The weight loss continues

So, I'm keeping it up. I exercise almost every day, and I feel a lot better than I used to. There are still improvements I can make, but I feel great. My weight fluctuated  a lot this week, but the most accurate (not the lowest) estimate of my weight was 317.2.  I was as high as 322.2 and as low as 312.8 (on a different scale after a workout). It's not an insane amount of weight to lose, but it's slowly coming off.

I've continued to use the MI techniques. I try to rate my behaviors every day and stay in the positive. In the future, I'll have to place more negative value on drinking pop. I want to quit it entirely, but I've cut down significantly. So, I'm not terribly concerned about it yet. I've amped up my fruit and vegetable consumption to roughly 4-5 a day. Some days, I still do poorly, but this has also improved significantly.

Today, I had another highlight. I went to work out at a local fitness place, and I ran on the treadmill. What I've usually been doing is going for half an hour and often covering a little over two miles. Today, I didn't have half an hour, and I wanted to cover at least two miles. I walked my usual 0.15 miles and started to jog at a pace of 5.2 miles/hour. At the 0.5 mile mark, I wasn't tired, so I kept going. I eventually ran it out and did two miles at that pace. I am so proud of myself.

I've used other techniques to keep me focused on my goals such as focusing on how my weight has limited me. This hasn't worked as well as I'd hoped. It's helped to keep me going, but the two examples I was thinking of aren't as false as I thought on further examination. But, it's true that being this weight really limits my confidence. In that regard, it's still useful.

What are your weight loss stories? How did you overcome obstacles?

Continuing to use MI tools: weight loss update

So, in December, I weighed in at 317.5 which was my lowest weight in a couple of years. Over Christmas break, my healthy habits fell by the wayside, and I, gladly, leaped off the wagon. Surprisingly, I didn't gain a huge amount of weight, but I was back up to 324 or so when I first weighed in after starting school. This morning, I weighed in at 320.1 without running yesterday (I sweat a lot). A few other MI things I've adopted are the idea of writing a letter to myself from five years in the future. I will do that soon enough, but I'm not ready yet.

I've also created a reward scale where eating four or more fruits and vegetables is +3, exercising is +1, eating after 8pm is -1, eating a second helping is -1, eating out is -1, and drinking pop is -1. On Wednesdays, I received a +4, the maximum rating. On Thursday, I received a -1. Yesterday was a +3.  So far, for the week, I'm at +6, and my goal was +10. The goal is to be in the positive daily, and the good thing is that one bad day doesn't negate all of your work. My daily reward is that I get to write for fun for 1 hour on days where I'm in the positive. I'm trying to develop weekly and monthly goals.

One other thing I've discussed before is the idea of values and being consistent. I value health and eating like crap and not exercising is vary inconsistent with my values. I've also thought about how being obese has limited me not just physically but socially. I think about two amazing relationships that I passed on because I didn't feel good about myself, and I don't ever want that to happen again. Never. I've also affirmed myself by realizing that I've let anything beat me. There are things that I can't do, but becoming healthy isn't going to be one of them. The great thing about using this MI approach is that writing this confirms the changes I'm making. I'm trying to think of a basic way to make this work for everyone. I know one thing, I'm going to keep going.

For more information about Motivational Interviewing:

 

Using Motivational Interviewing techniques to change behavior

Motivational Interviewing is a treatment used to (surprise, surprise) increase motivation for change. It's a powerful tool, and it works by addressing ambivalence to change. When it comes to behavior change, we are torn between changing and not changing because there are good things we stand to give up and negative consequences to that change. To provide an example, I'll start by having a conversation with myself.

Why don't I want to change my eating habits (especially drinking pop, eating out, and eating large portions)? This is good question when you're just thinking about changing, possibly even before.

Well, I think food has an emotional benefit for me. I eat when I'm stressed out, and I often mistake hunger for stress.

Reflection: Food is important to you, and it makes you feel better. There are only positives to continue eating like you do.

It is important, but it doesn't make me feel better anymore. There are a lot of downsides to eating as much as I do. I feel tired. I have to buy large clothes that are harder and harder to find. I get tired easily. I miss being in shape, and I want to be attractive to women. I don't feel that way currently.

What are the negatives of not changing?

Well, things will stay as they are. I'll probably develop diabetes, and probably die early of a heart attack. There's nothing that can be done for me at that point.

It's a bit early, but I'm going to summarize.

So, I recognize that they are some short term benefits to keep eating the way I do. There are also some serious benefits. I think that I'll feel better and not be so tired. It will also help me to get in shape and lead a healthier lifestyle. It will also help me to feel more confident and possibly meet women. Overall, it will make my current focus on health less inconsistent with my lifestyle (developing discrepancy). 

For anyone interested in learning more about motivational interviewing:

Free stories on Kindle

Hey everyone,

A couple of my stories on the Kindle are available for free today.

Sex, Lies, and General Competence:

Sex, Lies, and General Competence

The Debt:

The Debt

This one isn't available for free, but I included it anyway.  It's called the Future is the Past, and it's a Back to the Future parody sequel.

Kindle:



Paperback:



Enjoy!

Lifestyle change progress

Last week was my birthday, and it was a particularly bad week for eating.  I ate out a lot, and it showed.  Somehow, this week,  I was able to get back on track.  When I weighed in this morning, I weighed 317.8lbs.  That's down from 321.7 a month ago which was down from about 328 pounds.  I feel great. 

To recap, the changes I've made include not eating any food with 20g of sugar or more (this is slowly decreasing to 10g, but I have broken the rule a few times), not eating after 8pm (broken a few times too), not eating second helpings (also broken once or twice), and I mostly quit drinking pop (broken a few times also).  Still, I've done enough to keep losing weight, and, while I'm not losing weight at an insane rate, I'm still dropping pounds in a healthy slow way.  I still need to find a way to exercise more and to eat more fruits.  Vegetables aren't a problem though I could be more consistent.  Some days, I eat five servings of veggies and some days it's zero.  Overall, I'm happy with my progress, and I plan on keeping it up. 

Reflecting on 28

Today is my 28th birthday.  Honestly, I feel old, but I also feel the best I've felt in a long time.  I'm wonderfully busy.  I'm in a Ph. D. program.  I'm almost done with a Masters of Public Health program, and I'm losing weight.  Three years ago, I was unemployed, lost, and very unhappy.  The difference is incredible.  Yet, I still think about the past, my mistakes.  I don't know if I'll ever truly let them go even though I should.  I think about missed chances, and, then, I ponder if I'd even be where I am if those things had come to fruition. 

The next line of thought comes back to how much I've changed and how much I've improved.  The truth was I was trying to fix myself for so many years.  So many of my pursuits had been about me.  It's not selfish for a while.  I think someone has to focus on their happiness, or they will make others around them unhappy.  I've finally done that.  I've finally focused on my happiness, and the results are fantastic.  There is no real point to this post except to say that I'm becoming a different better person.  These words are for me, but I hope they can give hope to others in whatever way possible. 

Lifestyle change progress

So, I'm trying to improve my health again.  The difference is this time I'm doing it differently.  Back in September, I listened to the audio book version of "Mindless Eating" by Brian Wansink Ph. D.  The book presents research highlighting how we eat without thinking.  It can be for many reasons.  We're bored, happy, sad, tricked, or simply terrible at estimation, but it's clear we mindlessly overeat.  While I don't use much of the principles presented in the book yet, I do plan on applying many of them, slowly. 

That's the point of the book and Dr. Wansink's research: little things have huge consequences over time. Consuming just ten extra calories a day can lead to a pound of weight gain in a year.  One hundred extra calories a day can lead to ten pounds gained in a year.  But, and it's a fantastic but, we can use this to our advantage.  Making one behavior can lead to ten pounds being lost in a year.  It's something fairly simple.  Quit drinking that can of pop every day.  Eat less chips, less ice cream, or don't take a second helping are just a few options.  Mine was a fairly drastic step.  I quick drinking pop almost entirely in late-September.  I consumed at least 1.5 liters a day, but 2 liters or more was not unusual.  That's about 600 calories a day, give or take.  Assuming those are excess calories, this behavior change can amount to roughly 60 pounds in a year. 

I'm probably not actually cutting out 600 calories a day, but I am losing weight.  I've lost about 7 or 8 pounds in six weeks.  There are ways that I can improve, but this is a fantastic first step.  I'll keep tracking my progress and muse about possible hypotheses.  When this experiment began, I weighed a disheartening 328 pounds.  This morning, I weighed 321.6.  It's not much difference, but it's a start.