I felt disgusted with myself
Last Summer (2021) I went on a boating trip with some friends. As we were having fun, inevitably someone took out a cellphone and started taking photos.
It was all fun and good, but when the photos were shared, I was horrified. The photo I saw of myself was not how I imagined myself. I felt disgusted with myself. That was the tipping point for me. I decided at that moment that I had to lose weight.
The game plan to lose weight
I went for the low hanging fruit first.
- I stopped eating all kinds of sweets: deserts, cookies, doughnuts, candy, soft drinks, etc.
- Then, I eliminated all kind of processed food. If it comes in a can or in a bag, I don’t eat it. The most difficult processed food to give up were the chips that I eat with my guacamole.
- Finally, the truly most difficult thing was to stop eating fruits. Fruits have a lot of sugar (fructose).
The next step was even harder. I started eating on a regular schedule. At the same time every day.
I started to weight myself every morning as soon as I got out of bed.
Then, I reduced my eating portions.
What do I eat
As far as what to eat. I try to maximize that amount of grains and vegetable. I am not a vegan, but I try to follow a plant base diet. I only eat meat or dairy products on rare occasions, maybe less than once every two weeks.
Yes, many people will endorse the eating of meats, eggs, and dairy products. My own experience is that you don’t need them and that your body will be better off without animal products.
The results were immediate
Sure enough. Almost immediately, I began to see results. The weight started dropping our of my body. I was losing about 0.5 lbs per day. then it did slow down. My weight went from 191 lbs to my current weight of 164 lbs. All that in about 3 months.
I cheat from time to time
I am not a purist. About once a week, during some kind of social event, I break my diet. I have a few margaritas with friends, drink a few beers, and eat a bit more than my regular daily portions. But these are deviation from the regular routine, they are not my day-to-day life, that makes a huge difference.
Physical activity
To contribute to my weight loosing goals, I also add some exercise.
Most weight loss programs try to sell us some rigorous exercise program, a training coach, or all kind of equipment. The truth is that just by walking 20 minutes per day, you are adding enough physical activity to keep your metabolism going.
My typical exercises is to do some abdominal exercises (no machinery necessary) and lift some light weight, as well as a few minutes of stretching.
You want to maintain body mobility by making sure you move and exercise all areas of your body within one week. The objective is to create a regime which can be maintain for many years to come. We are not under the stress of some kind of competition or short term goal.
If you miss one day, either by eating to much, or by not doing your regular exercise, that’s OK, you can pick up the following day, where you left of. The body is very forgiving.
If you want to life a long healthy life, it’s a lot easier doing it with a slim body than with an over weight body. It a lot better to lose a few extra pound that to buy another fancy piece of clothing to hide your excess weight.