I weighed myself this morning and found that I’m 10lbs down from where I was at the beginning of my last DMD book.
That’s an average of 2.5 lbs per week!
How did I do it? I took a few concepts from a book I read through the fall and winter… Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength along with my goals and disciplines in Define My Day.
The following concept hit home for me… We train ourselves to not listen to our bodies. When we’re kids, our parents made us clean our plates even when we were full. As adults, we “diet” and fight through hunger, again disregarding our body’s message that it’s hungry.
I started listening to my body. When my body told me it was full, I stopped eating. When it said it was hungry, I ate. HOWEVER, I was prepared with healthy options. I had the freezer stocked with frozen vegetables. When I felt hungry, I heated one up and ate the entire thing.
I read once that when the body craves nutrients, we feel hungry. We tend to snack on unhealthy items so the body, not getting what it wants, keeps telling us it’s hungry. We keep eating junk and fall into a nasty spiral. By stuffing myself with veggies, I was giving the body what it wanted and I *think* that has a big impact on my lack of constant hunger.
I also prepared by creating a few “bright lines” or rules that I could not break.
– No sugar – breaking this cold turkey was hard but it was over in about a week.
– No simple carbs
– No late night snacking. I assisted this by brushing my teeth earlier, a “keystone habit” inspired by The Power of Habit
– I set a water goal. (Filling up on water means feeling more full. Plus, it’s really healthy)
– Gym 5 times per week.
– More green on my plate than anything else
– Beers only once or fewer times per week
Here’s a really important part of this… I fought my battles on my terms. I went shopping after eating, not before. I made sure that I won that battle at the grocery store when my willpower was high. I didn’t purchase anything unhealthy that I would have to fight the urge to eat when my willpower was low.
Finally, I tracked key disciplines in my Define My Day planner. I setup disciplines for:
– Rest – In bed by 10pm. Being well rested helps us build willpower and the body operate efficiently.
– 200oz of water – A bit high for most people but it works for me.
– Gym 5x per week – It didn’t matter how I felt, how motivated I was, or how hard I worked. I just needed to be there exercising.
– Eat Well – within the rules above.
I wasn’t perfect by any means but I got it done most of the time. I wasn’t focused on the scale, portion control, or anything. I just stayed within my rules.
Today marks the first day of a new Define My Day book for me. I’m four pounds lower than my goal last month. I’m only shooting for a six lb loss in the next 4 weeks. I may lose more but my goal is realistic yet challenging.
No matter what your goals, these are the basic concepts I think are proven by my results.
– Focus on the process, not the results. Results will come.
– Make it simple.
– Take advantage of your energy when you have it.
Keep moving forward,
Nick
