My Weight Loss Strategy

Below are the principles which I employ on a daily basis to keep me on track on my weight loss journey.

1. I Do Not Count Calories

I don't have the time nor the patience to calculate every crumb of food that I put into my mouth, and frankly, I think it wouldn't be a good way for me to live. My whole plan since day one was to put some lifestyle policies into place that I could live with .... for the rest of my life!
2. I Reduced My Consumption of Fat, Sodium, and Sugar

Most of the time, I don't need to read a label to know whether or not one of the 3 ingredients mentioned is too high in something that I am going to buy at the grocery store or order in a restaurant. Don't get me wrong, I look at nutrition labels and compare brand A vs. B to see which one is lower.
3. I Increased the Amount of Vegetables That I Eat

I make it a point to always have frozen vegetables and lettuce in the house, which I eat with every dinner. The vegetables and salads have 2 effects for me. First they help to fill me up and second, they give me the oral satisfaction that comes with chewing. I have to note though, that I do not add any butter or salt to my frozen vegetables. As for salad dressing, I try to stay away from the high fat, creamy dressings and I try to keep the amount to a minimum.
4. Snacking

I avoid all snacking, especially late night snacking. For me, it’s because I know that it is hard for me to control myself. I know that if I snack, I’ll probably over do it.
5. Free Day

Free day, also known as my sanity day, is the one-day during the week that I allow myself to eat anything that I have been avoiding during the week. Of course, this is within reason. I chose Sunday as my Free Day. Some of the foods that I have on Free Day include pizza, ribs, chicken wings, ice cream, and pastries among other things (not all on the same day). Sunday is the day that I reward myself for being good all week. It also helps me to deal with the feelings of deprivation that can sometimes show up. It allows me to have something, guilt-free. I believe that if you do not allow yourself some indulgences, you are setting yourself up for failure. The trick here is for me not to over do it.
6. Exercise

“Exercise, Exercise, Exercise” is to successful weight loss, what the old adage “Location, Location, Location” is to a successful business. Only cutting calories, without exercising, greatly reduces the chance of successful weight loss, according to what I've read I began exercising slowly with 30 minutes of power walking on a treadmill for the first two weeks. Then, I increased to 30 minutes of “Walk n’ Run” for a few weeks. “Walk n’ Run” is walking for a minute, running for a minute and repeating. I came up with the “Walk ‘n Run” years ago because I knew I wouldn’t be able to run for 30 minutes in my current physical condition. I knew I had to do something that I could realistically achieve. Now, I’m at 45 minutes of “Walk n’Run” with the eventual goal of one hour and then, working my way to only running. To break the monotony, I box and lift weights as well, but the treadmill is still my favourite activity.
7. Commitment

In the past I used to tell myself that I was going to lose weight. I would start out ok but within a few weeks I would find some excuse as to why I could not continue. Net result I would disappoint myself. I lacked commitment! I read a book called Body for life which seemed to have the answer to this issue, which I had experienced over and over again. Along with committing to myself, I should commit to others, family, friends, colleagues, acquaintances, etc. By doing this, if I fail, I would be letting down all of those people instead of only myself, and I could not do that! Committing to others that I am going to lose the extra weight that I’ve been carrying is just what I needed, but somehow that wasn’t enough! THATS WHEN IT HIT ME, build a website and tell thousands of others what I am doing and maybe inspire someone else who is also struggling to lose weight. Talk about accountability!!!! I have to explain things to myself and to others. The “others” portion of accountability, suddenly gave me the commitment motivation that I had been lacking. I am now fully committed to a healthy lifestyle journey. Finally, I know that I am doing this for myself and other people are out there watching my journey, supporting my goals and if I don’t stay committed, they’ll watch my failure, too.
8. I Lose the Weight Between the Ears First

I had to prepare myself mentally before I began my weight-loss journey. I chose a date, made a plan of how I wanted to lose the weight, thought about the benefits of being at my proper weight, thought about what I had done before that had worked and what hadn’t, etc... I had to picture in my head what I wanted to look like and mentally prepare that I would be able to reach that vision. Once I got it all straight between the ears, everything else started falling into place
9. I Set Goals

I set realistic goals for myself, some of them have time limits, and some of them do not. An example of a goal without a time limit was to fit into a shirt that my wife bought for me late in 2007 to wear for Christmas. I tried the shirt the week before Christmas and found that the buttons were 3 to 4 inches from closing. I made up my mind to get into the shirt ASAP and when I tried that same shirt on 5 weeks after starting my journey, I was finally able to wear it! An example of a goal with a time limit would be my goal to lose 42 lbs by March 28 th. I calculated a certain amount of weight loss per week and chose the time by dividing the year into quarters. I know that 42 lbs is a lot of weight in 3 months, but I also know that the greatest amount of weight loss happens early in the journey. I always make sure to write down my goals, thus making them more real to me.
10. I Avoid the Scale

I try to avoid weighing myself every day because it’s only your weight at the end of the weekly cycle that matters, not the in between weight. My weight fluctuates from day to day so if I see that I’ve gone up from one day to the next, it can have a devastating effect on my psyche. Basically, I avoid the unnecessary stress of the scale whenever possible.
11. I Avoid Stress

I have personally found that I tend to over eat whenever I am stressed or angry. During these 2 times I find that eating calms me down, as a result, I have learned to control my stress and anger by focusing on positive thoughts instead and repeating certain phrases to myself. I have reconciled myself to the fact that some things are out of my control and that if I stress over them, the only things that I do is hurt or punish myself.
12. I Take Measurements

I take measurements because sometimes the scale lies. Yep, you heard me right....my scale lies to me sometimes. You see, my scale can only measure my weight, which is made up of bones, fat, muscle, and all the other gross stuff you see in those anatomy books. It doesn't measure inches or muscle mass. Some weeks my clothes feels looser even though the scale may not reflect it because I gained some muscle, while at the same time I lost fat. In case you didn’t know this already, fat takes up more space than muscle. So if I lose 1 lb of fat and replace it with 1 lb of muscle, I end up with a leaner me. I take measurements 2 ways, with a tailor’s cloth measuring tape and by trying on clothes that I almost fit into. Both methods are great because they give me a real boost in self esteem when I see the inches decreasing or adding previously unwearable clothes to my wardrobe.
13. Menu Variety

Nothing derails my good eating habits more than boredom! I know that if I eat the same things day after day, week after week, month after month, I’m going to get bored and cheat. That’s why I try adding new foods that fit in with my weight goals from time to time. I can shop healthy, which now a days, is easy to do with the incredible number of healthy foods available at the grocery stores. I buy frozen vegetables, weight control oatmeal, lettuce, fruits, bran cereal, etc and I am always on the look out for something new to add such as cottage cheese, yogurt, meal replacement bars, and whole grain breads.
14. I Don’t Skip Meals

Skipping meals only causes me to over eat at the next meal. No matter what, I never skip meals any more, something I used to do all the time in the past. Not only does skipping meals cause me to over eat, but it messes up my metabolism as well. I found that if I eat I lose weight because my body knows that it’s going to be fed on a regular basis (usually every 3 to 4 hours), so it burns what it’s getting at a steady pace. If I skip meals and over eat, my body starts to horde and store what I eat, like a famine response because it doesn’t know when the next meal is coming.
15. I Avoid Soft drinks and Alcohol

Soft drinks and alcohol are nothing more than empty liquid calories. They are unsatisfying and have barely any nutritional value to speak of, and being liquid in nature, they end up on my waist that much faster. I have one soft drink per week, on my free day. I do this because it’s my free day and it keeps me from craving them during the week. So what do I drink instead is water, 1 coffee per day and milk. Sometimes if water is not hitting the spot I ad a bit of fruit juice or lemon to it to give it some flavour.
16. Snacks

Sometimes I have to snack, but I always try to snack on something healthy such as plain popcorn, vegetables like carrot sticks, or a bowl of bran flakes. I always remember that, too much of a good thing is bad and that adding unhealthy ingredients to a healthy snack such as dips or butter can ruin an otherwise healthy intention.
17. I Eat More Fibre

Fibre fills me up and keeps me regular (a nice way of saying that it makes me poop). I have bran cereal for breakfast, salads, and vegetables with dinner, which all contribute to making me feel full and keeping my digestive track healthy.
18. I Drink Lots of Water

I drink 3 to 5 litres of water per day. It helps to keep me regular (again with the poop thing), and it keeps me feeling full most of the day. Water also helps to flush toxins out of my body through the urine (I'm prepared to pee a lot). Water is necessary in order to burn fat, it helps to keep my organs, hair and skin healthy too. I have a water bottle next to me most of the day and sometimes at night too. I drink as much water as I can, especially after a vigorous workout so that I can replace the water that I have lost through sweating.
19. I Learn From Mistakes

Every time I have dieted, I’ve learned something new about myself. I’ve made hundreds of mistakes, but I’ve learned from each one and have tried hard not to repeat them. They say an idiot is someone who keeps making the same mistakes over and over again and never learns from them. I am definitely not an idiot. I am sponge! I absorb information, keeping what works and discarding the garbage!
20. Experiment

My body is like a chemistry lab experiment. I am constantly giving it new formulas, constants, and ingredients in different quantities and verifying the results from week to week. If I get the results I want, I add the ingredients to my chemistry cocktail. If not, I chuck it out and move on to the next item. It’s always challenging. At times, it’s frustrating, but it’s always fun because I ultimately control the experiment. I feel like a modern day Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
21. Keep Doing What You’re Doing . . .

The old saying “keep doing what you’re doing and you’ll keep getting what you’re getting” is true both in a negative and in a positive way. If I keep repeating the same negative habits that made me fat, then I’m going to remain fat, but if I start repeating positive healthy habits instead, then I should lose weight and be healthier.
22. I Chew Gum

I chew sugar-free gum every day because it fools my brain into thinking that I’m eating. I find that when I’m chewing the gum I don’t get hungry as often. Some people claim that chewing gum causes you to salivate, which in turn makes you hungry. This is definitely not the case for me. I learned many, many years ago that when I chew gum my brain “forgets” about eating. For me, it’s kind of like when your having fun doing something and you lose track of time, next thing you know you’ve accidentally missed lunch or dinner because you were so involved in the activity that your hunger mechanism forgot to notify you that your hungry.
23. Cravings

I don’t get many cravings, but sometimes if I do get a craving to eat something, I usually try to drink a big glass of water first. If my craving subsides, great! If not, I usually just have whatever it is and instead control the quantity, if it’s not the healthiest craving. I have found that if I crave something, I better just have it and satisfy my body because if I don’t, I’ll just end up eating a few other things first then just give up to the craving in the end. This way by feeding my craving I satisfy it and can usually control the amount. I have also found that when I crave something it’s because my body needs the nutrient or ingredient that food contains. My body is smarter than my head sometimes, so it knows that by craving something it will get what it lacks.
24. Rewards

I reward myself when I reach a preset milestone. It’s easy to do and it gives you something to look forward to. I use my free day as a reward for getting through the previous week without cheating and for working out consistently. I'm thinking about putting a dollar in a jar for every pound I lose and when I reach my goal, I'll take the money and treat myself to something Iv’ve been wanting to buy, like a new CD to workout to, or a book I’ve been wanting to read, perhaps a pair of roller blades, a workout ball or a new shirt to show off my hard work.
25. Sweat the Small Stuff

One of the things that I have come to realize is that every little bit helps whether it’s physical activity or diet. Most people want everything NOW, including results. I didn’t get fat overnight, it took years of unhealthy eating and lack of activity to get to close to 150 lbs over weight. I now look at my weight loss goal as a lifestyle goal instead. Confused? So was I for many years. Instead of trying to lose weight as fast as possible only to regain it all back, this time I am approaching it with a different view...... Make a few big changes, and a ton of little ones. I make dozens of small changes and decisions that will support the big ones I have made. For example: by cutting out a bed time snack I only save 200 calories, but multiplied by 365 days in a year, it adds up to 73,000 calories which is equal to approximately 8 lbs of fat. Taking the stairs at work every day may only burn 500 calories per week, but multiple by 50 weeks and it's 25,000 calories burned, which is the same as approximately 3 lbs of fat. In the 2 examples I had a net loss of 11 lbs of fat, couple this with avoiding soft drinks, parking further away from store entrances when shopping, etc. I can see that I can easily lose A LOT of weight in one year.

Everything that you read on this website is my own personal experiences or contributions from other visitors. If you wish to follow any of the things that you read on this website, you do so at your own risk. I do not make any claims or guarantees that you will lose weight or become healthier.