Eat Less, Move More
Sounds so easy, right? Four words that everyone says when you ask how to lose weight. People who are successful will tell you that is all it takes. Sure, do not get me wrong. If you do eat less and move more you will lose weight…
Sometimes in life, things are not that simple. Well, at least not for me. I am the different one. I am the food addict.
I look at food differently than others. I can eat over 10,000 calories in one sitting without blinking an eye. I can have a great day tracking and then go crazy in a matter of minutes. I know the power of one bite. It leads to many more for me. I cannot have that one splurge. It turns into a lot more.
My whole life people have told me how easy it is to lose weight. There are so many plans. There are pre-packaged meals that will make life easier for dieting. There are so many fun workouts. Easy, easy, easy!
Well, weight loss has never been easy for me. Sure, I would lose weight for periods of time… only to gain it all back and then some.
Each time I thought I had it. When I would lose, I got cocky. It is easy! I have lost a lot of weight, why can’t others do the same. Why was I ever overweight?
I thought I figured out the whole “Eat Less, Move More” mentality. Unfortunately, I failed at it- all the way to being over 400 pounds.
Being over 400 pounds is different. Your life changes. You just hope to make it another day. Going up stairs took quite a while with breaks. Sitting in a car was a challenge. Finding clothes was a joke.
Then something happened. It was not about being simple or easy. It was something necessary. I could not live like this anymore. It was not fair to so many people in my life, including myself! Every day I forced myself to control what I ate. Every day I made myself workout. Every day I made a point to write down all of my food.
Then I realized that weight loss is not simple. It is necessary for some. I was one of those people. I had to make it work. If not, well, I probably would not be writing this.
I made it work and lost over 200 pounds. I changed my life forever. I will say that it got easier with time. Eating fruits and vegetables started tasting better. Working out became fun. Being able to put on smaller clothes made it all worth it. It is still a struggle though- a struggle I am willing to live with.
Easy? Simple? I would not say that about weight loss.
Necessary… definitely.
And this is coming from a pretty good success story.
Be well!
Tony
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Apr 24, 2012 @ 14:48:00
Pretty good success story indeed! I will battle the food addiction that I have for the rest of my life. Not too many of my friends/family can relate to this. It’s posts like this, and reading your blog that makes me feel less alone in my struggles. Thanks Tony!
Apr 24, 2012 @ 15:10:00
I can’t agree with anymore or say it any better.
Apr 24, 2012 @ 18:54:00
I have never told anyone weight loss is easy. It is hard. You have to be determined and dedicated. Otherwise you will fail, but maybe once people fail enough times, then they can finally figure out the right way to lose weight. Lifestyle change. Great post Tony!
Apr 25, 2012 @ 08:37:00
You just described my life…except I still weigh 400 lbs…..and I’m 40. I’ve lost significant weight (at least 100 lbs.) twice as an adult and have obviously gained it back.
You have described addiction to food perfectly. What I have realized is weight loss has to become the most important thing in my life. Everything else stems from that. I can’t be happy if I look and feel like I feel now, even if I have a great job, a great wife, and a beautiful, smart daughter.
Thank you for writing this. You’re helping people.
Apr 25, 2012 @ 14:17:00
Oh, I love this post! So many people have told me that weight loss is “easy.” It makes me want to hit them. Or eat their food.
May 01, 2012 @ 19:14:00
I never tip over 120 at 5’2 & I’m a 45 year old female Asian. You think I don’t worry about weight? Wrong! Because I strongly agree that maintaining an ideal weight is never easy. For me it is a constant awareness of what and how much I eat, therefore I exercise. But I LOVE to eat! It is embedded in my Asian upbringing that food is a great sign of a blessing therefore: must be enjoyed. Living in the States for the past 17 years I gain insights about healthy choices; portion control and the importance of regular exercise. So I do one of the 3 or a combo of any of the three or all of the 3, so I can still eat whatever I want, whenever I want.
1. I eat healthy choices as MUCH as possible. If not;
2. Portion control on junk foods. If not;
3. I exercise to get rid of the junk – GIGO – garbage in/garbage out.
*note on #3. For me working out is fun because I love anything that is related or incorporated with music. Step aerobics is my ALL time fave. Kick boxing is next esp with teachers who play hip hop songs. Zumba is great too but not all Latin beat, it bores me so I have to have a teacher that incorporates all kinds of genre to the dance and then it becomes a real party. Finding an exercise regimen that I truly like is very important because it kept me motivated to keep moving all these years. I have not been a member of any gym for a year now, 3 mos of which was spent in my own native land thus the excuse of 12 lbs gain but I still try to keep exercising at home. I bought my own steps, goes on youtube for classes, same with Zumba and kickboxing. I ride my bike outside and take long walks with my family or friends every now and then to cut the monotony of working out alone in my living room.
Rejoice! for those who have to carry more but still keep working on losing them. You are not alone because the road to being healthy and keeping healthy doesn’t stop at the scale. It is a life long commitment, therefore we are all for the long haul. God speed to us all!
May 05, 2012 @ 06:55:00
I used to be over 180 pounds and I understand the feeling of weight loss being necessary. Life treats you different at 180 pounds. People aren’t as friendly. You get stared at. I really just wanted to disappear.
I agree that it’s a constant commitment. It requires vigilance and discipline. And, like you said, along the way that hard work becomes a little easier and it begins to feel natural. And while it’s still a commitment, it’s one that is so much easier to keep.
May 15, 2012 @ 05:09:00
Great post Tony! Very much speaks to my own personal struggles with weight and food addiction. I am almost to a place where I am 200lbs down from my highest weight a few years back, and every day still feels like a battle, every moment feels like a struggle to make the right choices and not slide right back into the old comfortable habits. And what kills me is that truly, there was nothing at all comfortable about life at over 500lbs, but there was the numbing high of the food. A very powerful demon indeed. Thanks for sharing your struggle!
The “Never agains” « toliveinpeace
May 15, 2012 @ 14:04:47
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