Getting Ready for Prague — Day 3 of 101

body_for_life

I’m still getting up a 4.  My weight is going in the right direction.  I’m not eating as much junk.  

Today’s Weight:  111kg
Today’s FatSecret log

So why the Body for Life book?  Well…inspiration.  There was a time in my life when I weighed 290lbs (131kg or 20stone 9lbs).  That is 45lbs more than I weigh now.  We went on a ski trip, I had a good time, however, I saw how out of shape I was.  I don’t ever want to be there again! What made the difference then was seeing it and wanting to take action.  I picked up a copy of Bill Philips’ Body for Life and started.  In that 12 weeks, I lost down to 245ish–about where I am now.  When we moved to Columbus around 2003, I decided to do another round and hit my low mark of 205ish.  About a year later, I started riding my bike to work and kept that up until we moved overseas.  While we were in Columbus, I met Rick Harrington (you’ll have to scroll down and read his post.  That link is broke…sorry…I couldn’t find anything else online about him) who had been a semi-finalist in the competition.  He was a big inspiration to keep going while in Columbus

In all of my weight-loss, one thing has been constant:  a body for life.  Unless you have only 5lbs to lose, some sort of weird crash diet isn’t going to work.  You need a lifestyle change.  Some people have had good success with paleo diet sort of things, some people do atkins, the list goes on.  For me, a total change is/was necessary:  I need to start eating healthier and exercising with a purpose.  What does that mean?

Exercise every day.  I don’t have weights (and can’t afford them at the moment).  I’m doing the Biggest Loser xBox game.  So far, it is working out better.

Eat right.  I like Bill’s idea of smaller meals spread through the day.  Portions.  Fist/Palm sized whatevers.  Easy.  It works.  For me, the hardest time to keep this up is when I travel; however, the good news is I shouldn’t be gone as much this year.

Free day.  Bill allows a free day where you can eat whatever you want.  In his Eating for Life Q/A section, he says:

I have people ask me all the time does free day mean you can eat whatever you want?  12 Krispie Kremes?  My [Bill Phillips] answer is sure.  But do it and be honest.  Eventually you won’t like how you feel after.

Sorry, that isn’t an exact quote, but you get the idea (here’s a link to an online discussion of people talking about it).  Yes, you really can have a free day and eat whatever you want.  I lost 90 lbs doing that.  The problem for me is planning the free day so it is that…a free DAY.  Not a free weekend.  Not a day + a night.  A day.  It let’s me put off cravings until the end of the week–very manageable–and if I still want it then I eat it.  But I try not to gorge on the 12 Krispie Kremes because I feel rubbish afterwards.

What does all of this do?  It gets you in a mindset of doing it.  You see you can live like this.  You see you feel better.  So you end up with a Body for Life.

Book cover image from awws via flickr

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