I GIVE UP!!! – Should You?

Giving up has been a healthy decision for me!



What did I give up on? I gave up on my overly restrictive diet and myopic focus on weight loss.
Why - due to failure?
Not Exactly – I lost 65+ pounds and achieved a low body fat %.



What was the problem?
-I looked like a skinny rat.
-My diet was not sustainable.
-Failure was imminent? My new lower weight provided me with a lower metabolism due to fat and muscle loss.
Without the support of lean muscle, minor easing of my diet resulted in the pounds returning. My diet was a trap!

So, I gave up on my OVERLY RESTRICTIVE DIET and focused on healthy choices:

1) Small calorie reduction
2) Eating back my calories when I felt like it.
3) Low fat protein, low glycemic carbs, Fruit in moderation, health fats, etc
4) I modified my exercise to include weights – not just cardio. High intensity interval training worked for cardio, why not weights? P90-X? Sure it fit into the principle that I was already following. Hello pull up bar, I will “own you” – one day?
5) And yes, I cheated -- Not for a whole day but for a meal, or two

..And so on.

In general, I did things in moderation -- including the changes above!

I didn’t want results overnight because I had already learned that they were just a long road to failure!
The pounds started to come off again but not as rapidly.
Some days my weight went up other days it went down.

No worries, I still stepped on the scale. I did my best to not focus on the changes and I gave it time. That’s not to say I didn’t give it plenty of effort... I pushed myself every day to eat better and workout with just a little more intensity.

And I feel great!


Do I still play around with making restrictions to my daily nutrition and leave some calories on the “table”? Sure. In fact, I am cycling my calories, fat, protein, and carbs around a bit to see how my body reacts.
However, for the time being I’m not imprisoned by a diet, treadmill, or elliptical machine.

Final thoughts:

1) Goals: Losing weight was the wrong goal for me -- Who really cares about what you weigh it’s how you look and feel. Right?

2) Exercise: Doing the same exercise is exhausting physically, mentally, and I think results bear that out over time – interval intensity, variety, and as P90-X would term “muscle confusion” are good things – mentally and physically.

3) Deficits: You lose weight by having a caloric deficit. This deficit is much more sustainable when you create it with exercise in addition to nutrition – don’t use diet alone!

4) Time: Gradual changes provide your body and mind time to adapt to a healthier lifestyle. Do it all at once and you’ll probably go back just as quickly.

5) Recovery: Counting sheep is an important exercise. Sleep is important for all kinds of reasons! You can fuel your body for optimal weight loss and do everything right. However, if you keep the pedal down the whole time you are more likely to burn out your motor

6) Failure is imminent when you accept a setback as being more than a temporary state. I have gained fat back, hit a plateau(s), need to take break(s), have been unable to exercise (insert reason here) and so on.. Don’t focus in on the “failure”. Some form of regression usually occurs anytime you make progress.

End of Rant