Weight Loss Support - Ask Charles

Doing what I want…

I ran across a post the other day.   The person posting was having trouble staying on track with their weight loss and fitness plan.   What they posted was the following:

” I just hover around the same weight because I pay attention for a couple of days, just do whatever I want for a couple or three, go back to paying attention… on and on.”

That got me to thinking about my own weight loss journey and my lifestyle that I have now.   Here was what I responded.   I thought it might be of help to someone.

Well, I have had some luck with weight loss and when I read your post - I bolded what jumped off the page for me. What I found out after many years of being super morbidly obese ~- what has helped me lose over 350 pounds and keep it off for over two years now was - and this was a revelation to me - I had to change what I wanted.

See to me the key the most important thing that I got from my journey to fitness was that I don’t think that we can want one thing and do another for a long period of time. Sure, willpower and all that good stuff - but think about it. If you want, I mean really want a big fat juicy hamburger - how long will you eat tofu? If every time you want a burger, you make yourself eat tofu -(well anything you don’t really want - not picking on tofu - just an example) how long would you do that? A week, a month, 2 months? I think that if you really really want that hamburger sooner or later - you are going to eat it. Maybe many hamburgers after all that tofu.

I think what we have to learn to do is to change what we want. We have to find things that we love to eat, ways that we eat that is something we desire. This is key I do what I want every single day of my life. I don’t have to stay focused on what I am supposed to do - just like back in the old days I did not have to stay of task to weigh 600 pounds. I was eating what I wanted to eat, how much I wanted to eat and when I wanted to eat. The cool thing is I am doing the SAME thing now. What changed is what I wanted. I eat better now, enjoy it more than I ever have in my life. The benefits of being fit and healthy are beyond my wildest imagination of just a few years ago.

I wish you all the best! I would be happy to help anyone along the journey.

Posted in Tips - Tricks and the art of weight loss | 1 Comment »

Weight loss Anniversary & another Anniversary….

In just a few weeks, November 18, 2006 to be exact, I will have been at my goal weight for 2 years. I have lost and maintained a 350 pound weight loss.   That almost seems like a typo even to me.   Not only that, but last week marks the second anniversary that I first saw Nan again after 28 years.  My wife Nan and I graduated high school together.   I had a huge crush on her back then but was too shy to tell her.   Of course it was the worst kept secret crush in the history of mankind or so I was told years later.  :)   We got married 6 months later.

Time has flown by since I hit my weight loss goal.   Transition to maintenance has not been that difficult - but it has been different. You know - your weight loss phase is so active and goal driven.   I find that maintenance is still goal driven but for some reason it does not feel the same.   It takes a different kind of focus to keep those healthy habits that you develop along the way to your goal.  
I have to confess, I had a lot of good intentions when I was getting close to my goal. I would change my goals to other related things. For example, while keeping my weight the same, try and lower my percentage of body fat. Try to increase my endurance. Well, so far, I have not done very good at that. I don’t know if I just needed a break - or if for the first time in my life, I have a full, happy satisfied active life, I have just gotten a little side tracked.    I am working on increasing my cardiovascular fitness.   I want to ride the MS 150 next year and I need to get in better shape to do that.    If you have not read about this great organization that raises money to help fight Multiple Sclerosis, then you should take a look here http://www.ms150.org/

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Reflections | 1 Comment »

Wake up thin?

A friend of mine also working on weight loss wrote:
…
“What fun would it be if you woke up one morning and were thin? Let me think about that. I think it would be a lot of fun. “
…

Boy that got me to thinking. I thought it was an intriguing idea and wanted to share my response and see what other people thought.

“The future is not some place we are going, but one we create. The paths are not found, but made, and the activity of making them changes both the maker and the destination.”
John Schaar

I can honestly say now that even if it were possible to wake up thin - I would not want to.  The journey to fitness is one without end.   It is a skill set we have to learn and make a part of who we are.   If I woke up with Adonises body - without going through the process, I would not know how to keep it.

It is a process … and the process has taught me more about myself that I could have ever imagined. I would not trade that insight into who I am and what I can be for the hottest body on the planet.

Tell me what you think?   Would you wake up thin?   If so why?   If not, then why not?

I wish you the very best in your journey!

Posted in Motivation, Obesity, Reflections, Tips - Tricks and the art of weight loss, weight loss experience | 2 Comments »

I am doing everything right and it does not work!

Thank you for stopping by the Ask Charles Blog! I wanted bring up a topic today that comes up a lot when people are trying to make a lifestyle change and lose weight. I have seen the same question asked a hundred different ways. This is not working - I am in starvation mode - I need to eat more, (starvation mode is real but way over blown as a cause of no weight loss IMHO), it is my genes, my metabolism is abnormal … you name it. I am not making fun of those ideas at all. I have had all of them myself many times for years. I had a behaviorist at the Weight Management Program here at Methodist Hospital tell me the 3 biggest obstacles to change all took place between our ears. Rationalization, minimization and justification.

Take for example food logging. I think that food logging is a great tool for anyone looking to lose weight. Just this week new studies have found this to be an effective tool in the fight against obesity. Keeping Food Diary Doubles Weight Loss I have used www.myfooddiary.com  since the beginning of my weight loss journey.   Not only does having a food log help in weight loss, but having a community of people going through the same journey that you are really serves as great motivation, help and inspiration.  

One thing to keep in mind about weight loss, the numbers we use in tracking calories consumed and calories burned are estimates.  Think about it - from your RMR (Resting Metabolic Rate) unless you have it tested, to the activity factor used, to the exercise you do, even the food you log are all at best an estimate. Food logging is a tool. I happen to think it is a great tool. However, like all tools used for estimation - you have to match prediction to reality. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Obesity, Tips - Tricks and the art of weight loss, Weight Loss Motivation, weight loss experience, weight loss stories | No Comments »

A call to arms

I read yesterday in The Wall Street Journal that the obesity rate in America is up again.   A heartbreaking 25.6% of our friends, family, loved ones and most tragic of all our children, are taking a hit to their health and quality of life in record numbers.    WSJ Health Blog - more than 1 in 4 in USA obese   I read that sobering statistic several times.   As someone that has been to the land of the super morbid obese and lived to tell about it - my heart goes out to people of all ages but especially the young people in our country that are going down a path that can lead to health problems, sadness and a lost quality of life that they cannot even imagine.

As Americans, we spend billions each year on diets and diet products.  According to Marketdata Enterprises, the annual revenue for the diet industry was over $30 billion dollars in 1990.    That is a staggering amount of money for a problem that is getting worse each year.   I first heard the term toxic food environment in a class at the Methodist Weight Management Program.  It was first used by Kelly D. Brownell in his book Food Fight: The Inside Story of the Food Industry.     I believe that each of us are responsible for our choices and for doing what we can for our good health.   The really good news is that we can turn this trend around!   While I do believe that as stated in Mr. Brownell’s book, our society is one that fosters and promotes obesity and unprecedented food consumption, I also believe that right here and right now we have the opportunity to start today to improve our health and fitness.   Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Motivation, Obesity, Reflections | No Comments »

Please allow me to introduce myself…

I thought that part of the lyric from the Rolling Stones would be a good way to kick off this blog.   If you have found your way here, I am going to assume that you have an interest in fitness and weight loss.     I have had and continue to have a long journey - a quest for fitness if you will.   Let me take a moment to introduce myself.  

I  am a 49 year old guy that works as a Senior Lead Consultant for Catapult Systems in Houston, TX.   (Read computer geek)   I am the proud parent of my 10 year old daughter, Katy and happy husband to my most wonderful wife, Nan.  

I spent over 37 years of my life obese.   Of those years, I was morbidly obese for almost 30 years.    I weighed over 275 pounds that I carried on my 6′ 2″ frame when I was a senior in high school.   (Let’s not talk about how long ago that was…)    At my highest weight, I was almost 600 pounds.   I had developed many health problems and knew that I had to make a change or my daughter would be growing up without me.   

In May of 2004 I started attending the Weight Management Program at Methodist Hospital.   In less than 3 years I had lost 350 plus pounds and found a new life.   My current weight is 210 pounds and health and fitness are a major part of my life.   

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Posted in Motivation, Weight Loss Motivation, weight loss stories | 8 Comments »