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From the start let just me tell you that I'm not a dietician, or an exercise instructor. I'm not trained in the art or science of weight-loss in any way, shape or form. "Why then," you might ask. "does this guy think he's got anything to tell me about how to lose weight?" Let me explain .
I've never had a body that I particularly liked. For as long as being in good shape has mattered to me, I've never been in good shape.
I'm 38 now and it seems like for the best part of the last 18 years I've steadily gotten fatter and fatter every year. Each summer when I'd find myself at the beach or the pool I'd have more and more trouble sucking my gut in. I'd look at these guys with great, slim looking physiques and I'd hate them because I wanted to be like them and didn't think it was possible. I'd come to accept that every time I went to buy a new pair of jeans they'd be just one size larger than the last pair I bought. I'd come to accept that my type of body is the 'cuddly teddy bear type' and consoled myself that this was OK for a guy my age, there's nothing I can do about it so I may as well just accept it. But down below, somewhere in the depths of my psyche dwelt a nagging dissatisfaction that never went away. A feeling that no matter how many other things were going right in my life, I'd still be a long way from being the person I wanted to be so long as I was carrying around this body that I wasn't comfortable with.
About six months ago something clicked. Well, it wasn't exactly a click, it was more gradual than that, but I started feeling like I could do something about this issue and I started changing various aspects of my life. What I ate and how much of it, how much exercise I got, how I spent my spare time. Six months ago I wore a size 39 pair of Levis. Two weeks ago I upgraded my wardrobe to size 32. That's seven inches gone from my waist . in six months. I feel better, I look better. Everyone that knows me has noticed and mentioned how different I look, and I have that feeling of satisfaction that goes with achieving a goal that I set for myself, that seemed almost impossible at first but which I worked hard at and accomplished.
So that's why I think I have something to tell you about weight loss. If you are like me, an average guy who has thought about losing weight but doesn't really know where to start. That doesn't understand much about kilojoules, calories and carbohydrates, that really has no idea what kinds of foods he should and shouldn't be eating and that believes he doesn't have time in his life for the kind of exercise he really needs but is dissatisfied, deep down inside, with the shape their body is in, then read on. This article may change your life.
The Mindset
Ok, so you want to do this thing, but don't kid yourself that it's going to be any easier than it actually is, or that it's going to just happen without you having to apply some discipline and hard work. A lot of us spend a lot of our time waiting and hoping for a bit of good luck in life: "Maybe this year I'll be offered that promotion at work that I've been wanting", or "maybe my kid will get the message this year and start applying herself at school". Losing weight isn't something that anyone else can do for you. It is something that only you can do. It doesn't happen by luck. It doesn't happen by waiting around for it to happen. It happens because you make a conscious decision to make it happen. But that's the good news as well, it doesn't take any luck. If you want to do it, then YOU CAN DO IT. It doesn't matter who you are, how rich or how poor, who you know or how educated you are. This isn't a lucky break you have to wait for, one of those lucky breaks all the other guys always seem to get; this is something that IS going to happen to you if you decide to make it happen.
So first up, get yourself into the mindset that you are actually going to do this thing. That it isn't impossible, and that you are going to take on this responsibility for yourself and your future. Think about the positive impacts this will have on your life. Think about how it's going to be, to have that improved self-esteem you've only dreamt about until now. Write down your reasons for doing this. Write down how life is going to be for you once you've achieved your goal, and once you've written it down stick it up on a wall or even better, on the fridge so you see it every time you open the door to grab an extra late night chicken wing.
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