So it's January 1st.
I'm standing on the scale at home, and the number says 331 pounds.
New Years Day is the day where people attempt to make resolutions. Most of the time it's about weight. Eating better, getting better, whatever the case may be.
Jodi and I had committed to going low carb and eventually keto in an effort to lose weight because truth is we need to.
I didn't want to do the low carb diet. Diets had always either failed me or I failed them and in either case it didn't seem like there was compatibility between me and a weight loss plan. Aging is a bitch too, with lower testosterone levels and hardly anything resembling metabolism as part of that package I was resigned to the fact I would always be on the heavier side. Its not as though I didn't care I just felt there was nothing that would actually work.
I promised Jodi I would do this with her; that we would do this together, and I began to scour the web for recipes that were tasty but fell into the low carb ballpark. Lucky for me I'm one of those people who will eat something that tastes good and find very little that doesn't taste good.
Even with that, there was the issue of commitment. Could I stay true to this when I hadn't done so with other attempts before? Am I finally ready?
I decided if this was going to work I had to have a few things going for myself. I wanted to do this on my terms.
So the first rule was to cut out the one thing I know I would want more than anything. Potato. It's kind of a prerequisite to cut out all sugars and starches with low carb, but I know taters are the one food that would wreck me and my effort. If I let myself have a little here and there then eventually I would be making excuses to have it all the time. I had to quit it cold turkey.
Second was not bringing home soda (or at least no longer buying 12-packs and cases). Next to the taters, this was a commitment I needed to make some major effort on. I drank way too much soda and even at work I do. But I didn't need to do it at home as much. I felt by substituting sparkling water in place of soda (the unsweetened, natural essence flavored kind) at least that would help cleanse the body more.
Third rule was counting carbs and reading labels. There's no way to avoid all the starches and sugars but knowing what I am eating and what it's made of does make a difference. Low carb recipe books are all over the place and people post tons of keto friendly and low carb recipes to try. Again with my agreeable taste palette this was a win win in order to try new things or old things new ways.
The fourth rule was Cheat Day. A day where if I went off the beaten path and ate pretty much whatever I wanted I would do so shamelessly with the understanding that there's only one day like that per week and the other six are on the up and up. This rule has been mostly followed. I have added a cheat day here and there but even then I still never went too far overboard.
The fifth rule was all about motivation. Focus on CAN, not CAN'T. I always looked at diets as negative. Worried about what I can't have and can't do. It's easy to get discouraged with that mindset and having a setback. I believe that CAN'T leads to WON'T and WON'T leads to NEVER. On the flip side I believe that CAN leads to WILL and WILL leads to ALWAYS. So I chose to push forward.
My first cheat day came just two weeks in at the company work party. The spread was pretty rich and extremely tempting. I was down 8 pounds at this point and while I didn't feel much different I felt good about the progress. I actually behaved through dinner being conscious about what I ate... until desert. A scoop each of vanilla and mint chocolate chip topped with caramel and hot fudge. Man that tasted so good. After that, I stopped at Taco Bell. I stuck with my rules and got right back on the horse the following day.
Along the way there have been a few other cheat days. In each case, I never let the guilt get to me and continued to focus on what I needed to do the rest of the week.
It's now May 12th.
I'm standing on the scale at home and the number says 281 pounds.
I'm still clinically obese and I still have a long way to go to get down to a healthy weight.
I've been blessed with a tremendous support system. My wife, my family and my friends have all been pushing me to keep going. I know now that I can do this. I have shed 50 pounds in 4 1/3 months and I'm not slowing down if I can help it.
