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Good morning!
It's another day with no weigh-in. :)
I know that I am lighter today. I can tell, easily. I feel different from yesterday, I feel the little things that always indicate a drop in weight for me. I'm just as happy with that as I would have been weighing in - it's a great feeling.
And then, of course - I would LOVE to have some numbers to back it up. I think it's just in my genes to like measuring out things. The nerd inside me is protesting a little bit.
I did get on the scale to record my numbers on the SD card, but I didn't peek. This is the promise/compromise I have come to terms with. I will try this out, for at least a week, but I will record my data for reference later on. If I don't then I can't run statistics, I can't learn from those things. So I will keep recording, and not peeking.
Yesterday was a great day when it came to food choices (well, and everything else, really, but right now we're talking food choices). I had my lunch as planned, a protein shake in the afternoon, a couple of fruits too, and early dinner after work and before teaching. Dinner was a large pita bread with beef. Later in the day, after my first teaching session, I had a small protein bar to give me a little more to eat, and to up my protein intake just to be on the safe side.
I don't fully know where this took me calorie-wise, but as I didn't eat any junk, a day like that usually brings me to around 1600 calories, so that is what I think I had. This would give me a deficit of 900 calories, other than the 500 that my counter is taking from me already. I'm in a good place, I think. If anything, I should UP my calorie intake a little, but I really had all the food that I felt that I wanted and needed. Don't eat just to eat, right?
I managed to do 17,000 steps yesterday, and I also did my workout at the gym. It was truly a day with all goals reached.
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I'm not sure today's step goal will be reached. I decided to come to work early, at 6 AM, to save up a little comp time. I leave early, as I am working at the gym tonight, so I need the time.
This means that I had to skip my walk this morning, which usually clocks me in at about 6-7,000 steps. This will make it a LOT harder to reach the step goal today. I will simply have to try to be a little more active throughout the day.
The things is, there isn't really all that much time or opportunity to move today. It is what it is, and all I can do is try.
That being said, it has often happened that I reach my goals on days like these regardless. I generally move around quite a bit, I stand up all day at work (both at the office and the gym) and every "conscious" step counts.
I find it really cool the way the Fitbit records my steps. Like I said, they have to have purpose. If I just stand by my desk and shift from one food to the other, then nothing is recorded. Once I take a few steps in the same direction, then it starts counting.
This means that all the little "moving, but not really moving"-steps aren't counted. It's actual walking, from one spot to another, that counts. I like that thought. You have to actually move, and it's not all that easy to get a wrong number, unless you purposefully cheat. All gadgets can be cheated, but that would defeat the point.
Today, I will make it a point to walk more at work, walk at lunch, and as much else I can do. If nothing else, maybe I can at least reach 10,000 steps using the elliptical at the gym towards the end of the day. I have done this before. I don't consider this cheating, as the FEELING of it, with the proper weight (which really isn't all that much), feels very similar to speedy walking.
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Today is an all-awesome-food-day.
Lunch is slowcooked BBQ ribs, with a salad.
Dinner is leftover Chili Con Carne.
Other than that I have an apple, a nectarine and a large protein shake.
That should be plenty for me today.
What I'm REALLY looking forward to is the rib plate. Wife will cook in the basement of the office building, and I know it will TORMENT people around me. LOL.
They truly can't grasp how I can maintain my weight with all the deliscious food I am eating these days. They can't work out how I can have larger plates, better (read: FATTER) foods, and still not gain weight.
I've explained it so many times.
THIS - THIS moment that I am at now is me reaping the benefits of all the hard work I do, and have done.
It's the result of losing the weight in order to become healthier. It's me becoming lighter on my feet to move more. It's me building muscle to up my BMR. It's me putting FOCUS on protein and fats first, calories second (though equally important).
THIS is what I get out of it. I look great. I feel great. I can have the great foods, as long as I don't disconnect my brain while eating. :)
Then, of course, when they ask what they need to do to accomplish this, they back out hearing that it takes WORK and EFFORT.
People really don't like hearing that there are no secret formulas to all this. It's all common sense, and all information is available for free online if one just sits down and start googling things.
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I think this is one of the key points of today's journal. I brought this up a bit in my classes yesterday too.
I see several kinds of people on their weightloss journeys here and in my classes.
These are of course overly simplified categories, but they are essentially all there are:
1. The one who wants to lose weight, but have no idea why they are overweight in the first place. They expect for someone else to simply hand over a full-package solution that they can "just do", with little to no effort and maximum results. Their actual efforts put into the projects are minimal, and most times they don't reach many goals.
2. The one who is already mostly thin, but just needs a little more and try to starve their way to the last weight loss, and don't see ANY results doing so. They work HARD at it, do tons of cardio and eats (almost) nothing but lettuce and chicken breast.
3. The one who essentially knows that they aren't eating what they're supposed to be eating, but needs motivation to change the patterns. Giving him/her the right tools and encouragement to do better will drive them towards their goals and some will reach at least some decent results.
4. The one who educates himself/herself. He/she stays curious about the whole weightloss/lifestyle journey. They ask questions. The find answers as they go. They adjust. They REACH GOALS. This one will keep peeling away layers to find out more about their mission, and will have the biggest chance of reaching their final goal.
Again, this is overly simplified and generalized. Don't hate. :)
Now, a person can easily start in one group and end up in another. It's not a set direction. I have been in several of these groups myself, as I think most people have.
However, it wasn't until I decidede to plop myself into group number 4 that I started seeing results.
When I get asked questions from people at work who are so impressed with my weight loss and my muscle building and they want to do the same, but just don't want to put in even minimal effort, then I feel bad for them. I see so many people who REALLY could use a hand losing some weight and getting in better shape. I see so many that have trouble with the stairs at work (and everywhere else) as Denmark isn't really big on elevators in any buildings.
However, I can't help them if they don't want to put in the work.
I always try to tell people that there is such a reward in doing this. It's not just at the end of the road that we're awarded, it's the whole way. Losing weight is by far the most positive thing I have ever done, and I don't regret a second of it.
But if you don't feel like reading, if you don't feel like counting calories, carbs, or what ever you decide to do to stay in control of your food intake, and you don't feel like moving around a little more, then there really isn't a whole lot to do, is there?
I have a great saying sitting on my wall in my office:
"If you do things the way you usually do them, you get the results you usually get" (roughly translated) - meaning of course that if you want to see a change, then you need to change something. If you don't have time, MAKE time. Make it a priority.
If you can't find time for exercise but you know who won America's Got Talent, then it's just a matter of priorities. It's about what we find important here and now.
I know, I sound all holy on this. I'm no better than many others. I have lazy days. I have days where I fault all the way. But I have MOST days where I do good and do right, and that is what counts in the big picture.
It's no secret that I have had trouble losing weight the first 40 years of my life. I didn't care about it, and it sure wasn't a priority to lose weight or exercise.
When I ended up weighing 155 kilos, I would have had to comsume at least 5000 calories per day, every day. Today I can't even begin to grasp how I could handle that. No wonder I was working my way towards an early grave.
I often want to grab hold of some obese person I see on the street and let them know that there are options. It hurts me to see them struggling to simply walk across the parking lot to the supermarket. Then I meet them inside and see that their shopping cart is full of junk.
I know that if I actually do reach out, then they most likely won't listen. Instead, they'd be highly offended. I know that I would have been back then.
I remember one evening, taking the bus home from my brother's house. On the bus I meet a guy who asks if he could talk to me. I agree.
He tells me that he lost about 50 kilos, simply by cutting out fat foods and focusing a little more. That's all it takes, supposedly.
I heard him loud and clear, I thought. "Hey you, you're fat and I am not. Just eat right, it's not hard, but obviously you can't even do that one thing right, can you?".
That's not what he SAID. That's what I HEARD.
I was in no way ready to hear the message that he tried to deliver. I wish I had been. I would have been where I am now years ago.
So, I keep this in mind when I feel like approaching people.
One thing that they guy DID accomplish, though, is that he planted a little seed. I think talking to a guy who actually did lose the weight helped me a little on my way. It gave me a little hope.
I know I radiate that hope to many obese people at the gym, here and everywhere I go. I know that there is a good reason that people ask me so many questions. I will help them all I can.
However - THEY HAVE TO HELP THEMSELVES TOO.
This is really what I think I'm trying to get to in all this.
I can point in the direction for people to go. But I can't walk it for them. So many people - including those who join my classes - expect me to actually do the work for them.
If they sign up for a class, then it'll all be golden and the weight will automatically drop off.
Well, it will - if you do as I tell you to do, if you use the tools, if you abide to the rules.
If not, I can't help. Sorry. I can try to nudge you to USE the tools. I can't use them for you.
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Sorry, this got much longer and heavier than expected. LOL. I'm not sure if it sounds too much like a rant. It's really a frustration that I feel every now and then. I want to help people. But I need those who want help to be wanting to help themselves.
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Today, I'm thankful for:
- Early at work, saving up comp time.
- No weigh-in.
- No calorie counting.
- Wife
- Morning coffee.
- Getting my rant off my chest. :)
Have a great day, everyone! Life is good!
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