or HOT lemon water with no sugar (breakfast, lunch and dinner). I have not drank any alcohol (beer, wine, or liquor) since I have begun this journey.

3- I eat anything that I want (ice cream, steak, pizza, chips and dip, etc.) EXCEPT, I have not eaten ANY fried food. (I did have a ½ piece of fried fish and 1 fried green tomato to celebrate on June 1st ). I read every nutrition label and just control my portions. I eat 6 times per day breakfast, lunch, and dinner and a snack about 2 hours after each meal. I eat 2000 calories per day (I consulted my physician for my healthiest caloric intake)

4- I eat at least 2 servings of fruit per day and 4 servings of vegetables per day. I also make sure I eat some nuts (walnuts are best), yogurt & leafy greens everyday.

5- Most of the time, I eat at home or bring my lunch from home so that I know what I’m eating. When I do eat out, I have a few “safe” items (i.e. Subway Veggie Delight on wheat without mayo or cheese, Sonic grilled chicken sandwich on the whole wheat bun without mayo or cheese and salads are safe but ALWAYS get the dressing on the side because restaurants put too much dressing on salads and eliminate the croutons and bacon.)

6- I don't eat ANYTHING, not one (1) grape after 8PM! If I'm hungry I fill up on water or I go to sleep.

7- I work out 5-6 days a week. I started with 30 minutes of cardio with my Wii EA Sports Active or Wii Fit Plus and/or walking 1 mile. Now I’m up to 45-60 minutes of Wii & walking 2-3 miles. Right now it’s all cardio; I will start some strength training for toning after I lose -100 pounds.

8- I surround myself with a group of people that want me to succeed and that will encourage me to do well in this journey. And I only step on the scale once a week; the same day and time, every Monday morning before breakfast. I do Monday so it keeps me focused all weekend!

9- I had to focus on the nutrition facts and realize that the calories are base on the serving size. And most foods are packaged with more than one serving per container. I pre-portion most of my snacks (nuts, trail mix, etc.) by the portion size. I bought a food scale so I could be exact on my portions.

10- I journal EVERYTHING that I eat on www.myfitnesspal.com; I log onto it several times EVERYDAY (there’s an App for the Iphone) because it keeps me focused and encouraged. I can tell you everything that I have eaten since March 1st. It's very user friendly and similar to Facebook. My username is drucole, if you join invite me to be your friend.

As I was typing this up, it seems like a lot, but this is what I have committed to and seeing weekly results has made it pretty easy. I CANNOT & WILL NOT go back to my old eating habits and lack of exercise. I pray that this helps someone just remember that this is a lifestyle change, not a quick fix diet. And it takes Daily Discipline!

Best of luck & God Bless!
Drew