Losing Fat the Healthy Way

How I lost 27 pounds in 4 months

I’d like to share a little bit about how I’ve lost some weight since moving to Seattle. I think the approach I’ve taken is the correct way to lose weight and others would benefit from hearing it. Let me start by saying I am by no means athletic in any way. I’m a software developer for crying out loud. If I can lose weight, so can you.

I’m not going to bore you with the details or chart my progress for you week over week (unless you want to see that). I focused on a couple factors, made sure I did those right, and watched the pounds come off. I made sure I was eating the right amount, not eating things that were terrible for me, and regularly exercised. Yep, if you just do that you’d be surprised how easy it is to lose weight.

First, I stopped over eating. This one was hard. I tried to do this in Chicago but just couldn’t help myself. Food is too good! What I mean by over eating is that if after a meal, you feel full then you’ve eaten too much. You want to shoot for about 80% full. If you joke about going into a food coma after eating then you’ve definitely eaten too much. I used to do this all the time for lunch. I would eat a Jimmy John’s italian sub, chips, and a Coke. All in all about 1500 calories. My body just didn’t need that much food. Its so difficult initially to judge when to stop eating because its a delayed response from your stomach – much like the affects of alcohol are delayed. The solution is to eat slower. I’ve noticed when I eat in front of the TV I tend to eat faster. Whenever Ang and I sit down together to eat, however, I take my time – partly because we are talking back and forth which slows eating by itself. Its something that I don’t always get right but I get right the vast majority of the time. And I always feel better after eating the right portion instead of over eating. I’m not saying that you need to starve yourself at each meal, that would be bad for your metabolism and health in general. Give your body the food it needs, just don’t over do it.

Second, I stopped eating really really bad foods. In Chicago, we used to eat out and order out all the time. Lots of fried and fatty foods. They were delicious but were just bad for us. Now we’re staying in almost all the time and eating much better food – thanks to my wife’s cooking. I’m not saying that you need to only eat salads and organic fruit. I still eat plenty of tasty foods at each meal because I want to enjoy what I’m eating, not covet what I’m not eating. But honestly fried food just doesn’t look good to me any more. I enjoy substituting fries for something better – I was surprised to discover an order of fries can be as much as 500 calories, and lots and lots of fat and salt. There’s a spectrum of how good food is for you. If you’re at one end, eating fatty fried foods a lot, don’t try to move to the other end in one night because you’ll hate it, fail, and give up. I’m saying just move a little in the right direction. It will make a difference, and the more you move towards the better end of the food spectrum the better. But pace yourself, and make sure you enjoy what you’re eating. I’m talking about permanent life changes, not a fad diet that you go on for a month and then quit and gain all the weight back.

Third, I have a little something for breakfast. Fruit, yogurt, Nature Valley bar, whatever. Get your metabolism going in the morning – you will burn more calories this way. If you aren’t eating breakfast every day but are trying to lose weight, you need to do your research into why it is essential for you to eat breakfast. Otherwise you’re just making it harder on yourself. Its a mental barrier to get over. I didn’t believe it at first. “If I’m trying to lose weight, why would I eat more?” Eating breakfast is like turning on the calorie burning furnace in your body, you’ll burn more during the hours leading up to lunch than you would if you had skipped breakfast. But again, eat something decent – you’re not helping yourself by eating pancakes, waffles and bacon every morning.

Last, I exercised. I personally think its not possible to lose fat without exercise. People have lose weight by extreme dieting and no exercise, but I don’t think it was fat – it was probably lean muscle and water weight. There’s isn’t a doctor on the planet who wouldn’t champion the health benefits of regular exercise. My routine is to bike to work every day (just over a mile) and work out one to two times a week. My workout is running 2 miles on the treadmill and lifting weights for maybe 15 to 20 minutes. That’s it. I don’t get up at 6am to run 5 miles every day. Heck, I only go to the gym once or twice a week. But this is what I want to do to. If you’re interested in losing the fat then you need to find something aerobic that you enjoy. I’d say the two keys to healthy exercise is that it needs to be hard and you need to enjoy it. It doesn’t need to be some insane workout routine that you hate, if you love biking then get out there and bike or swim or whatever it is that you enjoy doing. But you need to work up a sweat, you’re trying to shed stored energy that your body is desperately holding on to. It shouldn’t be easy, otherwise a third of the nation wouldn’t be obese. But if you can find something that you enjoy then it won’t be a chore. Again, I’m talking about making a change to your lifestyle, not taking on some 6 week program to show off your abs. Find something you would want to do – on your own motivation – every week. If it feels like work, like a chore, you’re most likely going to falter, lose your motivation, and quit going. Take the time to find exercise that you like doing. It’ll be worth it.

I leave you with this, be patient! Too often we expect immediate results. And when those results don’t come we get discouraged and quit. If you are content with where you are then great for you! If you aren’t then make changes to your lifestyle with the proper expectation. You’re trying to change who you are for the rest of your life, not just for the beach season. If you eat better and exercise the pounds will come off, just be willing to give yourself time. If you’re truly interested in making a change for the long haul, don’t be in such a hurry to see results after a week or two. Remember these are permanent changes, not season fads.

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