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Over the past year, I have been losing
weight and getting in better physical shape. As people have noticed,
naturally, they have asked me how I am doing it. Many are now doing
the same and calling me their “inspiration.” Many say “I wish I
could do it, but I don't have the will power or determination that
you do.” I am congratulated on my “ability to do what it takes.”
I have been hailed somewhat as a hero and elevated to a super human
level. I am none of that. All I did was make a decision. That’s
all—just a simple decision. But, I was motivated to make that
decision.
I have weighed over 200 pounds since
1978. Because I carried that weight for so many years, I was
accustomed to it and could pretty much do what I wanted to. I did
not actually start to “feel my weight” until I reached my
fifties. For the previous fifteen years or so, I hovered around 250
pounds. As long as I stayed around that mark, I was fine with it.
That changed on August 26, 2012.
Due to insurance changes at my place of
employment, I had to choose a new primary care physician. I made an
appointment to see him on August 26, 2012, to meet him and provide my
health history so that my prescriptions could continue. What happens
at every doctor's visit? They weigh you, take your blood pressure,
take your temperature, ask you why you are there, and what
medications you are taking. On this first visit, I stood on the
scale and it read 271. “Wait! It is supposed to say 250.
Something is wrong here. Let's do this again.” It still read 271.
I did not see 271. I heard the robot from the “Lost in Space”
TV show saying, “WARNING! WARNING! You are twenty-nine pounds away
from three hundred.” That is what I heard and that is what
motivated my decision to make a change. I made the decision before
meeting the doctor. He didn't even suggest I lose weight. In fact,
he was impressed enough with my health that he immediately took me
off three medications that my previous doctor had me taking. (At my
checkup a year later, he was proved right.)
So what did I decide? I decided to
lose eighty-one pounds. How was I going to do it? I was going to
eat less and become more physically active. Simple and easy, right?
Actually, it was that simple, and it has been that easy. I did not
embark on a strict diet or a vigorous exercise program. In fact, I
haven't dieted or even changed the food I eat. I simply eat less of
what I like to eat. After I lost thirty pounds, I began to get more
physically active. No, I do not do a regular exercise routine. I
hate exercise. I got enough of that when I did power lifting years
ago. I started walking, mowing the lawn with a push mower, doing
more of the physical chores around the house that I used to hire
someone to do, parking further away from store entrances, taking the
stairs, and other physical tasks. I do, however, have a gimmick.
That gimmick is myfitnesspal.com. It
is a free program available on the web and and as an app for your
smart phone (the two synchronize). I started using myfitnesspal on
August 29, 2012. I entered my age, height, weight, chose my activity
level, entered how much weight I wanted to lose, and how fast I
wanted to lose it. I entered that I wanted to lose 1 ½ pounds per
week. Myfitnesspal calculated that I needed to consume only 1,510
calories per day. The amount of calories I consumed could be
increased with physical activity. I can track my food intake and
physical activity with myfitnesspal. Their database of foods and
physical activities is huge and growing everyday. All I have done
this past 435 days or so is track everything I eat, log every
physical activity, and do my very best not to exceed that net number
of 1,510 calories per day – 10,750 calories per week. I may exceed
my calorie intake a couple of days per week, but I have only exceeded
the weekly total three or four times.
I now weigh less than I did when I got
married in 1982 and wear the same size pants that I did then, as
well. To date, I have lost fifty-five pounds. My goal is to weigh
190 pounds around August 26, 2014 – two years after I made my
decision. I was fortunate in that, even though I was fat, my health
was not bad enough to require a rapid weight loss. I'm glad. I have
seen too many people lose over one hundred pounds in less than one
year and gain most of it back in less than two. Because Myfitnesspal
has become a habit, I will continue to log my foods and activities.
I lost an average of one pound per week this first year. I'll be
happy averaging losing 1 ½ pounds per month over this next ten
months or so. My chances of keeping it off are very, very good.
Have I over simplified what I have
done? I don't think so. I was motivated to make a decision. I can
say to you, “If I can do it, you can do it” and that will be
partially correct. You can do it, IF you get motivated. I could try
to encourage you to make a lifestyle change as I did. I could tell
you that you will feel better. I could tell you how easy it is.
But, it will not register with you until you can find that one thing
that will motivate you. I will tell you that diets do not work; but
lifestyle changes do. You just need to find your motivation. The
decision for you is there inside your head. You just need to find
the motivation to do it.
Terry Hawkins, November 6,
2013
