I ran into several people who haven't seen me for a few years at a conference last week. They each commented on how different I look. My beard is one aspect of the new look, but the 60 or so pounds that I've dropped since I finished grad school have also changed my appearance. The reminders of what I used to look like got me thinking about how my lifestyle has changed since I weighed 265 (give or take a few pounds). So what did I do to lose 60 pounds?
1) I decided from the beginning that losing weight would be about changing my lifestyle. I wouldn't try any programs, gimmick diets, or weight lose products. Living healthy was the goal. Losing weight was just an outcome of the process.
2) I stopped eating to the point of nausea. Burrito night was the first time that I recognized that I was eating far more than I needed to on a regular basis. I was pretty full after 1 burrito, but I would eat a second one anyway. I would frequently be forcing down the last few bites. Fortunately, I recognized the lunacy of eating to the point of feeling sick. I started paying attention to whether I wanted to eat because I was hungry or just felt like eating.
3) Cut way back on eating out, both sit down and fast food restaurants. I started trying to lose weight when my wife was trying to get pregnant with our first child. (He's about to turn six to give you an idea of how long I've been following these steps.) One of the first things we did to pursue a healthier lifestyle was to cut back on eating out. At my heaviest I had fast food for lunch EVERY day of the work week. I went back and forth between Taco Bell and Wendy's. We would eat out for dinner almost every night of the week too. The dinners out were eliminated first. Now we go out to eat once, maybe twice a week. Young kids make it harder to go out to eat too.
It took me a long time to stop eating out for lunch everyday. I pack a lunch these days. It's pretty much the same thing day after day. I have a Clif bar (I buy the big multi-pack at CostCo), a bag of Veggie Chips (again, big box at CostCo), an apple (always organic, see next point), and a banana. I mix up the different kinds of Clif Bars to give me some variety. The Veggie Chips come in three varieties so that keeps things from getting stale too. When I do go out to lunch, I go to a local grocery store that has a salad bar. I get a big salad, some soup (nothing cream based), and a bagel. My other option is usually Chipotle.
4) More meals with ingredients from the produce section, fewer processed foods. I pay more attention to the quality of what I eat more than the calorie content. When I was at my fattest, if I didn't eat at a restaurant, my meal probably came from a box. All of the crap they put in that processed food could not have been helping my ample waist line. My wife's decision to get healthy has had a huge impact on my health. When she started eating better, I was an eager convert to her new meals.It really helped that Trader Joe's and Whole Foods opened up nearby right when we were starting to focus on the quality of our food. We eat as much organic produce as possible, especially if the skin is consumed. I don't worry about getting organic bananas, but I ALWAYS get organic apples. I love breakfast cereal, but I always buy the organic brands over General Mills (although I eat Cheerios almost every day, it's good for the cholesterol) or other national brands that run commercials during kids shows. (It was very hard to pass on Count Chocula over Halloween.) Sure it costs more to buy organic (our local Kroger has a great organic section so that helps us limit big trips to Whole Paycheck), but we look at it as an investment in our health.
5) Keep moving. I go to the gym three days a week, but I try to find as many ways to stay moving as possible. Just walking around beats just sitting around. I take my kids outside to play, we take family walks, and hit the playgrounds in our neighborhood. My desk is way in an extreme corner of the building. That gives me plenty of opportunity to walk around to check on the progress of a project or just get ice from a cafeteria. I sometimes walk through the basement to give me an extra set of stairs to climb (my desk is on the third floor).
I'll list five more lifestyle changes that have helped me drop 60 pounds in the next post.
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