As Im writing this, one thing I feel I need to do is either start counting the days again or come up with a better way to title these posts. Its messing with me a little bit because it seems disorganized. I just wanted to write.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ive been having the discussion more and thinking more about what it is that Ive done over the last year and a half to get to where I am. Others close to me have been on similar journeys, so its come up in conversation a bit. One thing Ive always been about is passing along the knowledge I have to others. I’ve had to come to terms with how people use that information. Ultimately, its up to them how they use it. Nevertheless, I want to put the information out there. Its already out there in droves. It exists. What Im doing is no secret, Im not going to charge you a fee or have you buy a book (am I dating myself with this?) to learn the secrets. Its not that complicated. Thats by design. That said, its been learned through quite a bit of trial and error to find what works for me. This is what I can tell you so far.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Are you ready to make a change in your life and put for the effort necessary to make that change, including being honest with yourself about your actions and your decisions regarding your eating and activity? I say this because I think we all get motivated to make a change. We’re tired of how we feel, how we look, how we act. I personally dont feel like willpower is enough. I personally believe that it requires an honest evaluation of our relationship with food and exercise. Why am I eating what Im eating? What does this accomplish? Am I eating because Im stressed? Because I dont know how to fuel myself properly? because I dont feel I have the time to cook? For myself, Ive been back and forth on this journey a long time. Im diabetic, at least since 2005. I’ve explored “diets” and lost weight and gained weight and been in shape and not in shape. And that sounds like every sales pitch you hear on TV or online these days. There are legit people out there who have lost weight and changed their relationship with eating and exercise. They were ready for that change. And willing to put in the work. I dont think it just happens. Even with GLP-1’s, you’re still forced to do some work to get the weight off. In my experience, I was ready to make a change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What diet works? Well, to some extent, probably all of them. They all generally have a common theme – put yourself in a calorie deficit. The science is pretty clear. In order to lose weight, you have to burn more calories than you take in. The body burns a certain amount by merely existing. You can increase the amount burned by exercise. If you reduce the amount that you eat then over time you will lose weight. Sounds too simple, but thats generally how it works. There’s a whole bunch of detail about how many calories are in a pound and how much you have to reduce in order to lose so much in a week. in the beginning, I think its important not to necessary focus on that. I dont like focusing on that because I think its important to set yourself up for success as soon as possible. The simpler the diet the better. Whole foods. Lean meats, fruits and veggies, with a focus on protein and fiber. There’s a whole lot of science about low fat and low carb. By putting yourself in a caloric deficit, you’re naturally going to reduce both fats and carbs. You can certainly tweak the macros if needbe, but I dont think it needs to be that complicated. Because of the internet, we live in what I believe to be the best time in history to get better control over our intake of food, because now that we know we should eat whole foods, there are literally so many combinations of how we do this. So we have this list now – but that sounds boring. And on the surface, it kinda does. But there are all sorts of seasonings and combinations of preparation that can make the food seem less boring and even taste amazing. I cant encourage this enough – you CAN make the food taste good and stay in the deficit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Earlier I said that probably all diets probably work, assuming their plan is to put you in a caloric deficit. The key is consistency. This is where things get a little tricky and where we have to start looking at our relationship with food. Food is used to celebrate so much, and is seen as a reward. Food is everywhere. I think its also ok to have that celebration from time to time. That said, I’ve been down the path of being militant where there would be no treats, no deviation from the plan. This can be an issue mentally, because then there’s no give whatsoever. I think following an 80\/20 or a 90\/10 approach is much better, for me. While its ok to allow yourself an occasional treat. I think its also important to realize that if you want to reach your goals, if you want to make a change and you’re committed to that change, treating yourself more often probably isnt going to get you there. Its ok if you do that, but this goes back to being honest about where you’re at. Right now, Im probably more of a 95\/5. This is one time where I would do the math, just so it gives you something tangible to see. If a person eats 3 meals a day, that means they eat 21 meals a week (3×7=21). In a 80\/20 scenario, this means that 80% of their meals comes out to about 17 meals on plan and 4 off plan. For me, 4 seems like a lot, especially if Im actively trying to lose some of this weight. 90\/10 puts you at 19 meals on plan and 2 off. 90% of the time, you’re eating on point and 2 meals a week are treats. To start out, its probably important NOT to have the treat at all, because we’re trying to build good habits. If you’re going to do it, Id limit it to one meal a week and Id be careful about keeping that meal to where the treat is something simple. Like, Im having more cheese than normal – instead of having a whole pizza. If you do the off the rails thing, thats fine, but the key is to come right back to the plan as if the off the rails treat meal didnt happen. I find for myself and others close to me, they prefer to not even have the treat or not be crazy about it because its too far off course. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A consistent calorie deficit over time. How much time? Well, I dont have a good answer for you. It took an undetermined amount of time for us to get to the point where we were ready to make a change. So its likely going to take at least that much time to undo it. To make the answer even more complicated, its often not linear because we have to deal with life. Stress happens and plans dont always execute perfectly. Things are going to happen that take us off point. We’re goign to miss meals or not have our prepared food with us and we’re going to have to punt sometimes or deviate for a period of time. I recently had to move and made some not good choices regarding food intake. There are some consequences (higher blood sugars, stalled weight loss or even weight gain) due to those choices. It happens. The sooner we get back on plan, to being consistent in a calorie deficit, the better. I told myself when I started on this particular journey last year – strap in. We’re gonna be here awhile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How do I even know Im in a deficit? The only surefire way to tell is to do two things – honestly log your food intake. That means every drop and bite you take, you log. If you put creamer in your coffee, you log how much and which brand. There are so many tools available that this can be done relatively easily. It requires some commitment and you absolutely have to be honest about everything. It also requires weighing and measuring your food. However, you will know within 99% certainty how many calories you’re taking in. Additionally, to find out how many calories you’re burning through the day, some sort of fitness monitor worn 24\/7 can give you a better idea on how many calories you’re burning through the day – both from simply existing and from activity. You can estimate this, but i find that the fitness bands give you a better idea. At the end of each day, if your calories burned is greater than your calories eaten, then you’ve been in a deficit. There’s some argument about how much of a deficit you need to be in, but for me, I prefer to keep things simpler and just stay in a deficit, no matter how much. Im more interested in what happens over time, not necessarily how much of a deficit I created today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Consistency is hard. I find that to keep myself accountable, food logging and the fitness band are pretty important. They’re not completely necessary unless you’re not seeing the results you think you should be. This is when I would generally go – well, how do you really know? I’ll be completely honest about logging – its a giant pain in the ass and it takes some time, especially if you’re being honest about it. Every single time you eat, every single recipe you make, has to be entered into the log. The nice thing about it being 2026 is that there are apps that make this process easier and more accurate. Even though its a pain, I’ve found it a vital tool not only in keeping me accountable, but recognizing how many calories I eat in a day and how much I generally need per meal. As I went along, I started gearing my meal plans based on this information and thus my diet evolved. Because I kept track of this information, I was able to keep myself consistent. Additionally, I would write down what Im eating for the week, at least. it gave me a pretty good idea of what I needed to get at the grocery store, so Im not buying things Im not eating – no junk. Im also getting an idea of the time needed to prep whatever Im eating. If I have a busy week ahead, Im also cooking this food in advance, so I dont have to spend a half hour or more cooking every day – but the few minutes to reheat it and go. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I keep saying that we live in a time with the greatest opportunity to meet our goals, to lose weight and eat and be healthier. The internet has given us a place to find healthier recipes, and to download the tools to keep us accountable. In addition, we have better cooking tools with which to prepare our food. Air fryers, pressure cookers, and slow cookers are all reasonably priced options that cut cooking time down to something that can be managable, without having to babysit it. And for those with zero time available, there are meals already available through services like Trifecta and HelloFresh (to name a couple, randomly because these are the only ones I could think of off the top of my head), where the food is already made. Personally, I see premade food as a last resort only because I like to control whats in my food and tailor it to meet my specific goals. However, this is something that is available that wasnt previously. This is still way better than a pizza and if it helps a person meet their caloric deficit,Im not against that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Exercise, and building muscle, is just as important. Its also important to realize that you cant lose weight with exercise alone. They say abs are made in the kitchen. One thing i learned wearing a fitness band is that unless I was really active through the day, Im not burning thousands of calories. If you are that active, tahts great. But you still have to fuel that activity appropriately. Often times people who are that active will eat whatevers close because its whats available. Building muscle allows the body to burn more calories by just existing. While Im not suggesting everyone go lift weights today, I would say some sort of consistent exercise will help. Whatever it is, exercise should be fun otherwise, we’re not likely to do it. That doesnt mean its not going to be hard, especially at first. But with consistency, we get stronger and it becomes easier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This stuff comes up in my head a lot, and a lot of times its just on repeat. What am I doing? how am I doing it? Am I doing it consistently? What choices am I making? What consequences am I facing from those choices? how can I do better?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Is it easy? No. There are times where it can be really hard. There are days when Im tired, when Im stressed, when I just dont feel like dealing with it. But, I have a goal, and I committed to that goal. This is where discipline comes in. and its something that we learn along the way. When its 5AM and I committed to myself to go to the gym….and it takes everything I have to just sit up in the morning when Im not awake and I just want to go back to sleep….i sit there for a minute, then I get up. Thats the start. Starting is the hardest part. I kind of equate it to launching a rocket to space, in that it takes a lot of energy to get that thing off of the pad, but once its moving, it stays moving. Once we start moving, good things start to happen. We start to build good habits and that success breeds more success. We get up, we wake up, we get some energy and before you know it, we’re 3 sets in on whatever weights we’re lifting that day and feeling good about the weight while we’re down another 3 lbs after getting on the scale this morning. We’re getting it done, because we’re staying on plan and executing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let’s get it done!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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