Archive for August, 2007

FatMan here. If you have followed me on my journey you know that I like to set goals. I have long term goals, shorter term goals and even intermediate goals. They all reinforce my main goal to keep on track and focused on losing 80 pounds in 180 days.

Now after 81 days I am basically down to losing 35 pounds in 90 days. That puts me at 175 pounds with a few weeks to spare. If I further divide that goal down into a closer time period I need to be at 195 by 9/20/2007. This is now the goal that I am shooting for. It allows me to focus more on daily activity than long term plans.

This is a valuable skill in time management and translates well into everyday life. If you have ANY project that you need to complete that will take a long time you will need to employ similar skills. You will need to develop a plan, a “project time line”, assemble the materials and support needed and then begin implementation. Next comes daily or periodic progress reviews to determine if your plan is working and (in the likely case that it needs to be modified) re calibrate as necessary.

None of the concepts in losing weight or managing a large project is difficult to use or master they just appear intimidating due to the “SCALE” or scope of the project. The larger, more involved and more complex a project is the more people will doubt whether it can be done or if they can do it. This is the fear of failure. No one likes to fail. It is much easier to just not try at all.

All of us Fat people know EXACTLY what it is like to look at where we want to be and decide it isn’t worth it. It is much easier to go and medicate yourself with a big old cheeseburger or pizza than it is to change your entire path in life.

Well I am here right now to tell you that you are wrong. It is HARDER to stay Fat than it is to get in shape and reap the benefits of being a “normal weight”. Here I am looking at losing another 35 pounds and ALREADY in only 81 days feeling better than I have felt in YEARS. Feeling better mentally and physically. I no longer get up everyday and dread putting on clothes or getting on a scale or going outside and seeing someone I know.

FatMan Knowledge Nugget: The only good obsession is a controlled one

I’m not special. Look at this picture. I am a FatMan and always will be. I know that.

I also know that I can change. Just like you can change. Check out my changes here.

Don’t eat your life away, it’s too much fun when you can really participate.

Come see me at fatmanmelts.com

God Bless us Fat People,

FatMan

FatMan here. So I have started week 12 of my weight loss journey and have lost a total of 45 pounds. I should be feeling pretty good, right? Well I do BUT, I know that I still have some unfinished business. 35 pounds of unfinished business to be exact. You see I am still very much a FatMan. In fact I will always be a FatMan because I have figured out that I LOVE FOOD. Even after I finish losing another 35 pounds and get down to 175 pounds I will always have to consciously watch my weight. That is just the way it is with me. You may be the same way. If you are the sooner you realize it the better.

In the past I would lose down to a predetermined weight and stop. The mistakes I made in the past were twofold:

1. I would eventually gain my weight back by not continuing to closely monitor my weight and sinking back into BAD dietary and exercise habits
2. I would stop losing weight when I decided that I “looked good”

Number 2 above was my worst mistake, because over time it becomes easier to rationalize to yourself that you look OK when you are heavier. That is a major mistake. That is where the good old BMI index really helped me out. What is a BMI index? You can learn more about it here. The genius in the BMI index measurement is that it is an “independent” assessment of what a “healthy weight” is. After checking my BMI I determined that 175 pounds would be my target weight (that is a BMI of 24.44). This is just slightly under my maximum “non-overweight” BMI of 25 (or 178.6 lbs). 175 pounds also happened to be a nice round number and equated to 80 pounds total weight loss. This keeps me on track to reach a really “healthy” size and not one that I would have arbitrarily picked. It takes the fudging out of the equation. It helps “legitimize” my weight loss in my own eyes. I know that I will be a good size when I finish up. It also makes the challenge much much harder, but that’s OK with me. I like a good challenge.

Now I must confess when I was 255 pounds and looking at losing 80 pounds I was thinking WOW this is quite an undertaking. I was pretty sure I could do it, but 80 pounds is a lot of weight! It is very interesting what the perspective of time will do for you. Here it is 79 days later and I have already lost 45 pounds. I am also still the FatMan. I have a lot of Fat and Flab around my midsection and my chest looks like I could be wearing a “C” cup. I have a LONG way to go.

If you have a long way to go come see me at fatmanmelts.com. The first step is always the hardest. Go check your BMI and see where you are at.

God Bless us Fat People,

FatMan

FatMan here. You know sometimes when you are dieting you feel like the “lone ranger”. You feel all alone and by yourself. Even if you are married, live in a large family, or are active in lots of community groups. You just do not always feel connected to those around you. I would guess that EVERYONE that goes on a diet has this feeling from time to time. It is normal and natural. Let’s talk about why we feel this way and how to combat it before it overcomes you. Do not let this feeling fester or it will turn from self-doubt into self paralyzing fear and instead of moving forward you will be stuck in neutral. If you are already in the “fear of failure” stage just remember this one phrase – “ACTION CURES FEAR”. If you take action (any action) you move forward. You always want to be moving forward.

It is human nature to be wanted. It is human nature to want to be noticed and praised when you accomplish something. The bigger the accomplishment the more praise you internally feel like you deserve and subconsciously expect.If you do not receive that recognition or praise in what you feel is a timely manner your mind starts to plant seeds of doubt about the validity of what it is that you are doing. About whether you should even be doing it in the first place. Then you start to question your own motivation. This is a VERY dangerous time for a dieter. Here is where it can all fall apart for you if you do not react appropriately.

Fortunately for most of us we have, over the years, built in some automatic responses to limit the damage that these personal doubt issues can cause. One of the first ones is just to have your mind quickly dismiss the doubts. Sometimes this works and sometimes it doesn’t. If this does not work the next rational step is to examine your current status with regards to your goal (in this case your diet). If you are making progress and on track then all you need to do is to reassure yourself and continue on. You can give yourself a personal “pep talk” and move on. And that is exactly what you do. Physically get up and move on and tell yourself you are doing great. Give yourself your own attention. Make yourself feel good about your progress, you are DOING GREAT!

DO NOT GO EAT SOMETHING TO SOOTHE YOUR EGO.

FatMan Knowledge Nugget: When you get down mentally the only person that is ALWAYS there to talk to is yourself.

If, on the other hand, you are behind in your diet results and feel hungry and a little defeated then you need to perform some basic plan of attack modifications. First off you need to understand that your body is a complex machine. It literally has a mind if its own. You are in the process of turning your body’s world upside down. Stressing it with different food intake levels and new exercise requirements. There is a continual period of adjustment going on inside you. Your body will try to stabilize its weight because it does not know what its ideal weight should be. So there lies the conundrum (conundrum is defined as an intricate or difficult problem). You want to lose weight to help your body feel and look better but your body wants to keep its weight and shape right where it is. So what do you do?

First you now understand what is going on. Do not panic. This is manageable. Second you change your diet tactics. Two of the best areas to change are:

1. Try another diet. One that you can commit to for 2 weeks. Modifying your food intake and the types of foods you eat will shake up your system and can re-energize your weight loss plan. There are literally dozens of diets to choose from and they will almost all work if you stick to them.
2. Change your exercise routine. Try a different exercise at a different time. Work different muscles. For example if you have been walking try swimming. Instead of jogging maybe try step aerobics.

Now a suggestion to get you back on track mentally. Think about a friend of yours that was always Fat like us and that finally not only lost a ton of weight but has kept it off forever. Go give this person a call. Give them the compliment that you were looking for and see how they respond. Take some pleasure from doing what you want people to do for you. Have you ever heard the phrase “it is better to give than receive”? Now maybe you know what that means. Ask them how they got through the “rough spots”. They will more than likely be glad to tell you.

What do you know you are back on track.

If your previous “Fat Person” is not around I know one guy that might be able to help.

You guessed it. Come see me at fatmanmelts.com

God Bless us Fat People,

FatMan

FatMan here. I wanted to continue where I left off yesterday because your daily routine is so important. I believe that your ability to successfully modify your current routine to include better weight management practices will determine your long term success at keeping your lost weight lost. A lot of people can lose weight and TEMPORARILY modify their routine, but the real trick is to make routine changes that stick with you long term. This insures long term “slimness”.

Let’s talk about lunchtime. You have been working all morning and probably by 10:30AM you were starting to get hungry. If you are like me your mind is wandering on to what you will eat for lunch and how good it will taste (lol, it is tough loving food). The issue here is that you are in the process of losing all of that ugly fat you hate so much, remember? So here is what you do. Learn to drink a big glass of water when you are hungry. If you happen to be one of those people that hates water (like my wife) then ease your hunger off by eating a piece of fruit or some low calorie snack (100 calories or less). You do not want to be hungry and dwell on food. That is a recipe for diet disaster. When you finally get to lunch you will eat everything you can get your hands on. Another way to pass your hunger by is to use lunch time as a workout time. For a lot of us that is not practical, but if it fits into your daily routine by all means fit it in here. BTW a walk is a workout to me. Any exercise is a workout to me. Forget having to go get all sweaty to workout just get consistently more active.

When you do go to lunch eat a good balanced meal that is not heavy on a lot of excess carbs or fat. Eat a balanced nutritious meal. This meal should be the largest one you eat all day. Why? Because you have the rest of the day to “work it off”. Again that is just common sense. You do not want to go home at night and eat a big greasy meal at 9PM. Your body just will not be able to efficiently process it. Be smart not only about what you eat but when you eat it. Have you ever heard the phrase “timing is everything” ? This is especially true of eating. What you eat when is very important.

Later in the afternoon you will probably feel some hunger again. Guess what you do? That’s right drink some more water or eat a light snack. Just don’t overdo it and you will be fine. Make sure you are as active as possible. If you have the option of using the elevator or walking up the stairs take the stairs. Don’t look for the closest parking space anymore. Save your car some dings and walk further in the shopping center parking lot. Use as many opportunities as possible to increase your physical activity level. It all adds up.

The real danger zone is at night. Here is where you need to work the hardest to alter your routine. Most Fat people come home to “relax” after a hard days work. This usually means eating dinner and watching TV – and then eating some more. Or drinking some. Or eating and drinking some. But mostly eating and/or drinking too much! First off try and stick to a few basic nighttime rules:

1. Do not eat after 7PM
2. Do not eat any “snacks” while watching TV
3. Do not watch TV until you have done some type of exercise (ANY physical activity is good just be consistent)
4. Do not eat any FRIED FOOD at night (ouch this one hurts all of us Southerners)

If you are able to modify your routine to include the four basic changes above and do NOTHING else you will lose weight. Get smart about your routine and watch the pounds melt away. If you need some help come see me at fatmanmelts.com where the FatMan is melting all the way down to 175 pounds.

God Bless us Fat people,

FatMan