Here I am again. Twenty five pounds over my ideal weight. It’s all paid for, I worked on it a long time but it weighs on me. It makes me downright depressed. So, how did I get here?
Five pounds at a time.
Does it work that way for you also? A couple extra pieces of pizza, a few more cookies or a couple handfuls of M&M peanuts and BAM, five pounds show up. However, at that point, it’s only five pounds. No problem, I’ll get that taken care of, no problem. No problem, is what you keep saying as you have that extra serving the next day and week afterward, until suddenly you’re ten pounds over.
The logic continues on until the day that it’s twenty five pounds. At this point, there’s no more logic that applies, because now your clothes are telling you they need to be replaced. So, it’s become a financial decision. Buy bigger clothes or lose the weight and so, here I am again.
Why is it harder to lose weight than gain it? I think weight loss is like watching water boil or waiting for the bus. Everything goes faster when you are not paying attention. And that’s how you start gaining the five pounds, then the ten, fifteen, twenty, twenty five, STOP, down to 20, 15,10,5 and so on. Up and down forever.
The best thing to do is start a purposed lifestyle. Start paying attention to what you eat, what you do and how you look.
1. WHAT YOU EAT. Eat real food with plenty of nutrients. Your body craves nutrition and when you eat the right foods your body will be satisfied. It’s not quantity but quality. Stop piling on the portions and cut back a few spoonfuls, furthermore stop eating for taste. That burger tastes good but save the third one for another time.
2. WHAT YOU DO. Try some exercise. Park further away and walk through the parking lot. Try exercise during commercials. Yep, get out of the recliner and up on your feet or down onto the floor. Can you do crunches throughout the commercial? Running in place? Stretching? Whatever, be active.
3. HOW YOU LOOK. A few years back I read a book by Jim Fixx, author of “The Complete Book of Running”, and within that book he gave advice about weight maintenance. He recommended, throwing the scale away. It frustrates you and doesn’t measure your fitness. Instead, stand in front of a mirror after your shower and evaluate your body to determine where you need to apply exercise.
Do it on purpose, do it all the time. Keep after it or all you’ll be doing is managing five pounds at a time.