I am getting serious about losing weight. I have done a ton of reading on diets and not the hype or the books but actual studies on efficacy of diets, their side effects, their dropout rates and so on. These studies are interesting in that a lot of conventional wisdom is put to rest. Right now, it appears from my research, that a low-carb (as opposed to no-carb) diets are actually the healthiest and have the lowest drop-out rates along with a decent amount of weight loss. So I am working on a plan to modify my diet on a permanent level. I won’t be cutting carbs completely and will be using portion control along with lowering my carb intake. Initially it think I will cut the easiest carbs by dropping sodas and pre-sweetened drinks. So instead of sandwiches at lunch I’ll do something without bread even if means I get the sandwich and toss the bread and drink water or iced tea, drop the pasta with dinner, and so on.
I am also starting walking/running with the wife which in and of itself isn’t an easy thing. I have to get braces because my joints are not happy with this plan but that’s a minor issue overall. The hardest part is getting up to do this before work. In order to run with Michelle I have to drag my arse out of bed at 05:00 and be moving and ready to run by 05:15. This also means she’s getting up earlier as well and neither of us are morning people. All of these things are easily overcome but will take time and dedication. I am optimistic about this and only really worried about my joints.
Monday morning I will take a profile picture, shirtless, and post it here so that I have a visible measurement of my physique as well as some public shame because, trust me, this won’t be a pretty picture. I intend to post a new picture weekly but I am not going to promise myself that because I have too many other things involved in this and don’t want a simple failure to post a picture to make me feel like a failure and give up on the important stuff.
All in all there’s a lot of commitment here and right now it sounds good but I know that Monday morning I won’t want to crawl out from under the covers and go run. I know my limits. But I intend to persevere and actually lose this weight.
Comments
Sandi on 09.29.2012
Good for you! I did practically the same thing but a little more extreme back in May and I have lost 50lbs so far and it’s still dropping. It really isn’t that hard once you make up your mind to do it. It’s not a diet, it’s a lifestyle change. And it’s not just to lose weight, it’s to feel better and be more healthy over all. Good Luck!
Romeo Sid Vicious on 09.30.2012
Changing my diet is the first step. I don’t think I am going on a diet and that’s really key advice (thank you for mentioning it) because if you diet and then go back to the way you ate before you’ll just gain it all back. That’s one reason I am being careful with how I plan this. I will be counting calories to start and carefully crafting a menu I can live with for a very long time. The running is going to be harder to incorporate as I need to go to bed earlier and that cuts in to my relaxing time and it’s hard to sleep if I don’t wind down. There’s a whole lot there that I haven’t gone in to but I will be getting in to it in more posts as I think putting my thoughts in writing helps me sort them out and stick to things better. I would post more tonight but really need to sleep. Thanks for commenting Sandi!