Butterbelly

The last time I posted anything on here was November, 2010.  I was a very faithful poster on here for 4 months solid.  My goal was to use this place, the support you all provide, and the daily accountablity to finally get my fat Butterbelly lean and sexy once again.

It didn’t work.

Yeah, I lost 11 pounds, but they were back 4 months later.

So, what did I do when I found I gained them back in March of 2011?  Well, I started a new diet.  It was a cycle I was used to being on throughout my adult life.  The result of all this dieting and focus was that I steadily gained weight nearly each and every year.

So, this time I chose to go the Low-Carb route.  Its a path that served me well (albeit temporarily) in they year 2000.  Within a couple months I was down 18 pounds before falling off the wagon again.  My tennis game was a bit better during the summer, but as soon as the weather turned cold and I lost my diet focus, I returned home from a wonderful Thanksgiving trip weighing in at 261; 10 pounds of my 18 pound loss had returned.  No big surprise.

Its quite amusing to me that I then weighed the same as I did the year before.  One year of NOT posting on here led me to…nowhere.

So, I went full board on the low-carb bandwagon.  With the last few days of November and all of December full of meat, eggs, cheese and salads, I was down 13 pounds to start 2012 at 248.  The first time in as long as I can remember where I started the year under 250 pounds.  In fact, I have only BEEN under 250 pounds twice in the past 14 years or so.

So, here we are in March 2012.  I lost 9 in January and 5 in February.  Currently sitting at 233 pounds.  Should I get excited or is this the same ‘ole same ‘ole?

I am 48 years old and six feet nothing tall.  I am not sure where I should be, but I know I will throw a party when I hit 199.

This is the point where I tend to give up.  Three months of dedicated focus to my diet and exercise is a long time for me.

This time, things feel different.  I am still motiviated.  I am convienced I am doing it the right way.  I feel good.  I am never hungry.  I am eating like a lean person should.

I enjoy writing, and I enjoy seeing how others are doing on their healthy journey.  I intend on seeing this thing to completion.  

I welcome any and all companions for the path ahead.

Its lunch time for me…1pm or so.  Like always, I packed.

But instead of eating, I put a stick of mint gum in my mouth.

If I wait till 2 to eat, I will be that much less hungry come dinnertime. Will eat less as a result.

What tricks do you guys use to eat less instead of habitually eating just because it is “meal time”?

are not good for my health.

I stayed up too late, and didn’t get enough sleep.  Caused me to blow off any workout and I bet I will not be as productive today.

I can be a news junkie, and its actually something I need to lesson.  The world will keep moving without me having to read about it all.

I need to focus on me and my family and less on world events.

My sphere of influence is all that should really concern me.

It was nice to hop on the scale and see a couple pound difference from the day before.

I credit a decent breakfast (whole wheat bagel), packed lunch, and then a dinner that I didn’t really like.  I didn’t let my wife know this.  As a result, I ate less.

Went to bed hungry.  That ALWAYS translates to movement on the scale.

I want to drop 6-7 more pounds before Thanksgiving.

If I do, I can tell everyone “Why thanks, yes, I did lose 20 pounds.”  Now pass the mashed potatoes.

I have had a lot of things happen over the past 5 weeks or so to sabotage my weight loss efforts and cause me to lose my weight-loss mojo.  Travel, parties, cold weather, aches and pains, and family issues.

None of them are legit.

I could have worked around all of them.  I could have lost weight over the last month instead of holding steady (with ups and downs in-between).

As my son and I were bicycling across the USA, several people emailed and quoted Churchill:

Never, never, never give up.
Winston Churchill

This is the test.  Will this diet/fitness quest end here, or will I push through this and reach my goals?

We shall see.

I am glad that I do not like chocolate.

I was created a short-term thinker.

Each day, I take myself through hundreds (thousands) of minute decisions.  Do this, don’t do that.  Go there, don’t go there.  Eat this, don’t eat this.

A lifetime of these decisions have made me the person I am today.  For better or worse.

It’s human nature, sadly, to be short-term in my decision process.  I tend to chose the option that gives me the most satisfaction NOW, instead of later.

The decision to eat that slice of cake now provides me immediate pleasure.  The decison to not eat it gives the Future Me better health.  It should be an obvious decision but, sadly, the desire for immediate pleasure is often too strong.

This concept applies to my life in the office and home as I tend to spend too much time on the urgent instead of the things that will grow my business and relationships long-term. 

Moving forward, I pledge to be more concious of my decisions.  I am going to make an effort to defer immediate pleasure for long-term gain.  I am going to visualize the effect of the Future Me on the decision at hand.

I am worth it.  The Future Me will thank me.