The Secret to Losing Weight!

At my heaviest weight of 390 lbs plus

    It almost never fails that when someone hears about my weight loss they ask, "how did you do it?  Which diet did you follow"?  There are so many diets to choose from, South beach, Adkins, Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, Slim-fast the Hollywood Diet, etc... It is very easy to get confused with all the food choices and advertisements making miracle claims.  Some diets require you to buy their foods to lose or maintain weight, so are you going to buy their products for the rest of your life?  The truth of the matter is DIETS DON'T WORK!  All the diets that are out there are all temporary solutions.  Sure you may lose weight initially but once you are off the diet, then what?  You have to make a decision that you are going to make a change in the way you eat for the rest of your life!  You must change your life style for good.  Weight loss does not come in a pill.

Am I awake? sleep apnea kills!

     I know the secret to permanent weight loss! I am always willing to give people the answer, but many times they do not believe me.  I have had people roll their eyes after I tell them.  Please do not sign off and surf away from this blog once you hear the answer.  For your own sake, open up your heart and mind!  The answer to permanent weight loss is to put your full trust in God!  As I mentioned in the first entry of this blog, I asked God, "In the name of Jesus Christ will you please help me lose my excessive weight".  By the grace of God I lost over 180 pounds.  I have kept the weight off, and I know that it will stay off.  Just remember that when you pray it must be in line with Gods will (1 John 5.14-15) with the right motives (James 4.3), with persistence (Luke 11.8-10) and with the spirit of humility (Luke 18.14).  Once you have the blessings of God, He will give you the strength and desire to be successful, you just have to have faith (Matt. 17.20).

My buddy Russell and I after a ride, weight about 315 lbs

    I really do not consider my food choices as a "diet" per say.  I simply try to eat foods that are natural and not processed by man.  A good rule of thumb is if God made it, Eat it. The following is a typical example of the types of foods that I do eat; for protein I will eat meats that are lean such as white chicken or turkey meat, fish such as salmon or tuna.  For carbohydrates, I eat 100% whole wheat bread, long grain wild rice, oatmeal, granola, wheat pasta, or high fiber cereals.  I am not a real big vegetable person put I do try to eat them when I can, and try to eat as many different colors as possible.  I will often eat different types of legumes because I do believe it is a great food for runners (ha, ha, but seriously they are).  I do like fruit and will eat them often, especially as a dessert.  I will say that I do have a sweet tooth and the truth of the matter is, sugar is really bad if you are trying to lose weight.  To get around this and satisfy my sweet tooth, I use stevia (a natural sweetener made from a plant, it is all natural and will not raise your blood sugar level.  It is even safe for those who are diabetic).  I will use stevia in my coffee, tea or sprinkle it on fruit.  Even though many people fear it, fats are an important part of a diet, just eat them in moderation as with any food.  For fats I will eat foods such as, avocados, olives, different kinds of nuts, and peanut or almond butter.  I also eat dairy products such as low fat milk, all natural yogurt, and low fat cottage cheese.  As I mentioned before I always stay away from foods that have been processed by man, such as frozen packaged foods (t.v. dinners, frozen pizza etc...) and no soda including diet soda.  I will not consume any artificial sweeteners and avoid high fructose corn syrup as much as possible.
    Now I do know that we are all human and cravings will kick in from time to time.  It is usually then when one falls off the wagon and dives in to the plate, thus leading to the feeling of guilt and failure.  To avoid this problem, once a week I will eat any food I want (In moderation of coarse).  I will even eat a dessert, but after that meal, its back to business.  Make sure that you do not skip any meals especially breakfeast!  The way you eat is very important!  As the saying goes, "You are what you eat"!   How you fuel your body will affect how you feel and perform.

After the Milkman Triathlon at a weight of 210lbs, my daughter is obviously tired

    Another question that people ask me is, "Do you have to work out to lose weight"?  The answer to that question is, if you want to live a health life, Yes, of coarse you do.  You might be able to lose weight by just dieting alone, but once you start working out and get use to the the routine you are going to love the way you feel.  By eating right and by exercising not only are you going to like the way you feel you are going to have more energy.  I will discuss working out in another post.  Just remember in order to lose weight you have to burn more calories than you consume.  One of the most important keys to weight loss is to stay consistant in eating a healthy diet and working out.  Once you get use to a routine (which takes between 21-29 days) it becomes much easier.