Where Do I Start?

I’ve recently fallen off my exercise horse… I’ve had a minor surgery on my arm that required me to take a week off from all activity that could cause my blood to pump extra fast. Seriously, doctors orders. I thought I could at least run, it was my arm so you’d think. But no… doctor said no. It was this last week in which I discovered I’d finally made exercise a habit that I WANTED to do. It’s taken me years to achieve that goal. And in a week of sitting on the couch taking it easy it’s hard to get motivated to get back out there. What helps is remembering where I started.

What else helps is whenever someone finds out that I’ve lost 50 pounds. They generally only find it out when I mention it, honestly. No one else hears about how I box twice a week, run three times a week and lift another three times a week and assumes there was a time that I didn’t. I think most people, me included, assume that kind of lifestyle is something that person has always done. Because when you don’t do the same you cannot imaging getting to that point, ever. I know… because there was a time I was 250 pounds and had no idea how to become that person.

Recently I was talking to someone who doesn’t know where to start but knows they need to lose some weight. To be real with you, they have already gotten to the starting line when they realize they need to do something. I’m not a physical trainer, therapist or nutritionist so please do not take my words for that level of professional advice. What I am is someone who made a life changing decision and got where I wanted to be. I’ve stayed there. And if nothing else I say stays with you, just remember that I’m not one special. I don’t have a naturally high metabolism, I’m not part of the 10% of the population with genetics giving me a model figure… I’m a regular person. Think about that… if I can do it there is no reason you cannot.  So let me tell you where you can start.

1. Anywhere. Literally. Once you know what you need to do it can get overwhelming. I know when I set out to lose 65 pounds originally, the number itself scared me. It took years to pile that weight on and I had to come to terms with the fact it would take years to get it back off. I just had to start. So let go of the overwhelmed sensation, embrace that this will take work and set yourself a course. Either start by increasing your physical activity or improving your diet.
2. It’s OK to get help. Some people need a professional to give them a plan. That’s why you can hire physical trainers or go to a gym and take boxing lessons. You are not alone, there are people who exist with the sole purpose of helping improve your living condition physically. I was broke, so I went home from my doctor and called my brother. My brother used to be a physical trainer so I asked his advice. I’ll never forget what he told me. He said I just needed to get on a treadmill and walk on a ‘hike’ setting for half an hour, and that every time I wanted pasta I had to eat a vegetable. That sounds simple… but you don’t know my love of pasta.
3. Make sacrifices. Like pasta. Or beer… or sleeping in on the weekends. If you set yourself a course and you have the desire to follow it, you will have to make sacrifices.  I gave up mayonnaise on my sandwiches, fries and beer on my nights out, my lazy after work routine… it has to change. You know this… you’ve seen that you need to make a change, now you must be ready to do it. If it was easy everyone would be able to sit where I am telling you this. It’s not but remember… if I can do it, you can do it.
4. Take a hard look at your fridge. As I mentioned above, you’re going to have to make sacrifices. You’re going to need to re-evaluate how and what you eat… and when.  Aim for more small meals, more often. It helps keep you from gorging in one sitting and keeps your metabolism up. At first, it will feel like you’re starving. That was the hardest part for me but it made me realize what my problem was. You see, I was not lazy. I walked 20 minutes to my college classes and back, in the Alaskan winter. I just had a serious food problem.  There are plenty of resources online that can help you retrain yourself to eat better. I like baking and cooking, which is perfect because you will have to cook for yourself A LOT more than you think. Throw out the Campbell’s and get some chicken to bake instead. Toss out all the salt and stick with a little pepper for kick. Get rid of the ranch and use oil and vinegar. When you need a condiment on a sandwich pick an avocado instead of mayonnaise… Everything adds up.
5. Keep track. Log your workouts, log your food and keep a progress journal. My sister who was with me every step of the way logs here information on paper. She tracked her measurements and I tracked my weight.  I used a very helpful app called MyFitnessPal. It’s completely free and chock full of dietary information. You can log your weight, your workouts and your food in one place. It’s as easy as scanning bar codes. It’ll put your calories burned into your calorie budget for the day and deduct the calories from the food you log. It’s simple and I probably would not have lost the first 30 pounds without it. It also has the menus from several major restaurants in it so you can look up what to get for yourself and you’ll be sure you’re not blowing your calorie goal each day.

Overall, the message is the same. Once you know you need to start you’ve got the first part down. You just need the confidence to know you can make it and the strength to get through to the end.  It took me 2 years to lose my weight. I got down to 6 pounds away from my goal weight. My goal weight was arbitrarily set at my high school weight so I adjusted. After 2 years I stopped logging on MyFitnessPal and decided to try it out for my own. It’s been 2+ years since then and I’m holding steady at 200 pounds. It’s not my BMI (which is not a good goal to be honest) and it’s not my original weight but it is my happy weight. Your happy weight is where your weight stops swinging and you are stable without trying, basically.  I don’t think I’m fat… I run 5k every week and I eat pretty much what ever I want. I think that makes me the perfect happy weight! You can find yours too, you just have to start!