GETTING STARTED WITH WEIGHT LOSS
SUMMARY/KEY LEARNINGS:
For those of you that don’t like reading, don’t wanna hear my story, or just want to jump straight to the key points, I’ll always try and summarise my key learnings at the top of every post. Hey, you’re welcome.
- It’s gotta be your decision – if you’re anything like me, acting on what other people are telling you to do, just won’t last!
- Start slow. Start by taking one little thing out of your diet and keep it out. For me it was the 2nd sugar in my coffees.
- Start slow. Add one little activity to your day and do it every day!
Getting Started
After being released from hospital I couldn’t actually do much. When you’ve got a big chunk of blood clot stuck in your lungs, breathing hurts and there’s mad pain throughout your chest every time you move. For the first few months I actually put on more weight.
I was doing less than ever and eating as much as always!
Life started getting back to normal and I had no more excuses for not doing anything. My family started to remind me about losing weight. I don’t like being told what to do, and it’s not like I didn’t know this already. I got grumpy about it, but deals were struck and these 12 week weight-loss plans were printed out.
The Numbers Were In & They Weren’t Pretty!
Weight: 127kg
BMI: 40.08
Waist: 137.5cm
Goal: Lose 5kg in 12 weeks.
Sweet, it’s on paper, you’ve made it real- Now let it go.
That’s what I was thinking. But no, my partner wanted to create meal and exercise plans too. I’m more of a figure-it-out-as-I-go kinda guy, so planning what I was going to eat for tea in 5 days time annoyed me even more!
For a few weeks we were eating shit-loads of salad, and working out 3-4 times a week. We’d go for short runs and do round-the-house workouts like skipping and burpees and stair running. I hated it! I hated the running the most. When you’ve got a huge gut and moobs (man-boobs), running is just painful! It feels like your stomach and pecks are being sliced off with a knife.
As the weeks turned into a couple of months, the intense healthy eating declined and the workouts got few and far-between. But I had lost weight. I actually met the goal! I’d lost 5kg in 12 weeks and now weighed 122kg! I was pretty happy and felt like I’d proved a point.
A couple of months later my mate was back from the UK and announced his engagement. He asked if I’d be his best man. This terrified me! I’d have to make a speech and I’d be on show in front of everyone. When the wedding clothes arrived from the UK, nothing fit! I jumped on the scales and I was back up to 126kg!
I’d put on nearly all the weight I’d lost! Dammit, I’d looked back!
The wedding was about 5 months away and I was adamant I would lose weight. I knew I could do it but there was no way I was going back to the intense workouts and planned meals. I figured I needed to lose at least 15kg to have any chance of fitting into those clothes.
I wanted to add exercise to my daily routine, but I knew that if I hated it, I just wouldn’t do it. It had to be part of my day and not rely on being motivated to do a workout. So, I decided just to get off the bus a couple of stops early everyday on my way home from work. That’s it! For the first couple of weeks I just jumped off the bus 2 or 3 stops early and walked the remaining few hundred meters home.
I figured it made sense to apply the same logic to my diet. So I looked for the easiest win. Given the amount of sugary, sweet, delicious coffee I drink, taking just one of those sugars out seemed like the obvious choice.
How awesome for you 🙂 this is the first time I have read something that I can actually relate to… just straight up talk and no excessive motivational b.s so thank you 🙂 … time for me to have a better healthier life
I read this about 7-8 months ago and started a ‘no sh**e’ dietish just missing out anything that I knew was stupid to eat. So a reasonably unhealthy meal-ok, but sweets, crisps, biscuits for just pure greed NO! I’m down 3.5 stone(no idea kilos) and feel much better. Time for phase 2:fitness also. Thanks. A combination of straight talk and realistic goals is working for me.
Wow, that’s awesome Peter! Check out the resources page, I just published a guide you might find useful. Keep up the great work man.