My Story of Weight Loss

Yesterday, I wrote about the Secret to Weight Loss (and more) in a blog post and today I wanted to share a little of my story regarding the statement, “make daily decisions consistent with your future, desired result.”  I’m a firm believer in the power of faithfulness, hard work, and patience in many areas, but over the past few years I began to ignore my health.  My motto was, ” You only live once so why not enjoy it.”  Exercise and eating in moderation were not high on my list of priorities.  I slowly gained about 40 pounds  over the course of 11 years.  Although the extra weight bothered me, I continued to ignore it.  At the end of last year, I determined to change my overall health and made a new year resolution to lose 20 pounds by the end of March 2010.  The first few weeks of counting EVERY calorie and exercising 30 minutes daily was a shock to my system.  My body didn’t like it, but I kept telling myself that I wouldn’t quit.  By the end of March, I had reached my goal and I genuinely felt better in many areas; in fact, exercise and eating better has become a new habit.

I learned a lot about myself and the value of faithfulness, hard work, and patience during the first 90 days of this year and I wanted to share a few of those things.  Although these principles are related to my weight loss, I believe they can apply in numerous areas.  So, here is what I learned.

1. Set goals that are challenging, but attainable. Although I needed to lose 30-35 pounds, I started with losing 20.  Also, I kept the time period short so I wouldn’t become frustrated by the length of time.
2. Stay committed even when progress is slow. There was a period of 2 weeks right in the middle of the 90 days when I didn’t lose a pound.  Quitting was not an option.
3. Set short term goals, but keep the end result in mind. Again, I wanted to lose 20 pounds so instead of striving to lose 20 pounds, I reminded myself that I needed to lose just a little more than a pound a week.  I celebrated those small victories, but kept my end result in view.
4. Enlist someone to hold you accountable in your endeavor. My wife was a huge help.  She really encouraged me along the way.
5. I can sometimes accomplish more than I think I can. At first, I wasn’t sure if I could lose the weight, but now I know I can.  This means that the next time a challenge comes my way, I have the confidence that I can do it.

I really hope this helps!