Month: May 2017

This is more about changing yourself and your mind frame than pure health or fitness, I know. But I’m going to discuss it, because it goes to the core of what I believe led me to successfully lose 144 lbs and to get fit where others have failed.

I’ve discussed wanting to lose weight as much as a drowning person wants air. I’ve talked about being better today than you were yesterday. I’ve discussed perseverance, motivation, and dedication. Yet, I find people still telling me that they could never do what I did because it’s too hard.

I don’t judge people. Honestly, I don’t. But I do call out fallacies and excuses where I see them, and many people lean too heavily on the excuse of, “It’s too hard.”

No. It’s not.

To me, what was hard was climbing up a flight of stairs. To tie my own shoes without having to hold my breath. It was hard to fly on commercial aircraft comfortably. It was hard to sit in a booth in a restaurant (if not outright impossible). It was hard to experience tingling feet and nerve damage from Diabetes. It was hard to watch my blood sugar levels rising. It was hard watching life pass me by.

Getting healthy is not hard. It’s actually very simple, yet people are so tied to their lifestyles that they can’t imagine themselves without things like bread, pasta, beans, or ice cream. I can’t imagine going back to a lifestyle that made me so incredibly unhealthy and was killing me.

Perspective.

You need to really take a look at what is important to you. Do you have kids? Do you want to see them grow up? Do you want to meet and know your grandchildren? Do you like to travel? Do you want to experience new foods, places, things? Do  you have a bucket list that you want to have a decent chance of finishing? Are all these things worth a slice of cake every day? Does eating pasta outweigh the things in life that really matter? Does eating beans really mean more to you than living past 60?

We all have within us what it takes to make the necessary changes to be healthy, lose weight, and even get fit. You just have to make it a priority. I know it sounds easy, and I also realize that actually getting past the sugar addiction is very hard. I went through withdrawals and felt like I had the flu for three days when I cut sugar out of my diet. But afterward? I had a lot more energy and felt much better. It got much easier to avoid the sugar, grains, dairy, legumes, and soy because I never wanted to go back to how I felt before I quit them. Add to that the fact that my food is delicious and filling and it became a no-brainer.

I’m not selling anything. I receive nothing for any products I have endorsed (which, to date, is only fish oil). All I am doing is giving people the information I have learned through my own journey in weight loss from 312 lbs to 166 lbs.

What is the secret to my success? I wanted to do it more than I wanted short-term gratification that food provides. I changed my perception of what food is: from entertainment to fuel. Do I enjoy tasty food? Of course I do, and I prefer it! But I no longer eat until I’m stuffed. I eat only until I am comfortable. Eighteen months later, my stomach size has reduced naturally, and I fill up much more quickly. It’s a great feeling, and I know you can get there, too. You just have to muster the same inner strength you used to acquire that degree, diploma, certification, or title.

I was doing some research a few years ago about success, and I came across a quote that has resonated with me ever since. “You have to want success with the same intensity that a drowning man wants air.” That struck a chord with me, because I’ve wanted success in various things in the past, but never with such intensity. That changed when I embarked on this journey to become healthy.

I wanted to get healthy and to lose weight with more intensity than I’d wanted anything else prior. No food was as important to me as getting healthy and losing weight. No matter how beloved pizza, pasta, bread, or pastries were, I cut them out of my life. It was a fast, hard, and clean break, and I never looked back. Why? Because I wanted to be healthy far more than I wanted to experience the short-term gratification of any of those foods.

I have had family and friends who have told me that they admire what I did and that they could not do the same. To them, I say, “Bullshit.” They could all do it if they put their lives before their stomach. I never said any of those foods were bad; to the contrary, they’re delicious! They’re just not good for us! Besides, if I can eat a bunch of other foods that are just as good but better for my healthy, why not eat those foods instead? What is so special about bread, pasta, pastries, pizza, and hot dog (the buns are the killer here) that you can’t give up?

I love life. I want to keep breathing and experiencing things and being here for my family for as long as I can. I’m rather addicted to breathing. While I may accept a little risk in some areas, I won’t accept it through eating and being overweight. It’s something so easily controlled once you set your mind to it. Just like anything else, you can accomplish anything you want. You just have to want it badly enough.