Stress-Free Weight Loss - Andy Style!

I don't do the New Year's resolution thing. It is a silly practice and nobody really has any plans on keeping them anyway. I do use the first of the year as a starting point for goals I have since it is such a relatively easy date to remember and for a few months everyone will assume I'm trying to keep a resolution (like they are) and leave me alone.

In any event, a couple of years ago I came up with a simple weight loss plan that would have worked 100% for me, had I not gotten so distracted and lazy during the summer months, when I'm usually working fairs and festivals and eating virtually anything on a stick. I plan on reinstating the plan this year as it was both easy to maintain and considerably less pressure than all the crap the rest of you are trying.

Here's the basics.

• Determine how much weight you want to lose, in my case it is 40 pounds.
• Next figure out how many pounds you would have to lose per month over the course of an entire year in order to achieve the goal, making the entire task much less daunting than every other weight loss plan out there. In my case, I'd have to lose just over 3 pounds a month, which is actually very easy to do if I do the remaining other things on the plan.
• Alter your diet (see below) & exercise more.
• Splurge once in awhile, but don't go crazy when you do. Everyone needs a little pampering or treat every now and then. If your "now and then" is every day, then you're a pathetic fat freak that needs to heed this plan a little better.
• Don't freak out if you miss your goal one month. Just recalculate and know that some months will be harder than others.

Why 12 months? Because it eases the pressure put upon you by most other plans and it is one full year of simple alterations that can lead to complete changes in your bad habits, and therefore positively changing your life. Besides, 3.33 pounds a month is a lot safer and easier to achieve than say, averaging 5-10 pounds over a 12 week period with ups and downs along the way.

How about the food? I found a few very simple changes can make a lot of difference. As an example, when I first put this to the test, one of the things I gave up altogether was sugared soda, heavier beers, and fast food restaurants. When I switched to diet soda and stopped hitting the drive through, I lost about 13 pounds in about 2 weeks. I lost more weight when I found a low-cal beer I enjoyed (Amstel Light and Sam Adams Light were high on the list) This was with no increase in activity or exercise at all. That's a lot of weight tied up in cola and Big Macs! Forget about the pounds from a six pack of good beer.

Otherwise I ate more poultry and fish, cut my red meat intake to about once or twice a month, eased off on the cheeses and sauces a bit, less breads and breading, and avoided the sweets. I didn't eliminate a damn thing from the diet, I just ate less of the bad and more of the good and I made a point of cooking more meals at home. I also tried not to eat much of anything after 8 or 9 PM. If I HAD to eat at a fast food joint I just ate something healthier than the standard items. If I was really in the mood for some ice cream, I had it. What I didn't do was be in the mood for that snack every damn day.

One last thing that made a difference was figuring out when I was truly HUNGRY. I read a long time ago that most people confuse hunger with thirst. I don't remember the percentages but it was very high (like 80-90% of all people). Most people instantly grab a snack when their urges would have been satiated if they'd grabbed a drink of water or juice. I increased my water intake, squeezed more juices at home, and drank diet soft drinks. If I had to snack I grabbed something healthier. Pretty simple to do all told.

As for the exercise, I walked more and when the weather got better I made a point of riding my bike for leisure and for running errands when possible. I didn't go crazy at the gym or try to become some kind of muscle-bound moron. I just got a little more exercise, choosing to walk the couple of blocks to the bank or the store instead of driving. It helped a lot.

That year, up to summer's end where I began a bit of a relapse of bad habits, I lost about 21 pounds (just over 1/2 my goal at the time) and I never had any hunger pangs or feelings like I was on a diet. I just altered my habits and I saw positive results. It was my own fault for falling back and after a couple of years I'm back at square one.

However, in the past if I did a stupid diet I'd gain the weight back very quickly. This took about a year and a half for the weight to return, likely because I had done a lot to change habits and very gradually went back to "the old me". Some of the new good habits are still in place telling me that I was right in some of the changes I made. Knowing that I can do the right things for extended periods of time, and knowing what seasons and situations tend to be my downfall I am ready to have another go at it and make the full year's worth of weight loss, and personal growth. It has to be a hell of a lot cheaper than buying new costumes and show clothes.

Anyone who wants to join me on this feel free to let me know. Maybe we can do a blogger weight loss summit or something like that. We can do the support system thing and post our results on our own blogs and all that. I'm not that organized so don't expect a huge wave of activity other than that.

This year I plan on making a few adjustments to better suit my life, but the basics are all there. I'll be cutting even light beer out almost completely as I've been drinking less and less anyways and I'll probably decrease the amount of diet soda and replace it with more water and fresh fruit juice. I also plan on getting a little more exercise in the house during the winter months, but that may end up being from just cleaning the damn place more often. LOL! I'll post my weekly scale readings if you're interested. I just thought I'd share since I got back on the wagon today.

Jan 2, 2006 Weigh In: 240 Pounds! Ouch!