It’s No Secret
09/28/2010
I’m overweight. There is only one good way to lose weight, and it’s no secret. You need to eat better/less and exercise. If you burn more calories than you consume, you’ll lose weight. I know that. Everybody knows that, even the people buy the miracle products on late night TV. That doesn’t mean it’s easy to act upon.
I have a lot working against me. I work from home sitting in a chair. I sure don’t burn a lot of calories that way. Nobody cares what I do for meals. Going and getting fast food for any meals is easy, a nice break from home, and delicious*. Both my Mom and Dad are overweight. I don’t have any hobbies that are big calorie-burners.
So for me, I need to force some exercise into my schedule. That’s not too bad actually. Exercise is also a nice break. I recently bought an Elliptical machine (always my favorite at the Gym) so I can use it often. It’s been a few weeks and I use it tons. I’m thinking of getting some weights as well. Despite being overweight, until this recent move to Tampa I’ve always had and used a Gym membership. Probably on average 3 times per week I’d go run or lift weights or use the Elliptical or whatever. I’m thinking of getting a dog as well, and those walks will be all the more exercise.
Exercise isn’t really my problem. Food is much more my enemy. I love it. But not in a foodie way where the savor the complex flavors. I like great restaurants, to be sure, but I love McDonalds too. I like food like a smoker likes cigarettes (thankfully I don’t do that anymore). I like food like a gambler loves poker or an alcoholic loves whiskey. It’s an addiction. Eating salads for lunch feels like withdrawal in a way. There is a weird physical/mental reaction to it. My brain plays tricks on me telling me why I deserve some crappy food today. My body plays tricks on me telling me I’ll be too tired and distracted to be productive unless I cram some grease in there. Fulfilling those desires has short-term feel-good benefits, and terrible long-term effects.
About four years ago I was also pretty overweight, and I went on a huge health kick and went from nearly 300 to at one point under 220. It was pretty fantastic. One of the things that helped me at the time was a variety of pills from my Doctor. They worked great for me as an appetite suppressant. I’ve since tried to get them again from a few Doctors but nobody would give them to me. But I can’t let some pill be my crutch. I’m nearly 300 again (took years to put it all back on) and I’m launching into another health kick. If I can get to 250 in six months, I’ll consider that a huge success.
Wish me luck.
* That’s right. Fast food disgusts a lot of people. I wish I was like them.
Good luck! I recently embarked on a weight loss plan too. If you need a pep talk or some support shoot me a note.
Good Luck! My wife and I both recently started eating better also. We found some pretty good food that replaced the un-healthy stuff we used to eat, and a few weeks into it, we don’t really miss the old stuff. We do give ourselves one dinner or treat a week so that helps out a lot.
I’m with you Chris.. your post is inspiring (and you described me as well)! It’s funny, I can’t help but wonder when I see all these hip, skinny, web designers (at seminars and other gatherings) “how do they stay in good health?”. I guess a big part of it for me is time management, I love to exercise, but what I like better is making money and if I’m not at my computer I’m not making money. Web designers/developers should get hazard pay! :)
Good luck dude!
I sit at my job entirely too much as well and it’s definitely a challenge. Maybe try making some healthier food ahead of time to use during the week. It can be a pain sometimes, but I force myself to get it done. I usually just grill up a bunch of chicken breasts to use throughout the week. That way I won’t make a food run once I’ve worked too late to start cooking.
It seems to work better when I say I’m *going to* do something rather than *try to* do something.
What worked for me was tracking what I ate. I used Fit Day at the time, but I’d use an iphone app now (Lose It looked pretty decent last time I looked). Food is definitely the important factor here – exercise helps, but the biggest gains (er.. losses) start in the kitchen.
If you are exercising as well, I’d recommend taking some measurements – could be that you’re losing inches but not pounds.
Good luck.
I can so totally relate to this. I agree to almost everything, but recently I started feeling that I don’t need to eat much at all. I just get my breakfast (cereal) at about 7, normal dinner with a dessert at about 16:30 (potatoes, 2 kinds of veggies, some meat, ice cream or soemthing), then maybe an apple or a pear and then get a sandwich at the end of the day. Now I need to work on the exercise part :) Good luck :D
I got the opposite problem: can’t gain any weight at all.
But check out this guy and his story, maybe that’ll help you get some more enthusiasm about loosing weight. http://bendoeslife.tumblr.com/
Good luck man! Diets and exercise are tough for everyone, sometime it’s the last thing you ( I ) want to do at the end of a long day/week. So I wish you the best and maybe it’ll even inspire me to get back in shape.
Chris,
3 years ago my husband & I started weight watchers (the actual meetings). I went under GREAT protest. I had for years believed that I was a computer nerd desk jockey that would always be fat. Their point system worked for me. It made sense from a nerd point of view and ultimately we both lost 55lbs and have kept it off for 2 years now. I don’t even count points any longer. I just became REALLY aware of what I was putting in my mouth.
Best tips I got: 1) The food will be there tomorrow. (simple, but a “duh” moment for me…) 2) When the food gets to the table, ask for a to-go box and cut it in half and pack it up before you eat. 3) Eliminate as much sugar as possible. (it’s in in everything)
It changed my life and I feel like I’ve really got control of it for the long run as well.
Best of luck. Mikey
P.S. I do ZERO exercise…
Chris,
I feel your pain buddy, I do. I have often had the same problems. My weight hasn’t been quite as high, but it has been close. Up and Down most of my adult life. I used to eat fast food everyday for lunch and usually a sit down restaurant for dinner. I found that since I’ve been cooking at home more, the weight has left on it’s own to some extent. The tone isn’t there yet, but the calorie difference is definitely showing.
Here are a few things that could help (2 links):
Treadmill Desk News Story – Office Environment:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPjN07JyVjo
Stone Soup Minimalist Home Cooking:
http://thestonesoup.com/blog/
At Stone Soup, the author offers a free cooking ebook about cooking usually 5 ingredients or less. I quickly skimmed the site and I couldn’t find it again. If you are interested in reading it, send me an email and I’ll email it to you.
Good luck with your workout program and I hope you can find the determination to succeed.
Ben
Good for you. I hope my lousy eating habits weren’t too much of an influence. You know I have a love hate relationship with fast-food, but the truth is, that shit is poison. It’s ok once and awhile, but that’s it.
For me, it’s the change that’s so difficult. It’s easy to keep eating bad food without thinking about it. Glad to hear you bought that eliptical. I’m jealous.
Chris you’re not the only one. I went from 250 to 210 two years ago just by changing my diet. I have told people many times that food is addicting. It’s like when a heroin addict sticks a needle in his vein, that’s how it is for me when I bite into a hamburger with french fries. I won’t lie, I admit it. I also regained the weight and am trying to lose it. Sigh.
“My brain plays tricks on me telling me why I deserve some crappy food today.”
Chris, this sounds very familiar. A few years back I struggled with an addiction. (I think when you start losing control of your will you’re officially addicted.)I went to see the doctor and he gave me some good advice. It’s the little decisions you make throughout the day that lead to “failure” (the “failure” is taking that drink, eating that burger, etc.)The little decision to go out the front door instead of to the kitchen for food, the little decision to turn left into BK instead of right toward your home where healthy food (hopefully) is, etc. Once you start controlling the little decisions, you’ll start getting control of the bigger actions that usually lead to your failures.
I hope that helps a bit.
Good luck man!
Watching Super size me several times may help with the McDonalds part.
Also, my brother swears by p90x… Look into it.
Hi Chris,
i came to this site over one of your screencasts (which i like very much :))
For overweighted people (like me in the past and sometimes in the presence again), who don’t like running, using a bike for training is a very good choice. You can burn a lot of calories, without stressing your bones and joints too much.
And for the dark and cold month (we have a lot here in Germany) i use a VR trainer (TACX) for my bike, which is connected via usb to a computer. It allows me to train with so called “real life videos” which gives you really a very strong MOTIVATION over a long time.
So anytime i want, i can climb the Grossglockner mountain (very challenging) or ride along a coast street in South Africa for instance.
Hey Chris,
I dropped 35 pounds in a healthy way. I understand sitting and coding and eating. I have a need for coffee with lots of French Vanilla creamer and it is my down turn. Also, a staying up late coding and researching causes me to crave carbs and large amounts of food like pizza.
What worked for me was using a website like fitday.com or an app like diet tracker (Android). It forced me to look at the intake to burn ratio and helped was my “pill,” so to speak. Forcing myself to enter everything that I ate also made me too lazy (at times) to eat the food because I didn’t want to take the time to enter the food. Another benefit was the stat tracking built into the apps showing my progress.
Here’s to positivity and persistence!
Hey Chris, I did something a lot like Derick but I did it on my blog. I think the biggest difference was that it was out in the open. Just like your post it was an honest report on my daily demon. I called it “Fat Guy In A Little Suit” and I found that people were checking in and commenting on what I was eating. I know imagine that right. Anyway it got to the point where I was like…hmmmmmm if I eat this CRUNCHY bar people are going to lose their minds and write me back to tell me how the combination of chocolate and sponge toffee has been scientifically proven to double the production of fat cells in the human body…
Soon it just wasn’t worth all the nagging.
I know how you feel, man. I love McDonald’s too, and as a teen with little cash for food, I mostly live off of it. It’s cheap and always there for me when I need it. Plus it tastes great.
What a great site. I really enjoy reading your blog!
I can totally relate. When I had my second daughter in 2008 I had dropped to my lowest weight in years – back down to 250. Now I am back up to 287. I get up and drive 1 hour (38 miles) and sit in front of a computer coding for 8 hours then I leave and drive another hour back home. By the time I get home I am lucky if we have a real dinner as a family. It’s usually 6:30 or so when I get there and the kids need to be in bed by 8.
My company recently bought a group membership at a great gym so we all have access to it. It’s a 20 minute drive from where I’m based on our contract, but I’ve been able to fit it in. This is a big change for me, so I am hoping it will make a difference.
I too, love fast food. As much as for the convenience as for its trashy deliciousness. I have been working hard to wean myself of it. For the most part, I am eating pretty well during the day. it’s that long drive home that is keeping me from giving it up altogether.
Good luck. May we both be successful in our fight against the forces of fat.
You can do it, Chris. I was overweight my entire life and finally decided to do something about it in June of this year. I’m also a web designer by profession and sit in a desk all day, but my results are fantastic! 40lbs lost in roughly 3.5 months and I’m feeling great! If you want, you can check out my results at bodyspace.com/sobering! Just go hard and stick with it!
If you’re on Reddit, join r/fitness. There are tonnes of people who post their stories and before and after photos. I was overweight for a few years too but I managed to lose over 20kg in a year. I’m going to say you can do it, not because it’s the right things to say to anyone, but because it’s true and doable even with minimal exercise and minor diet changes. Start with no soda/heavy food except on one weekend per month and move from there. As for pills, the only pill I ever used is from Nutrex, and it’s much better when combined with intense exercise. I’m in my super lazy period now and am 5kg over my ideal weight but I’ve learned the proper techniques, I’ll start all over again.
Thanks for all your code samples. I really appreciate them. All the best!