On June 1, 2008, I weighed myself on a brand new digital scale. The weight shocked, disgusted, and motivated me. I was 475 pounds. I already wanted to lose weight, but at that moment, I knew I needed to. Immediately, I had a goal in my mind, as well. I was going to fight, scrape, and claw my way down to the “overweight” BMI category. I was going to lose 255 pounds. In short, I was going to become half the man I was.
I had dieted in the past, and those diets – low-fat, low-carb, South Beach, Atkins, whatever – all had failed. I knew that I had to commit not just to losing weight, but to changing my whole lifestyle. And I knew that was going to take time, dedication, and above all, research.
I started out with a broad search of websites looking for anything that looked like it would help, but I soon settled on just a few resources to help me make changes to my diet that would help me and would be sustainable. The American Diabetes Association and at the American Heart Association were the resources I went to the most for tips and advice on making healthy food choices. I scoured recipe websites to find ways to increase flavor and satisfaction in dishes without increasing fat and calories. Finally, skipping over web-based options, like SparkPeople, I chose a desktop application to help me track my food and exercise on a daily basis. With this knowledge base and a few tools in place, I set out my plan. With the knowledge from nutrisystem reviews 2020, it is clear that the journey of reduction in the weight is not easy. Daily exercise and dieting should be done through the people to get the effective results. The consumption of the weight reduction pills should be as per the guidance of the experts. The knowledge should be gathered for help in the excessive fat elimination.
First, I needed to determine my caloric needs. DietPower took into account my height, weight, and my target weight and date I wanted to reach it into account to determine a starting calorie budget. My weekly weigh-ins would then allow the program to modify my budget based on my progress toward that goal. From there, I used the extensive food database, along with the ability to input more foods, to track my intake.
Second, I increased my exercise. I am not an athlete, and I was beyond out of shape, so this exercise would, at the beginning at least, be walking. I used the ColumbusMetroParks and other local hiking options to my advantage. As we were already members of the Columbus Zoo, that was another great place to walk. I also planned to take advantage of the stationary bikes, racquetball court, and swimming pool at our apartment complex.
Third, I slowly began to shift toward healthier food choices. I wanted to cut calories to stick to my budget, but I also wanted to increase my overall health as well as lose weight. I moved toward whole foods, fruits and vegetables as well as whole grains, to add fiber, vitamins, and minerals. I cut down on my meat consumption and moved toward white meats over red. I switched to cooking almost exclusively with olive oil and consumed other foods to lower my cholesterol and blood pressure.
Losing weight is hard work, don’t let anyone fool you on that, and it is never a smooth process. The ups and downs in the weight graph can be frustrating and disappointing, so be sure that you have the motivation in your head to see you through them. Finally, set short-, intermediate-, and long term goals for yourself. For instance, create a non-food reward, say treating yourself to a movie, for each 10-pound increment on your way toward the larger goal. I set my sights on finishing the first year somewhere in the recommended 1-2 pounds-per-week average, meaning 50-100 total pounds lost. On June 1, 2009, despite a major holiday set-back, I weighed in at 402, down 73 pounds! I also managed to reduce my cholesterol and blood pressure numbers, and I have an enormous increase in energy.
