Showing posts with label maintaining. Show all posts
Beware the Creep
Things have a way of catching up to us when we stop paying attention. The cute little wildebeest foal kneels daintily to sip cool water from the Nile river. It's not focusing on its surroundings for the moment, the water is just too delicious not to enjoy the pleasure of slaking its thirst. Sadly, you know what happens. The ravenous, 20-foot crocodile has been creeping up, closer and closer until...the little foal is now afternoon tea.
If you stop paying attention to your fitness, guess what? The fat will get laid down, cell by cell, not calling attention to itself, as stealthily as a Predator drone seeking targets of opportunity
Some of us don't start to really show weight gain until it gets to 30 or 40 pounds. When it gets to the point that we can't deny the truth any longer, we feel discouraged and defeated. How am I going to lose this 40 pounds? Dieting is a waste of time! I'm OK the way I am! Etc.
The only way to avoid this unhappy outcome that I have found is to beware the creep. I have to stay on top of it or it will get so out of hand that the difficulty of fixing it seems overwhelming. It's so much easier to trim off 5 extra pounds than it is to confront and defeat 50 or more.
So take my advice and beware the creep!
Follow me on Twitter. Please subscribe to our RSS feed or sign up for free email updates.
Tag :
maintaining,
weight loss
Holiday Eating Doesn't Have to Ruin Your Fitness Goals
Anyone who's making progress on their fitness goals might well feel a bit of terror at the approaching pig-out holiday season. You may feel like a wildebeest swimming across a croc infested river, nostrils flared and eyes bulging. Here are a couple of simple tips to keep the 23-foot monsters away.
1. Don't go to parties or holiday meals hungry.
For some reason, who knows why, the turkey always takes longer to cook than we think. After years of experience you'd think we'd learn. We get invited to a holiday meal being told it will be served at 2. First, that means 4. Second, why does it have to be so late anyway?
The trick is to eat something healthy before you go so you aren't ready to strip the meat off the still-uncooked bird with your teeth and damn the consequences, when it's not ready as promised. You'll be immune to the teasing aroma that would otherwise have you drooling saliva for 2 hours. So when you're finally (finally!!) served, you'll be able to...
2. Eat what you like in moderation.
See how it works? The goal is to get through it without inhaling 2-weeks' worth of calories and gaining 5 pounds overnight. This is made much easier if you aren't that hungry to begin with when faced with those tempting-yet-unhealthy sides and sweet treats.
No need for snacking on the bad stuff circulating before the main course. No need for seconds and thirds. People will marvel at your self control when you say, no, thanks, not realizing that you just aren't that hungry!
Follow me on Twitter. Please subscribe to our RSS feed or sign up for free email updates.
1. Don't go to parties or holiday meals hungry.
For some reason, who knows why, the turkey always takes longer to cook than we think. After years of experience you'd think we'd learn. We get invited to a holiday meal being told it will be served at 2. First, that means 4. Second, why does it have to be so late anyway?
The trick is to eat something healthy before you go so you aren't ready to strip the meat off the still-uncooked bird with your teeth and damn the consequences, when it's not ready as promised. You'll be immune to the teasing aroma that would otherwise have you drooling saliva for 2 hours. So when you're finally (finally!!) served, you'll be able to...
2. Eat what you like in moderation.
See how it works? The goal is to get through it without inhaling 2-weeks' worth of calories and gaining 5 pounds overnight. This is made much easier if you aren't that hungry to begin with when faced with those tempting-yet-unhealthy sides and sweet treats.
No need for snacking on the bad stuff circulating before the main course. No need for seconds and thirds. People will marvel at your self control when you say, no, thanks, not realizing that you just aren't that hungry!
Follow me on Twitter. Please subscribe to our RSS feed or sign up for free email updates.
How to Maintain Your Ideal Weight
If you've followed my weight loss, my efforts to get and stay lean and hard (I won't call it a "journey;" nothing should be called a "journey" that isn't a literal "journey," OK?) and haven't just arrived at today's entry, you'll know that I started out at 303 and am trying to maintain 173, for a loss of 130 pounds. It took about a year, and now I'm learning how to keep my weight where I've decided it should be. So, what have I learned so far about maintaining?
First, I've learned that I am in control of my weight. I can weigh whatever I decide is right for me. Ever since I found out about switching to complex carbs, I've been able to control my eating and find the energy to exercise. I've been able to be in the driver's seat again. This is important for me to keep as a first principle in life. I've proven to myself that I'm not at the mercy of circumstances or other people. My weight is up to me.
Second, I've learned that I can't stay at an exact weight on a daily basis. It would be virtually impossible to wake up each morning and weigh exactly 173 pounds. Instead of attempting the impossible, I have to allow myself to fluctuate above and below that weight by a margin of a few pounds. It's sort of like the vibrato a vocalist uses to maintain pitch, or a violinist uses to convey emotion from his instrument. There are times when I'll eat a bit more than I need to maintain my weight, and times when, in order to get back where I need to be, eat a bit less. The key is that I'll average the right number of calories over time, keeping an eye on my weight regularly in order to stay on top of it.
Third, I've learned that food and exercise aren't my life's ultimate focus in and of themselves. They are only the means to a much more important and fulfilling end, that being to be my best in order to love and serve others in caring relationships and productive work.
Do these lessons resonate? If so feel free to add your thoughts by commenting!
Follow me on Twitter. Please subscribe to our RSS feed or sign up for free email updates.
First, I've learned that I am in control of my weight. I can weigh whatever I decide is right for me. Ever since I found out about switching to complex carbs, I've been able to control my eating and find the energy to exercise. I've been able to be in the driver's seat again. This is important for me to keep as a first principle in life. I've proven to myself that I'm not at the mercy of circumstances or other people. My weight is up to me.
Second, I've learned that I can't stay at an exact weight on a daily basis. It would be virtually impossible to wake up each morning and weigh exactly 173 pounds. Instead of attempting the impossible, I have to allow myself to fluctuate above and below that weight by a margin of a few pounds. It's sort of like the vibrato a vocalist uses to maintain pitch, or a violinist uses to convey emotion from his instrument. There are times when I'll eat a bit more than I need to maintain my weight, and times when, in order to get back where I need to be, eat a bit less. The key is that I'll average the right number of calories over time, keeping an eye on my weight regularly in order to stay on top of it.
Third, I've learned that food and exercise aren't my life's ultimate focus in and of themselves. They are only the means to a much more important and fulfilling end, that being to be my best in order to love and serve others in caring relationships and productive work.
Do these lessons resonate? If so feel free to add your thoughts by commenting!
Follow me on Twitter. Please subscribe to our RSS feed or sign up for free email updates.
Learning How to Maintain a Healthy Body
I never thought I'd be hearing these words, but I'm hearing them now: You don't need to lose any more weight.
It's nice to hear it, and I know I'm getting very close to my goal. So there's that. But I believe I have just a few more pounds and inches to go yet. Not many, but some. I'm wearing 34-inch waists now, down from 52. I'd like to be wearing 32s.
That said, I'm going to have to transition soon to a maintenance lifestyle. And just how do I do that? I know how to lose. And I never want to gain. So how do I maintain?
There are three main reasons why people regain the weight they've lost and then some, according to this excellent article by Brad Pilon on Livestrong.com. They are, The Imposter Phenomenon; Learning Maintenance; and Negative Social Pressure. If you've lost or are planning to lose weight, this is a must-read, but I want to take a look at the second problem in this post.
It seems true from experience that most dieters have no plan for maintenance. It's like planning a trip down to the last detail, but having no idea what to do once you arrive at your destination. One thing should be abundantly clear, though: You cannot go back to eating as you did before and expect to keep the weight from coming right back. So you absolutely must have a plan.
I lost weight by first ridding my diet of simple carbs, then restricting calories, maximizing nutrients, and getting exercise. So how will I maintain? Staying away from simple carbs, adding a limited number of calories, maximizing nutrients and getting exercise. You'll notice only one thing will change: Eating a bit more. Funny thing, that's almost exactly what the article recommends: "To learn your maintenance diet and exercise lifestyle start by doing everything you did to lose weight but add 20% more food, and take away 20% of the exercise." I'll have to see about the reducing exercise part.
Follow me on Twitter. Please subscribe to our RSS feed or sign up for free email updates.
Tag :
diet,
maintaining
Posts
