So let me tell you a little story about a guy that went to go to visit a friend in a nearby country and when he sees him he realizes that this person, that he used to work with in diving years ago, is significantly smaller than he is. I'm the big guy in this situation and while some of my weight is muscle, most of it isn't. It didn't feel good to see the pictures of me and him together because I looked like a lump and he looked about the same as when I first met him more than 20 years ago.
We used to be the same size. He kept to one path and I went to another.
It was during this visit when he put on one of my shirts and it looked like a tent on him that I decided that very big changes were going to be necessary in my life because I, like most people, don't want to be fat.
src
Yes I know that is Jay and Silent Bob, but I am still not going to put images of me online. Just think though! It will be so much more interesting for you when you meet me.
So I got back and realized that I can't just have these wild notions of "i'm gonna try to eat differently," I don't think that this works and I have heard so many people say it before. I can't think of anyone that ever said "i'm gonna try" and actually ended up succeeding. I feel as though that is setting yourself up to fail before you even begin.
So instead I got out a notebook (of the paper variety, I am old-school) and wrote down the things in my life that are likely contributing to me being a big boi and what I could reasonably change about these things.
The main thing that I identified was my alcohol intake. That had to change immediately because if there is one thing in life that is chocablock of calories and no real benefit, it is booze and in particular, beer.
src
I stopped drinking sodas like Coke a long time ago because I realized that they are a really stupid thing to drink and are super unhealthy. But for social reasons I never cut out beer. As you can see they are essentially the same thing from a caloric standpoint but beer is probably even worse because there is no chance I would have 6 cokes in a night but for me anyway, 6 was kind of a warm up when it came to beer. I reckon at least 3 times a week I was having more than 10 beers per day. I "light night" for me was to have 4. This is a crazy amount of empty calories for me to be including in my regular life.
Also, most of my food orders were delivery and most of that was delivery of the worst kind. I would regularly eat pizza and burritos and anything of that sort that you could imagine. Over here in Vietnam, these companies are not required to tell you the nutritional values though but I don't think you need to be a scientist to realize that eating 3/4 of a loaf of bread with a full block of cheese on top of it (pizza) is NOT healthy. It doesn't matter how many vegetables you put on top of it.
src
Despite having many smaller shops I tend to order from the chains because they are consistent and I am a low-class person I guess. Well, this is a stupid amount of calories to have in a meal and it has almost no nutritional value either. So that had to go as well.
Now I am eating balanced meals such as meat and potatoes, or I will order a specialty salad from one of the health places in town. You have to be careful with salads... just because a place says they have a "salad" doesn't meant it is good for you.
At first I wasn't too focused on exercise but that is gradually changing. Not because I am lazy, i'm not. But because I read somewhere, it might have been here, that doing some sort of activity that you hate is a great way to ensure that you are not going to do that activity anymore. I started out small but lately I have been pushing myself to do more and more.
I will get into greater details about what I am doing in future episodes of this process but just know that I started out at 98kg (216 lbs) and my goal - which I WILL accomplish - is to get to 88kg (194 lbs).
It's taken some dedication but honestly, I don't think it is that difficult. I'll let you know more about it when I have more time to talk about it but for now I think that if you are reading this and want to try to emulate or join me on this trip you gotta put in the time to really think about what the bad parts of your lifestyle are, and then focus on actually changing them.
You can't just "try" because if you do, you will fail.
Best of luck to you! I admire your willingness to change! Aside from my friend who had a heart attack, when I decided to start being more active, I made sure to do it as soon as I thought of it. What I mean is, we were pretty close to the new year, but I didn't want it to be a resolution sort of thing because most people give up on those. I wanted it to be a lifestyle change. Now, here I am several years later and I am still doing the 4:30 thing every weekday morning. My wife also logs all her food and for the most part I eat the same things as her, so I know that my food intake is pretty decent. With a few exceptions that I occasionally post about here on Hive :) I think the biggest issue is the fact that I only have about 20 minutes to work out before I have to get around for work. Getting up at 3AM isn't an option, so I know we are probably just getting the bare minimum of activity we need.
man I am so not a morning person but every huge success story that I see out there always involves people that wake up early for it. There must be something to the early morning routines. How much have you lost since you started doing that?
Honestly, I don't think I have lost anything, if anything I think I have gained. I think part of it is muscle though because I am definitely more toned that I was. My blood numbers are all better than they used to be too. Like my good cholesterol is up and my bad cholesterol is down. My blood pressure is better, and like I said my heart seems to be good. I'm kind of resigned to the fact that I am just old and my metabolism sucks. I'm sure if I went on a really strict diet I might be able to shed a few pounds, but I'm not there yet. If things don't turn around and I get in that 275 to 300 range I will likely put my nose to the grindstone a bit more. I've been right around 250 for most of my adult life though, so I can't be doing everything wrong. I'd like to tell you getting up early gets easier with time, but it really doesn't!
well that's a shame but I do know that muscle weighs more than fat and this is why people that don't exercise but just do diet only will tend to lose more than people who do exercise... but this is just vanity, not health. Especially when people just do a fatty carnivore diet they are probably shortening their lifespan by doing that. I would rather have some meat on my bones and actually be healthy.
I'm with you there. I had read that as you get older the best chance you have to burn more fat is to build more muscle because your metabolism isn't going to help you. Plus a lot of the metabolism stuff is genetic anyway, so that's why I started adding weights into my routine.
Perhaps I'll get back into weights. There is a gym in my building so why not?
Sounds like a great idea!
A man with a plan lol. You have good intentions now I hope you stick with the plan. Actually quite funny how meeting someone after a few years can be life changing. I had something similar so it is a good point to start at least to become healthier. I can let you in on a secret and that is beer is quite fattening and equates to 4 slices of bread for every one you consume. I started drinking spirits instead and it does seriously help.
me thinking that I am just not going to drink anymore is not realistic. I knew that beer was high in well, basically all bad things, but I never made the connection with 4 slices of bread. That make the comparison even more absurd. So that means on my bender days such as the bowling days, I am eating like 2.5 loaves of bread. Ridiculous isn't it? I switch over to spirits this week as well and see what sort of difference it makes. I am logging my weight 3-4 times a day now with "piggy" so it'll be interesting.
Being fat is not safe because you are prone to diseases like heart problem, diabetes and high cholesterol.Sodas or softdrinks or any processed drinks or foods are not good for the body because it has lots of chemicals like preservatives. IT is safe ans healthy if you make your own juice and cook your own food.
Wow. We are the same. I'm changing my lifestyle too recently, because I was diagnosed again of kidney problems. I was diagnosed 12 years ago and that was the last time but I forgot the dos and donts and I was diagnosed again last week of uti so I'm changing for the better. This post is very significant ❤
that's a very good reason to stop. I hadn't really thought about my internal organs but that is important as well. very important. You only get one set of them!
I really love to drink Sodas just like Coke but as my friend told about the bad side effects I decided to stopped. And connected with this piece of information of yours, I really discouraged it. ☺
It's amazing to me that so many people are unaware of how absolutely awful for you Coke is. I guess they spend a lot of money hiding that fact.
Yes I think also. Coke and any soda is not already part of my life as best drink. 🤣
Maybe try to replace softdrinks and beer with tea. I agree with the pizza, but I'd still love to have it once in a while. 😆 Good luck with your health and weight loss journey! 💪🏻
I've replaced it with water. If I am in a social situation I have soda water / club soda with lime. I still drink on some special days and will throw out my diet for special occasions such as friends visiting from out of town. This is not a sprint, it is a marathon.
⋆ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘʟᴀᴄᴇ ғᴏʀ sᴏᴜᴛʜᴇᴀsᴛ ᴀsɪᴀɴ ᴄᴏɴᴛᴇɴᴛ ᴏɴ ʜɪᴠᴇ
⋆ sᴜʙsᴄʀɪʙᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴀsᴇᴀɴ ʜɪᴠᴇ ᴄᴏᴍᴍᴜɴɪᴛʏ
⋆ ғᴏʟʟᴏᴡ ᴛʜᴇ ᴀsᴇᴀɴ ʜɪᴠᴇ ᴄᴏᴍᴍᴜɴɪᴛʏ ᴠᴏᴛɪɴɢ ᴛʀᴀɪʟ
⋆ ᴅᴇʟᴇɢᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ʟɪɴᴋs 25 ʜᴘ⇾50 ʜᴘ⇾100 ʜᴘ⇾500 ʜᴘ⇾1,000 ʜᴘ