Health and Fitness

The Problem

My grandmother passed away when I was fourteen  My grandfather died six months later.  And six months after that, my aunt died.  All from complications brought on by chronic alcoholism.  Sadly, my grandparents were in thier 50's, my aunt was in her 30's. That was enough incentive for me not to do any drinking during my high school years and it’s very rare that I’ll have something alcoholic to today. 

At the age of 55, my mother who smoked since she was 15, succumbed to lung cancer.  My dad, who smoked unfiltered Lucky Strikes for many years died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 67.  I consider myself fortunate that I have never smoked and I have no desire to start.

In the spring of 2008, I feared I might not make it another year and die before I could see my daughters grow up.  I’m sorry to say, but my “drugs” were food and a sedentary lifestyle.  I had eaten my way up to nearly 300 pounds and a 48-inch waist.  It wasn’t pretty, I wasn't happy and I knew something had to change.  After reviewing many possible causes of my condition (which wasn't very helpful), I realized that what needed to change was my attitude and my unhealthy lifestyle.

The Solution

Each day we are bombarded with commercials that tell us if only we took a certain pill, did a certain exercise, ate a special diet, etc., we would lose weight and be healthier.  Some pill pushers even try to convince us that being overweight isn't our fault.  They try to convince us it's stress, our jobs, our kids, etc.  The cold hard reality is that the majority of us are responsible for whatever condition our bodies are in.  That includes me.

I learned that I had to change, not just one thing, but many.  Over the next 12 months, I began to take steps in the right direction.  There was no magic pill, no exciting new exercise equipment and I was far too "financially challenged" to invest in any commercial weight loss program.  And so, I developed my own personal diet plan and it worked for me.

Kevin’s Low Cost Diet Plan

• Stay within your calorie budget.  Figure out how much weight you want to lose, by when you expect to lose it, and how many calories you can consume each day.  Then, stay within your budget.  No one every put a gun to my head and made me eat a meal.  I ate too much, plain and simple.

• Stop eating fast food.  No matter how much they try to convince you the have a low-cal menu, that chicken sandwich might sound like a healthy choice, but once you get fries, soda, etc., it adds up quickly.  Also, fast food and eating out in general can get expensive.  Remember, this is a low cost diet plan.

• Don't eat in your car.  When you're driving, trying to pay attention to the road, it's easy to stop paying attention to how much you're eating.  In my case, I was lucky enough to own an old Harley-Davidson motorcycle.  It's very difficult to eat and ride a bike. 

• Don't eat alone.  When you eat with others, you tend to talk with others.  This means you also tend to slow down and not eat at much.  It's also good for keeping relationships healthy too.

• Eat earlier in the day.  The best advice I can give is eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like pauper.  Try not to eat anything after 5:30pm. 

• Don't eat before bedtime.  Eating too close to bed time slows down your metabolism and food is more easily absorbed into your system.

• Get plenty of sleep.  Sleep is important.  Your body needs it for both physical and mental reasons.  It's very difficult to exercise if you're feeling tired because you didn't get enough sleep. 
  

• If you can't sleep, see a doctor.  If you're over weight, have your doctor check you for sleep apnea.  When doctors at the VA had me do a sleep study, I found out that I was waking up 18 or more times during the night. As a result, they prescribed me a CPAP machine and I had my first full night of sleep in years.  Tylenol PM had become my best friend, but even that didn't allow me to get the deep and restful night sleep that the CPAT machine brought me.

• Drink plenty of water.  Sometimes we eat because we think we are hungry, when in reality, we are just thirsty.  Your body needs water, lots of water.  I was drinking 4 to 5 liters of water each day.  I kept a 1.5 liter bottle at my desk and kept refilling it throughout the day.

• Make your own lunches.  You have complete control here.  You can choose to pack healthy lunches with lean meats, fruits and vegetables.  Though I had an hour for lunch, I used to nibble on my “lunch” before and after I took my lunch break.

• Make the most of your lunch break.  If you sit down all morning, and you sit down all afternoon, don't sit down during lunch.  Take a walk!  Start small and work your way up.  I started walking back and forth on a flat surface.  After 10 months, I was doing a walk/run up to 2.8 miles in less than 60 minutes.  If you're worried about seating, bring an extra shirt and deodorant.

• Eat lots of fruits and veggies. Apples, oranges, strawberries, carrots, bananas, green beans and more are your bet friends.  Never go into a supermarket without seeing what fruits and veggies are on sale.

• Re-define Love.  This is probably the most difficult thing I had to do.  I had to re-train family, friends and loved ones that the way to my heart was not through my stomach.  In our culture, we often associate food with love.  I would never refuse a meal (or a second helping) because I did not want to offend anyone, or appear to be rejecting their hospitality.  Now, I've learned to politely say “no” to foods that do not help me move towards my goal weight of 189 pounds (and I've still got a way to go).

• Replace unhealthy foods. Like eating potato chips? Try eating veggie sticks. Like eating burgers? Try eating lean turkey burgers. Replace the sugar in your morning drinks with Spenda.

• Read nutritional labels. Take advantage of labeling laws that tell you what is in the food. Avoid foods that are high in sodium, high in fat (especially saturated fat), etc. Despite claims that your breakfast cereal is healthy, look at the ingredients. If sugar is listed as the first, second or third ingredient, it's probably not that healthy for you.

• Take your vitamins.  If you're going to living within a lower calorie budget, you want to make sure you get all the vitamins and minerals your body needs to function properly.  WalMart has great deals on their store brand vitamins, as well as other products.

• Make time to exercise.  If something is a priority for you, truly a priority, you'll make time to make it happen.  For me, I made sure I took that lunch hour and got out and walked.  I also made sure I did at least one hike each weekend.  I live by my Outlook calendar, which syncs with my iPhone.  We all have the same amount of hours in the day.  What we do with it is our choice.

• Keep exercise interesting.  A lot of people quit exercise because it gets boring or tedious.  When I'm walking the dogs, I will often take different routes.  The hiking helps because the scenery changes. 

• Reduce stress in your life. Stress can really wear a body down. When I was stressed I was tired, lethargic and I wanted to eat, a lot. There will always be stress in our lives, but try to minimize it when ever possible.

• Don't wait until tomorrow.  Start today! 

The Results

I realize this is a very long laundry list of things to do.  As I said earlier, there was no one thing that helped me out.  And, I know that I am not done yet.  My initial goal was to lose 100 pounds.  I have gotten down to 206, bumped up a bit, and I'm still trying to get down to 187.

In the end, losing weight, eating health, exercising, getting enough sleep and mostly importantly, making the right choices, is all up to you.  That’s probably the hardest pill to swallow.  However, the rewards are worth it. 

For me, the best part of this journey was seeing my waist begin to shrink and old clothes that I hadn’t seen in years begin to fit again.  I went from a supersized 48-inch waist down to a trimmer size 36-inch waist.  I went from size XXL down to L shirts.  I noticed I had more energy and a much happier outlook on life. 

To this day, the journey continues. I wish you the very best with your quest.  I hope that you’ll be able to accept and act upon the mantra I know repeat every day, “if it’s to be, it’s up to me.”  Good luck.

Respectfully,

-Kevin

Note: I'm not a doctor, I'm not a nutritionist, but I do know worked for me. Hopefully you can get some of it to work for you. And don't forget, you should talk with your doctor before starting any exercise or diet plan.