Closing In On My Goal

Time for another quick weight loss update.

After over 25 years of trying and failing to lose weight, this time things are going well.

I was asked by someone, what's the difference this time as opposed to my previous attempts? I don't have a clear cut answer but if I had to try and narrow it down it would probably just be my ability to stick to my plan. It's a simple plan and has worked for me.

1. Limit my daily calorie intake.
2. Remove all regular pop from my diet.
3. Exercise at least 5 days a week.

For the most part I have been able to stick to these three simple goals although I do have the odd day where I will eat a bit more than I should. The difference being that before I would do that and relapse into my old ways. This time if I do mess up I don't let it become a habit again. These changes have become more of a lifestyle change rather than a diet.

Latest progress comparison photo - profile view.

My daily calorie intake that I allow myself is 2000. That's not a lot compared to what I used to eat. The old me could easily eat 5000 or more calories a day. Heck, I could still do it today if I allowed myself to but that's where the willpower comes in. As I said, there are still days that I'll eat slightly more than 2000 calories but as long as I'm close and don't do it every day I can live with it.

I also try to cut out or at the very least cut down on the late night eating. When you work nights and sleep days, that isn't always possible. I'll have supper before I go to work and then I'll have a sandwich and snack at 1am. Not the greatest but it's still better than having fast food for lunch. Plus, you have to eat or your body will try to store fat because it thinks you need it. That's why it's better to eat several small meals and drink lots of water rather than one big meal a day.

The exercise I get is usually just in the form of walking. A typical walk could be anything from 3 to 12 kilometres depending on where I am and how energetic I feel. Plus in the summer I'm back to walking the golf course instead of taking golf carts. I'm proud of the fact that this summer I golfed over 40 times and not once did I rent a golf cart.

I've been talking about joining the local YMCA or a gym but as of yet haven't made that move. I want to but the membership fees have kept me from taking the plunge but I'm leaning towards biting the bullet and taking the financial hit soon. It's not a huge amount but $50 a month is still something I'm not thrilled about spending. But I suppose if I think about how much money I used to spend on fast food each month, it's probably a lot less. Plus, I'm still a big guy and have that big guy mentality that only fit people go to the gym and look down on bigger people. Perhaps times have changed.

As far as eliminating all regular pop from my diet, that was huge. I've talked about it before that I would drink a lot of pop every day and now that I think about how much sugar I was consuming, that change alone has gone a long way towards helping me to try and reach my goal.

And speaking of my goal, I'm getting closer to it. The whole point of this update was to just keep everyone that has been following and supporting my journey towards a healthier me up to date on my progress. So here are the numbers folks:

Starting Weight: 418.8 pounds

Current Weight: 266.4 pounds

Weight Lost To Date: 152.4 pounds

Original Goal: 250 pounds

So I'm only 16.4 pounds away from reaching the original goal I set when I began this quest. I am also now just 4.4 pounds away from reaching my high school football / rugby weight when I played my last year of Senior ball. And for the record, I have no plans to get back into a scrum anytime soon. I don't miss the ear biting and nipple pinching.