Sustainable Weight Loss

I've been pondering the extraordinarily high failure rate quoted often enough for folks who diet or lose weight (perhaps via vigorous excercise). There was a study last year - one of these mega-studies that studies the outcome of lots of other studies, then draws conclusions.

I have seen different numbers quoted in different studies. It certainly sounds like a doomsday scenario for those who are trying to lose weight or make lasting changes in thier lives.

"You can initially lose 5 to 10 percent of your weight on any number of diets, but then the weight comes back.""We found that the majority of people regained all the weight, plus more," she added.The researchers found a very small minority of study participants managed to sustain weight loss, while the majority put all the weight back on, and more in the longer term."Diets do not lead to sustained weight loss or health benefits for the majority of people," said Dr Mann." http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/67422.php
UCLA associate professor of psychology and lead author of the study, Traci Mann

So, most folks lose and then regain their lost weight. The Majority put all the weight back on, AND MORE IN THE LONG TERM.

That is amazing!! So how do you plan your life, and how do you live your life so that you are in the few percentage point minority that has lasting change in their weight and life and health? So that it is a LASTING CHANGE without rebound or relapse?

Here's what I've come up with:

1.) Model behaviours of the few long term successful people. Do what *they* do. Learn what they know. Put their "life goggles" on and see the world like they do. If they are permanently changing what they eat - you must do so too! If they are permanently changing the level of activity in their lives - you need to too! If they are studying and coming to grips with why they eat in unhealthy ways (emotional triggers, etc) you must too! If they are adopting strategies that help them, we must also do so. There are folks living successfully after losing hundreds of pounds and successfully maintaining over multiple years of time. We must learn from them!

2.) Lasting change means new ways of looking at old things. One fellow commented recently online in one of my favorite low carb forums that we need to treat sugars and carbohydrates as vegitarians do meat. They don't cheat. They don't all of a sudden give in to cravings for a big giant juicy steak. They just cross this kind of food off the list from now on. It is as if it doesn't exist anymore for them. Not because they *can't* do it, but because they do not want to anymore! I can't agree more.

3.) Some long term low carbers refer to carbs and sugars as poison. I used to think that was just a gross overstatement and almost reckless and irresponsible. As I have learned about the effects of sugars, and sweet syrups, and carbs on our bodies in so many ways it has made me re-evaluate my initial assessment of that kind of language. Certainly the advent of so much obeisity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, etc, has it's roots in metabolic problems resulting from overconsumption of sugars, carbohydrates, and insulin response. People ARE DYING FROM THIS, PEOPLE!!! It's time to wake up and smell the coffee! I am not saying that everyone has the same problems, but certainly some of us do! Carbs and sugars in such great abundance in our diets are killing us.

4.) I am such a big believer in the power of positive thinking. I am really against negativity and negative thinking in such a big way. I simply cannot stand depressive thinking. I cannot stand loser thinking. Quiting. Giving up. Seeing everything you cannot have, instead of all that you can have. Seeing all the reasons you will fail. Cutting yourself excuses for your behavior. Cutting yourself too much slack. We will reap what we sow. Responsibility means seeing our way through and past problems by ensuring consistent good decisions and behavior on a consistent basis. We have to visualize success. We need to pick ourselves up after each mistake and failure and press on to the goal. We have to have laser-like focus. We need to stick with making the right decisions even when we don't feel like it. This is work. This is commitment. This has to be lasting change. We have to see our way through to success. It has to result from making good decisions over and over again. Not viewing or trying to win the entire battle in any single moment, just making the next decision the best one you can, and putting your foot in front of the other on each step of your low carb journey. Never really arriving. Never quitting. We need to find new things to give us pleasure in life - to replace the sweet foods that satisfy carby cravings. Finding new things that satisfy. New tastes. New levels of accomplishement. New achievements.

6.) Keep making Continuous goals! They don't all have to be losing hundreds of pounds of weight, or losing inches around the waist. They could be about the *next* ten pounds. Or maintaining weight over a certain interval of time. The next fitness goal. Walking a block. Walking a mile. Doing 30 situps. Doing 10 pushups. Doing a hundred pushups in a day. Climbing flights of stairs. The next 10,000 steps on a pedometer. Bench pressing some weight. Riding a bike. It could be some of the direct benefits of losing weight - fitting into a booth or a theater seat or doing something that was impossible before!

7.) Keep reading and learning all the time! Study and learn about metabolism, and low carb living, and psychology, and about low carb foods and recipies, and successful eating and healthy-living strategies.

I haven't really encapulated all the things I have been thinking. But it's a start. You "weigh-in" too! What do you think contributes to lasting success??? Your comments are welcome!

Random Thoughts & Reflections

It is funny. I have been talking about going on a diet ever since I met my wife (over 8 years ago). I have no idea how much I weighed when I married her, but it is a safe bet that I weighed much less than I do now. I was never really ready to pull the trigger, because having gone through this kinda thing once before (lost >100 lbs and kept it off over 2 years) I am aware of how much effort and commitment this really takes. I told her that I knew I could do this, and that I would do this, but I never really got around to it. I guess I was afraid that starting without the level of laser-like focus, drive, concentration, and motivation would mean failure.

After all these years of bloating on up to higher and higher weights, I finally felt I had to do something and make a change. It wasn't some major crisis in my life that made me do it. It wasn't any ultimatum from my wife or others. I just knew I had to do something. I was getting large (OK, Gargantuan) and was having more and more health problems related to my weight and health. And the thought of wanting to be here for my kids in the long run (like over the next 10-20 years or more) was an impetus, and if not, to at least be able to secure some life insurance for the wife and kids at some point.

While I believe that God sets our span on earth, and that this is regardless of what we want or do to a large degree (I never believed in all these anti-aging and preservation programs people are after, wanting to extend their lives or in some cases live forever on this earth), I do believe though that God does also do things in conjunction with immutable laws he has set up - things like you will "Reap what you sow".

So, I finally figured it was time to stop sowing donuts and Cokes and sweets and all my beloved pastas and breads and all, reaping piles of fat and weight gain and health problems, and change my life. My lifestyle. My eating style. Whatever. And I have embraced the low carb lifestyle. Atkins style eating is pretty much what I am doing. I am probably moderating my life somewhere between the induction phase and the OWL (Ongoing Weight Loss) phase, trying to mostly keep my carb count to 20 or less, and I figure if I am overdoing it ever, I am pretty sure of being at 40 or less carbs each day.

The Atkins Low Carbohydrate Way of Eating

It is pretty simple. Meat (hamburger, beef hot dogs, bacon, ham, turkey, fish, sausage, chicken, etc). Some Cheese (within limits and with moderation). Some nuts (low salt, not peanuts and cashews so much, but almonds, macadamias, etc). Low glycemic veggies (green beans, broccoli, pickles, olives, salads with oil and vinegar, etc) in regular and deliberate inclusion in the daily diet, with moderation. Plus some vitamins and nutrititional supplements.

I have eaten 4500 calories in a day and lost weight. Probably because I am so large this is working for me, but I am full and hardly ever hungry on this diet (Way of Eating) and am steadily losing weight (over 40 lbs down at this point, and working on being 50 lbs down) and I am feeling better each day.

Friends & the Support You Get and Don't Get

It's funny who in your life will support you when you do these things, who believes you are bound to fail (or will reserve comment or support or interest until you get so far into this), and who it is who will mock you and poke fun at you and be basically a big giant negative force in your life.

I have been reading personal stories of interaction with these types of folks online in the TDC (Triple Digits Club) support forum at the forums.lowcarber.ca site lately and have had a couple of personal experiences with real jerky people lately myself. I guess that isn't a unique phenomemon. I guess the premise for these folks is, "make yourself feel good by making someone else feel bad". Wow. What a concept. I suppose we have all done that to others at some time ourselves (or many times, if we were 100% honest with ourselves). Still it pretty much stinks to feel tarred and feathered and mocked and laughed at by others. Some people are fairly cruel and low-life. I still remember the kids who did this kind of thing to me at times when I was young in school. It really sticks with you, for the rest of your life - even if you couldn't care less about the people doing it. It's funny why their opinion should matter to you or why it should affect you, but it does just the same.

It takes all kinds in this world, and my life is pretty much surrounded by all of them. Sure, most people are pretty indifferent, and I wouldn't expect it to be necessarily a big deal for them - if they didn't much care about you. It just depends on how much someone likes you, is rooting for you, and hoping for the best for you. But it is also pretty interesting to have folks reveal their hearts to you in how they act and speak towards you, and to take note of that.

Here's to the Nice People!

I am extremely glad for a few Christian friends, a couple good folks at work, my wife, my parents, my father in-law and mother in-law, and my kids and all the love and support they give me.

Thanks too for those who drop in here to support me in my own personal quest.

It matters so much to me! Thank You!!!

Getting all Evangelistic about Low Carb: Drinking the Kool-Aid

I am also a bit perplexed as to how I should behave on this personal program of weight loss, healthy eating, and self improvement. I have watched so many people lose weight over and over again. Yo-yo dieters. My wife would say, "Look at so and so, they've lost so much weight on LA Weight Loss" or some other program. I would always say, "Give it some time, and watch and wait. They'll gain it all back and THEN SOME". And I was always always right about this. Yeah, I probably haven't been the most supportive person myself in the past either. These folks would be dancing around celebrating their weight loss for a little bit, then back to the donuts and BLOOOP! They would explode back up past where they started. I kept seeing this and didn't want this for myself.

It is hard to fight your body, as God made it just so - to preserve your life in difficult times, and to adapt to changing circumstances. All the little regulators in your brain, glands, DNA or whatever are always trying to help you live. If you starve it, the body (brain or whatever) slows the metabolism and adjusts - so that when you go back to eating like always you shoot right back to where you started (and then some).

This is one of the reasons I think I waited to get on the stick so long myself (fear of bloating back on up above where I started, and what that would mean to me). I never wanted to be one of those people that has to have the fire department come and get them out of their house to the hospital or something (as they are so heavy). And fear of starting when I wasn't 100% committed to this, as I know from my own past efforts that it can be really really hard to lose weight and maintain it long term.

Well, once I met folks that had lost the weight and kept it off with this way of eating for ten years or more, and once I heard my own brother lost weight (~80 lbs) in a few months time, I was ready. And guess what?

It isn't really all that hard this time!! I am not starving. I am not having irresistable cravings. I don't feel washed out, light headed, deprived, etc. In fact, I feel great, am eating, am comfortable and feel full all day, and my health has improved dramatically (especially my blood sugar issues, frequent stomach acid problems, acid reflux, etc).

One thing I have always hated about many DIETERS is the way they seem to turn into CULT-LIKE fanatical people about their diet. It always made me uncomfortable, and I always watched so many of them yo-yo back on up later.

I sorta feel like I am becoming one of those people, all excited about this way of eating and I can't help but feel great about it and to express myself about it. I am trying to not make others feel bad about themselves or overdo it. But I can't help but tell my wife and a couple others how great they might feel if they did this - not even to lose weight, but even just to get control of their blood sugar issues and health issues they are going through.

I hope that if you are reading this you won't count me into the camp of annoying cult-like fanatical people about my way of eating. No doubt about it, I am excited about this and I do want to share this with others! Still there is something about selling flowers on the streetcorners and at airports... (smile) that I am not so comfortable with.

I started this blog just as an excercise of focus and an outlet for me while I am doing this for myself. I am glad if you read this and benefit from this in any way. I sure feel great about how I feel, and how this way of eating is working out for me. I appreciate your support and interest in reading this. If you are kicking around the idea about doing this, I hope you would read about it, learn all you can about it and jump in and try it. The water is fine! And what have you got to lose anyhow by trying it?

And if this way of eating isn't for you - That's OK too. I know that not everybody has my body type, my problems with health issues and with weight gain, and most are probably doing "just fine" on their own. I can live with that.