My steps to weight loss are what worked for me....
*here is where I insert bs lawyer crap*
If you are going to start a diet or exercise regimen, please consult your doctor..everything here is my OPINION.
this is what I did..
What worked for me.
1.) Change your tape:
I am all about the brain. What your brain tells you, you believe.
Just about Every fat person I have ever encountered has had a negative tape somewhere in their psyche.
I had it...mine said:
You are fat and lazy. Why can't you just stop eating. You are not lovable. Who would love you when you don't care enough to take care of yourself. You look like a slob. etc.
It's boring to type. Boring to listen to and boring to read.
And it's a lie.
So...you can't just ditch that tape, you have to make a new one.
For the longest time, it was a big effort to simply stop the words above...or even acknowledge I was thinking them...let alone stop them, toss them out and answer with something positive.
A void must be filled.
I would say in my mind in response to the endless loop...
"I can't control tomorrow, only today.'
"I am lovable, my kids love me."
"You are taking care of yourself now, Yesterday is dead and gone"
.
But recently I have discovered that most of your mental processes are automatic. That means that I think you should 'program' your brain.
And I have found this speech. I think it's perfect.
I recorded it with freecorder and downloaded it onto my sony walkman. I am in the process of memorizing it...I listen to it two or three times a day while I work out.
so the next time my brain says "Who do you think you are!"
I will respond automatically, "I am a champion!"
CHANGE.YOUR.TAPE.
2.) Identify your opponents.
Like coach said....to beat them, you have to know them when you see them.
My opponents...
using food to cover emotions.
fear of confrontation
fear of men
fear.
living and confronting my fears...taking a self defense class, setting boundaries, learning who I am and what I am worth...
Identify your opponents...the things that are standing in your way....dig them up, hunt them down and finish them.
By any means at your disposal.
If you don't do this....you will continue to struggle without even knowing why.
You will lose 20 pounds and backslide, because unseen emotional triggers will trip you up.
otherwise how could you want something so desperately one minute and not care the next.
Your brain is telling you something.
It is saying something...you have got to get quiet and listen.
Then when you do, you have to fix it.
3.)This is for the rest of your life
This isn't a diet...it's for forever. There will never be a day when you can 'stop'.
So figure out the calorie level you can live with...figure out the exercise you are willing to do.
And do it.
There is no sense in eating figs and lettuce....and going insane three months in and regaining every.single.pound.
There is no magic pill...no special diet that will cure you.
To lose weight...you need to eat less and move more.
My maintenance plan is 1500-1600 calories a day and three or four 2500 to 3500 calorie days a month.
I work out six days a week.
This is my trade off. It's what I am willing to do to feel 'normal'.
This is your new normal.
accept it.
You will never again be able to use food as a crutch.
You will be forced to feel your feelings.
But it's good...it really is.
You will start to live again.
So to reiterate. Cap your calories-at the level you can live with...if this means you are 140 instead of 120...at least you are healthy...it beats yo yo dieting.
Contrary to every fat person'sbelief...your self worth is not contingent upon the number on the scale. Youdon't know that yet, but someday when you hit goal..you will understand. It was never the weight, it was about how you deal with life.
4.)when you slip...and you will slip...there will be something that drags you down.
Don't quit. Never quit. Pick yourself back up...and continue on.
Slipping doesn't make you a loser.
Quitting does.
NO QUITTING EVER.
5.) live...every day..with gratitude.
That's it.
When I started I was 262 lbs. I was huge...and miserable.
I had heart palpitations...could barely walk a half mile. Grocery shopping would wipe me out.
worst of all, I was too tired to enjoy my life. Too embarrassed to swim or wear shorts or really participate.
Now..I am 145 lbs. I can jog two miles in under 20 minutes, and do 78 situps under two minutes...and 36 pushups under two minutes...do an hour on the elliptical and still grocery shop, clean my house and play with my kids.
It is hard...but anything worth doing is hard.
Start today.
A year from now you will thank yourself.
