Hardly a week goes by that I don't get a desperate email from someone
who can't seem to turn the corner of his or her weight-loss journey.I try to give them advice and encouragement, but the truth is that I don't know how much good it does. I mean, I'm not a nutritionist, not a life coach, not a doctor of... ummm... weightlossology. I'm just a boy with a blog.
Maybe you're stumbling and struggling, too. Lord knows I haven't spent much time "in the zone" this year. Sometimes when I get those emails, I feel like a swim coach who only knows how to dog paddle trying to teach the breaststroke.
Except...
Except I have learned quite a bit on this journey, and I'm more than happy to pass on the tips and tricks I've picked up along the way. If you go through my year-and-a-half's worth of posts (not that I recommend you actually doing that; people have hurt themselves ingesting too much Sh*t in one sitting), you'll come to realize that there are only a few basic plays in my playbook...
1. Eat a little less
2. Eat a little healthier
3. Exercise more
The rest of the program (let's call it #4) is simply finding some way to keep #1-3 an everyday part of our lives.
No matter how difficult this has been or how hopeless it sometimes seems, all that you need to succeed is the wisdom to make sound choices and the perseverance to stick with it even when your heart is not in it all the way.
If you can wrap your head around the fact that you can, indeed, do this… well, chances are you’ll find some way to achieve what you’ve set out to achieve.
And those are the emails I really like to get: the ones from folks telling me they’ve accomplished their goals.
I have lost 40 lbs in the last year and finally fall in the "Normal" range for the first time in 20 years. I get a lot of people who ask how and for advice and they are always surprised that is was not WW, JC, or Atkins. It is eat more nutrients, eat less junk, and move more. And I think they are really shocked when the move more is still less than 1 hour a day.
ReplyDeleteSo I am hear to tell you I have mostly accomplished my goals. And sometimes your posts where part of that. Thank you.
This is really interesting... it seems like no matter what, folks reach out for what they hope is the quick cure. When I recently posted that my doctor had given me a specific plan she wanted me to follow to deal with some medical issues, I gained followers and had some people contact me privately wanting to know if they could have the plan or if I would put a food log on my blog.
ReplyDeleteWhile I will continue to share a recipe or two, I am not going to put the specifics out there for scrutinizing or as false hope. The plain fact is, no matter what "plan" you follow, you've got to eat less, eat healthier, move more.
Yes, the rules are so simple. But they aren't EASY.
ReplyDeleteGreat advice. Rule #4 can sometimes be a real b*tch though. :)
ReplyDeleteIt's that damned number 4, isn't it Jack? Because anybody can do 1, 2 and 3 for a while, but it's number 4 that trips us all up.
ReplyDeleteYou seem to really be going through something right now. And you know all the rules and have had past success and you know 100% that you can do this (a victory all by itself). But it seems to me like you could use some of your spark back (or what others call mojo, inner nazi, whatever).
I'd love to see you find something inspiring to really rev your engines back up! And if I can help with that let me know. I'm on Day 40. If you want to join me on my last 50, I sure could use someone to keep my ass on the straight and narrow. Think about it......
Thanks for the reminders. This week I have been feeling like a screw up, but I have garnered some habits that stick with me even when I am not "in the zone." No matter what, I am way healthier than I was 80 pounds ago.
ReplyDeleteyou hit the nail on the head Jack, alot of people are looking for a quick fit, and there isn't one. It takes a lot of KICKING, SCREAMING, CRYING but it's well worth it in the end!
ReplyDeleteYou are absolutely right, eat less, move more, who would of thunk it ;-)
It's like listening to the song you've heard a million times and hearing something different in the lyrics. And baby, I'll do a cover of your tunes any. damn. day.
ReplyDeleteI do know Jack. A little. And he's one of my heroes.
So true!
ReplyDeleteI had pushed out of my mind #2: eat a little healthier. I've been eating too much peanut butter and choc chips lately, while making sure it didn't put me over calories or carbs.
ReplyDeleteNot good. Thanks for the reminder. Vee at http://veegettinghealthy.blogspot.com
If you can wrap your head around the fact that you can, indeed, do this… well, chances are you’ll find some way to achieve what you’ve set out to achieve.
ReplyDeleteA big hearty AMEN to this. It's my biggest struggle, I think...just BELIEVING I can do it. THank you for your inspiration, Jack!
People don't seem to grasp the obvious sometimes, do they?
ReplyDeleteYou are one of the good guys, Jack - and you help me keep #4 going!
Jack...I line up and bow to your list! LOL! Its been the only thing that has worked for me and since January I am down over 100 pounds. Keep encouraging folks to follow these basic steps! It will happen for them too!
ReplyDeleteGreat one Jack- #4 is hard to stick with but oh so worth it! :)
ReplyDeleteNice post Jack! #4 is what makes it challenging. And anything worth doing is challenging. So keep on answering those emails and offering your advice. People wouldn't ask for it if they didn't want it, right?
ReplyDeleteYou forgot #5 - work on the HEAD. Yes, #4 is similar. I think the mental part is most important. You can do 1-4 but if you don't work on mental part of this, true lifetime sucess will be difficult. Bloggers like 266 and prior fat girl show me that even when I am at goal, there is still a whole lot more mental aspects needing work. My blog is the no. 1 reason I haven't quit. The blog provides me an area to work on the mental part of all this crap. Reading other bloggers mental journey helps to.
ReplyDeleteGreat post. I agree with the mental part. I am so mental. Gracie
ReplyDeleteYou may not have the answers, but you do offer some understanding. I have appreciated our correspondence very much...but the answers I need are somewhere inside this melon of a head of mine. You just let us know we're not alone in what we struggle with.
ReplyDeleteKeep on keepin' on!
I have accomplished my goals but I am a work in progress always so I always have new ones that keep me moving forward on this journey!
ReplyDeleteSo damn simple. Why is it so damn hard, then?
ReplyDeletePretty much sums it up Jack!!!! now if I could only keep following that plan.
ReplyDeleteThis is so true Jack! Sometimes I want to just tell people this when they ask for advice. I think we all know what it takes but it is number 4 making it happen! :)
ReplyDeleteThat is and has been my goal. For this whole thing to be my new normal. To get 'easy' in my new life. I am working out the kinks but I am getting there. So are you bud. It just feels hinky right now, but if you keep at it you will get there.
ReplyDeleteI was renown when I was a trainer for telling my clients: IF I HAD THE PANACEA ID BE ON OPRAH. IM NOT.
ReplyDelete(this was back when OPRAH was OPRAH!!! and not oprah :))
eatless
movemore
not too sexy but works huh?