No New Year Resolutions
Yes – tis true – no New Year Resolutions for me this year. Seems I used more than my quota last year – so I will sail through this year without the usual promises to oneself.
It was almost exactly one year ago today that I instigated the first of my ‘ought seven’ resolutions, which was “Thou Shall Lose Weight.” And, lose weight I did – going from 260 (on a 5’10” frame) to 215 over a 3-month period, which wasn’t hard to understand, when you consider that I went from around 5000 calories (mostly - soda pop, candy, and various other junk food) down to 1500 a day. After the initial loss I was able to substantially increase my calories (to 3000 calories) and once again enjoy eating, (nutritious food) although I had to also add exercise to the mix; I have maintained the 215 ever since, and am now in the process of purposely reducing my calorie intake (temporarily) in order to lose an additional 10 pounds to arrive at 205. All the ‘so-called’ health experts/charts tell me I should weigh 185, but I will be content to hold 205.
It made me laugh (all year) when people would ask, how’d you do it (lose weight)? Gee, I’d answer, it weren’t hard I just quit eating. Of course I didn’t quit eating, it only seemed that way. To try and answer the question though, I guess I would have to say I was highly motivated. How’s that you say? Well, lucky for me I had an incompetent Doctor, and a totally screwball lab (at my little small town hospital) on my side. Thanks to the good Doctor and his ‘laboratory assistants,’ I was convinced that I was a ‘raging diabetic’ with blood sugar numbers skyrocketing through the roof. Indeed, indeed, I was very lucky to have them both, for without them, I’d still be sailing along at about the same weight I was then, smoking, drinking, and generally going about the business of killing myself.
In short, I really do think I was lucky to have that Doc, although there have been times (since) when thinking about him (which is rare), I’d like to shoot him. In any event I finally got myself in front of a good Doctor (in a nearby large city) and over time, with his help and that of some expert Diabetic Specialists, I learned that I’d had a reaction from a Gall Bladder that might some day need to be removed, but, thankfully, not any time soon, if at all.
Well, so much for the ‘motivation’ to lose my weight, but what about the ‘method’ I employed to do so? The first step was to eliminate the soda pop, candy and junk food, which in retrospect actually made it easier for me, since I eliminated 2-3 thousand calories alone by doing away with the pop and junk food (Btw, I miss ‘none’ of it). Secondly, I instituted portion control – which I still use today; I rarely have ‘seconds’ of anything, and the days of grabbing a bag of chips, and sitting in front of the boob tube munching till the bag is empty are long gone. Thirdly, I eat three meals a day and have 2-3 snacks (raw fruit) each day – and those are the only times I eat. Repeat - "those are the only times I eat."
….. More about - eating to lose weight - at a later date.
Which brings me to Resolution #2 – which was to quit smoking, which really makes my weight loss look good, since most people ‘gain’ weight when they quit. In fact, always before, one of my reasons to ‘not’ quit the cigarettes, had been Nah, I’ll just gain weight.
So, how’d I quit the nasty cigarettes? What we (Pup quit with me) used was ‘Chantix,’ a prescription chemical concoction that her Doc recommended. It worked really well; we took the meds for a week while we continued to smoke, and then on our “Quit Day” we did, quit. It was amazing to both of us how easy it was – which is not to say it was - ‘that easy.’ But, the cravings were mild and we had our meds, and for the next two weeks we surprised each other and ourselves, by not smoking. At the end of those 2 weeks we even decided we could get along without the meds and we quit them too. That was March 13, 2007, and we’ve not smoked since, and as each day passes we become more an more aware of two things; 1) we’ll never smoke again and 2) how could we of been so stupid to smoke all those years?
…More about – the discipline to stop smoking - at a later date.
Resolution #3 came next, which was to start exercising. Oh, I’d exercised in the past, but it was sporadic at best, and could hardly be called a regime. Initially I started walking for 20 minutes – 3 times a day, which has slowly evolved to where I am today - 1 hour – 3 times a day – religiously. That last word is highlighted because it is so important when initiating an exercise program that you do it “religiously.” Since February 6th, when I started it, I’ve missed ‘two’ sessions, both because we were at the lake. I’ve since located places I can anchor the boat and walk on shore.
…More about – the discipline to exercise - at a later date.
Over the years I’ve read many stories about how to ‘lose weight, quit smoking or start exercising,’ with most of them written by some ‘smug’ person really high on him/herself for doing so. That is not the case here; although I am proud of myself for accomplishing these three things, I am very aware of all the years I didn’t.
One can only suppose that given my previous lifestyle I am just lucky to be here, and, there is always the chance that it (previous lifestyle) will one-day bite me in the proverbial ass. The dual point here is that 1) even if it does, nothing can diminish these accomplishments; secondly and perhaps more importantly, they can be duplicated. The key is duplicating them without the ‘massive motivation’ that I was fortunate to have at my disposal. Believe me, I do not wish that kind of motivation on anyone, although I do hope that something I might do or say, might enable others to enjoy similar results as mine.
ice
