Predictable Weight Loss

I have lost 58 pounds now. It's single digits to the final number. God does miracles!

On a regular basis, people are asking me about it. It may be someone I haven't seen in awhile or an old customer and last Friday it was my barber.

My barber was very curious; just the day before he had met with his doctor. His blood pressure was up and stronger medicine was prescribed. His doctor told him that he really needed to lose some pounds; even 30 would make a dramatic difference. He was one year older than me, one inch taller and about ten pounds heavier than where I was when I began. After our talk he was very encouraged to know that he could do it. I know he can too - if he will follow some well-defined steps.

The universal question is: how did I do it. Some do want assurance that I haven't been sick. I think many are looking for the magic formula; a new, easy, melt the pounds away with no effort potion.  My initial answer is that I am eating less and eating better. If they continue to question then I let them in on the details - the way to predictable weight loss. For me it has been writing down what I eat and knowing how many calories that translates into.

Now there may be some overweight people with hormonal or medical reason but for most of us it is very simple. If you take in more calories than you are burning then you gain weight. So the way to predictable weight loss is to reverse that.

There are many calculators available that take your weight, height and level of activity and give you a fairly accurate idea of your daily calorie need. From there, predictable weight loss is simple. If you take in 500 less calories a day than you need, you will lose 1 pound per week. For most people you can safely lose 2 pounds per week.

When I started on my weight loss journey I knew I needed to lose at least 50 pounds and I knew I needed to eat less. It was a simple beginning and I learned a lot along the way.

Without the diary and calorie count, it's just a guessing game. You may be eating more than you should or the foods you eat may be high in calories and low in nutrition value. You end up not losing, maybe gaining and that usually leads to discouragement and giving up.

The single most important thing for me has been the food diary - writing down what I eat. It gives me knowledge and keeps me honest and most of all gives me the numbers that insure predictable weight loss. It doesn't take a lot of time either. I probably spend about 5 minutes a day doing it. I use MyFitnessPal.com online and it syncs to my IPod Touch. It's free and easy.

So that's the secret to predictable weight loss. Fad and quickie diets usually don't last and many people gain back more than they lost. The good habits developed with what I have talked about are something you can live with, help maintain the target weight and can last for life.

Here is a link to posts about my weight loss journey.

Philip

You Can't Outrun Your Mouth