This week I'd like to welcome Doctor Who as my Guest. Doc has been following my blog for a little while and had left some encouraging comments about his progress so far, so I thought I'd invite him over to chat a little. Please welcome Doctor Who...
You're known as Doctor Who when you visit my blog. Would you care to share your real name and age?
Hi guys, my name is Adam, I am 31 and I live in England, UK.
Your goal
is to lose 85 lbs and when you started this program, you were at 224
lbs. How long have you been
overweight?
I have been overweight since childhood. Many people have a
a `trigger` or main reason due to their being overweight, mine was a prolonged period of bullying, something I found
hard to deal with as a child.. Unfortunately I turned to
comfort foods to help me deal with the continued negative emotions I
felt. To compound my weight gain, I wasn`t very active.. I felt
relaxed watching television and playing computer games.. This became an escape
for me and
unfortunately lead to my continued weight gain.
You said
you're currently eating about 1300 calories per day. Describe a
typical days menu now.
Normally I start with some
muesli with skimmed milk in the morning, as well as a protein shake. If I feel
hungry mid morning, I will grab an apple. Lunch time normally consists of a salad
sandwich on wholemeal bread. If I'm hungry during the afternoon I will
grab another
apple (I love apples!!) or banana. Tea normally consists of salad or a few
potatoes with fish, chicken/ turkey breast or lean beef. As I desert I normally
have a piece of fruit or low calorie yoghurt. I am trying to break out of the
habit of eating after 6pm, this is quite challenging for me as my
daily routine with work makes it hard to eat at the same times
of the day.. However, I am managing to structure my meal times
more now.
Why do you
feel your prior diets failed and what are you doing differently so far this
time?
I think its easier to answer this by saying why this time is
different. All the other times I could only think of one excuse to loose
weight.. This time there are so many reasons, primarily due to my
being unhappy about my weight and I feel that I'm getting to the point in my life
that if I don`t
make the change now I never will. Somehow, this time really does seem different.
I have so much motivation, spurned on by Tony`s transformation.. Tony has shown
me, through his videos and blog, that if you have the passion, commitment and
drive.. then you really can turn your life and your health
around!!
What is the
most difficult thing for you to give up or stay away from?
The most difficult things isn`t chocolate, which is strange
as I've always been a `chocoholic`!. I have had cravings for carbonated drinks
but I have managed to stay away from these thankfully. I am so glad
this time I have found the drive and motivation in my head to say NO!! I have
even bought friends chocolate and managed to avoid eating any
myself!!
What is
your main motivation this time?
My main motivation is my age,
and the worry that I haven`t got long left to make the changes I want in my
life. Also, I am so tired of deleting facebook photos posted by my friends as I wasn`t
happy with how I looked.
Have you
told anyone close to you about your diet goals or have you kept them to
yourself?
I have my parents as well as a
few friends, who also joined me at the gym when I started a few weeks ago. I
tend to go to the gym on my own now though as I have built my confidence and I
feel I can focus more.
How is
keeping a daily food journal helping you?
I`m not actually keeping a food journal, for
me, I found it hard to keep on top of it, however, I tot up my calorie intake
throughout the day so I keep on track with my target. I do keep a weekly weight
loss chart where I record my weight loss and inches lost around my waist and
neck. I find this a great motivational tool!!
A lot of
people want to start a diet program, but don't know where or how to
start. For someone who is sitting at home reading this, what is
your best advice to them on how to get up off the sofa and begin?
My advice is start where I did,
get the photo of you, you dislike the most and set it as your wallpaper on your
laptop/pc. I use mine most days, so when I switch it on I know what I'm
doing and why. Also, have a clean sweep, any unhealthy foods in your cupboard then throw away, do a healthy food shop and
add a few nice and healthy treats. Also, tell a friend/family member you trust
and see if they can help you maintain the weight loss.. I also find Tony`s blog
fantastic, with a great source of information and a great forum to be able to
chat to other people who are experiencing the same
challenges.
Any other
tips or suggestions you'd like to share?
I find the laptop tip the most effective tool, every time I
log on to my laptop I get a reminder of what I'm going and why I'm doing it. Be
aware of your
food intake and be aware not to under eat as well as overeat, like Tony has
mentioned.. If you`ve not eaten properly then you run the risk
of losing
muscle. A high protein diet helps to maintain and rebuild
muscle.
I'd like to thank Adam for stopping by and sharing his story with us. I think he's headed on the right track and it's great to hear about someone who is making good strides on his nutritional journey. If you have any questions for Adam, please leave them in the comments section below.
Again, big thanks to Adam for coming by! Keep us posted on your progress.
I'm not sure if this has already been discussed, but keep records of your progress.
ReplyDelete1.) If you cut out soda from your diet on a given day, put an 'X' under soda in your journal for that day.
2.) If you avoided fast food and junk food, put an 'X' under those categories.
3.) If you hit your calorie goal for the day, put an 'X' under that category.
4.) If you did your walk, used the treadmill, or completed your exercise plan for a given day, make a note of that with another 'X' in those columns.
By keeping track of what you do on a daily basis, you can start to reassert conscious control over your behavior (plus learn from your mistakes) and eliminate the bad habits (while fostering new good ones) which caused you to gain the weight in the first place.
It is the same principle as keeping a food journal. You are holding yourself accountable for your behavior at the end of the day. You will feel psychologically compelled to put the 'X' in those columns every night.
I have found that keeping the records was the single most important factor in my weight loss experience. It kept my behavior on track and deterred relapses.
excellent idea and thank you for sharing it! That method really helps to keep one in track.
DeleteWe, the general readers always look for good blog articles for information on various things. Whenever we get such an article that meet our needs, we feel happy. No doubt article writing is a noble work. Thanks for your great service.
ReplyDeleteVery informative and helpful post. I earnestly request you to submit an article like this one to help the readers like me. Thanks for your great work.
ReplyDeleteHi guys, thank you for such positive feedback.. I want to thank Tony and Tonysmom for giving me the opportunity to be a guest blogger. I think the weight loss journey is so hard and is frought with so many obsticles, because it requires us to change our daily routine and how we live our lives, routines and habits that we have had for so many years. The journey is hard but we realise that we must change so we can improve our health and our lives. Tony is a continued inspiration and this blog has helped fuel my motivation to achieve the goals I have set. Each one of you guys are also my inspiration, because I know that you all aware of how daunting the challenges are but you`ve chosen to commit to a healthy new lifestyle. I wish each of you luck and look forward to reading your Monday updates..
ReplyDeleteWell put Adam - and you nailed it perfectly.... It is a change to a daily routine, but its such a positive change and well worth the effort.
Delete