[The next post in Dave Banko’s guest series on healthy diet and lifestyle.]
Setting challenging but achievable goals is important in all aspects of our life, and weight loss is no different.
When I started, I set the goal for myself to lose 100 lbs in a year. Even though I had never lost more than 15 lbs on any previous diet, I set this goal based on several factors:
- I wanted to give the new program a full year and, based on a weekly goal of losing 2 lbs a week, 100 lbs in a year seemed reasonable.
- I saw several middle-aged celebrity men who lost 100 or more lbs with diet and exercise (not with surgery).
- I also had 2 colleagues at work who recently lost a significant amount of weight, one of whom lost 100 lbs.
The example of friends and public figures achieving this gave me hope! Although I haven’t been successful before, it has been done, and so I should be able to do it.
I hope sharing my story will inspire you that you can do it too!
100 lbs is daunting, especially having never lost more than 15 lbs before. After initially setting this end target, I went back to set short and intermediate goals.
Rather than focusing on the end target, I knew if I focused on the short-term goals, the intermediate and end goals would come.
My friend’s Facebook group agreed we would do a weekly virtual weigh-in on Friday or Saturday. To avoid embarrassment, we wouldn’t report actual weight, but just how many lbs up or down from the previous week.
Even though this was voluntary, it did apply a level of peer pressure to want to be able to report a positive result. (You could lie of course because no one actually observed your weigh in, but the only one you’d be hurting is yourself.)
I found this combination of reasonable short-term goals, support, & accountability to both my family and a group of others on a similar journey very helpful.
There were some who opted not to do this, and none of them reached their goals. Not everyone who set goals and reported regularly achieved their goals as quickly as they wanted, but it did help them keep going in the right direction. The group also offered nothing but encouragement, celebrating our achievements with us and lifting us up when we were struggling.
Although group support is the primary strategy of ‘Emotional Eaters,’ I highly recommend it for anyone wanting to make a significant long-lasting lifestyle change.
I tracked my weight weekly and celebrated my intermediate successes. Every time I reach a 0 (350 lbs, then 340, then 330 and so on) it felt like crossing a minor milestone.
Then crossing the BMI index: I started at 45, and going below 40, from very obese to obese was huge for me. Then again, when I went below 30 from obese to overweight.
Finally, I also celebrated loss by body weight %, starting at 10% of my starting body weight lost, 20%, 25% and so on.
This may sound like a lot of celebrating, but for those of you who, like me, struggled for so long, seeing real progress is something to celebrate!
The ‘What’s the Right Diet for You?’ program succeeded so well, I decided to extend my end goal from 100 lbs in a year to 150 lbs total taking me back to what I weighed on active duty.
I reached the 100 lbs lost mark after 7 months. I’m currently about 10 lbs from the end goal.
These last few lbs have been much harder. I set weekly targets at just 1/2 lb per week and don’t meet this target every week, but I keep working towards it. I am thrilled with what I achieved and how I feel, so I won’t let missing the short-term targets get me down. Having the target, though, helps me stay focused until the day comes when this new eating lifestyle is so ingrained I no longer have to think about it.
Finally, I realized each day is a new day. It hasn’t all been success. I have had days when I over-ate and even binged. I’ve missed targets. But I know the plan works. When I stick to it, I see the results. So when I have a bad day, I don’t beat myself up about it. I start fresh the next morning; it’s a new day! 🙂
As always, please contact me at daveb.uk@hotmail.com with any questions or comments. [From Crew Dog: Or comment right here at One Sick Vet 🙂 ]