Are You Ready for Summer?

Over the holidays, we pulled out some old family movies.  It was so nice to see how the kids had grown over the years.  It made me realize just how fast time goes. Looking back, there was a lot of time that had passed.  But at the same time, it felt like it was just yesterday. It makes you realize what is important in life and that you need to enjoy each day as you go along and not take it for granted.

Besides all that sentimental stuff, which everyone always says when they look at old movies or pictures. I realized how much I had changed over the years.   Looking back, 10 years ago, I was someone I did not even recognize.  I was in horrible shape.  I probably weighed about 60 pounds more than I do now and just did not look good at all.

I wondered why no one told me?  Why didn’t my family say something?  Probably because I would have been offended.  But besides that, they did not really see it either.   They saw me every day, so over a period of gradual weight gain, it was not even noticeable to them (me either obviously).  I knew I was carrying a few extra pounds.   I knew I kept buying larger pants.   But I truly had no idea how bad it was.

Weight is something that happens over time. A pound here and a pound there. Small increases over time, give you big change.  Since the change is occurring over time, you really do not notice it.  When I think back, it took a lot of work on my part to get that overweight. A lot of bad food, a lot of watching TV and a lot of not exercising. It took me a good decade to gain all that extra weight as well as the health issues that I was creating for myself.  Did I really think I was going to go on a diet or work off (what took me 10 years to accumulate) in 90 days?

Well yes, I kinda did.  But now I know better.  If you want to take off extra weight (and keep it off), you are going to have to be as pragmatic and as consistent as you were putting it on.  You are going to have to do the opposite of what you did.

So what was that?  Hmm, let me think.  Well, for me, it was eating mostly unhealthy processed food, rarely eating fresh whole foods, not exercising, and probably drinking too much.  So, the opposite of that is minimize (or eliminate processed foods), eat mostly fresh whole foods, exercise regularly and limit alcohol. Hmm, that makes sense.

The key is you cannot just do this for 30 days, or 60 days, or even 90 days.  How long did it take you to get where you are?

Now, it is not exactly tit for tat.  In three months, you are going to see progress. Within in a year, you are going to be very pleased with your results.  But realize, it is a long-term change that will need to happen if you want permanent change. You can never go back to what you were doing before.  The reason is because that was NOT working for you.  If it was not working for you then, it will not work for you once you lose weight.  So you need to change it forever.

That is where people get hung up. They fear the things they have to “give up.” The nice thing is, once you make this change, you do not feel like you are sacrificing ANYTHING!   I love what I eat.  I crave it. It makes my body feel good.  I do not restrict what I eat or drink.  I allow myself to eat or drink whatever I want.  The funny thing is, my body now always picks healthy choices naturally.

The decision to make this change is a “pain vs pleasure" decision.  Where you are right now,  it will seem easier just to do what you are doing.  But the longer you wait, the further away you will be from where you want to be.  It is hard to believe now, but the pleasure of feeling awesome and healthy, is way stronger.  You just don’t know that yet.

The point is, don’t let life pass you by.  It is short and before you know it, you will be getting that news from the doctor that you have to make a change anyway. Don’t wait for that news, make those small changes now, and start enjoying feeling great along the way!