I have never been much of a dieter. I've carried around an extra 20 pounds or so for as long as I can remember. Lost my job one year, and suddenly packed on about 60 pounds on top of the extra 20.
So, I did what any nerd would do. I looked on the internet for advice. There's a great deal of information in this land ruled by sloths, hedgehogs and kittens. Most of it is conflicting. The biggest issue is we are all different. A diet that works for a female that's 5'8" and 170 pounds is not necessarily going to work for a female who's 5'2" and 150 pounds. Nor are they likely to work for a guy who's 5'10 and 280.
I'm basically lazy, just like my body. If I don't need to exert myself, I don't see much need to do so. The body is just like me, always finding the way to do things that expend the fewest calories possible. So, I decided to lift weights, with the premise being that more calories would burn during the 23 hours I wasn't in a gym, than if I just did cardio or just watched what I ate.
The math on dieting isn't lost on me. I can eat healthy with moderate portions all day long, but if I scarf down peanut butter on whole wheat just once, I'll negate the caloric reduction for the day.
I work on my feet most of the day at my job. Each work day, I burn about 3500 calories. On the weekends, if I totally relax and do next to nothing, I'll burn about 2500. So, as long as I don't consume more than 3000 calories, I'm on track to lose weight each week - just not very much. Initially, I was super excited about this new challenge. So, I did the "hard" method and took in about 2200 a day, which worked. But, when I reached my goal of 215...I was a bit out of sorts and not really sure what to do next. So, I had a cheat meal, which turned into a cheat day, then a cheat week. Then I put the brakes on and went back on my program, only I've raised the number of calories I can have to just maintain where I'm at.
In addition to eating healthy calories, I'm also trying to get my hormones working for me by lifting weights every day. I work different parts of the body over 3 days, so I don't have to skip a day.
I lift weights in the morning before work and on the weekends whenever I feel like it.
In the evenings, even though I walk about 10000 steps at work, I walk for another 30-45 minutes in my neighborhood. I'll try to keep things interesting by walking/jogging on the curb, trying to keep my balance instead of just strolling down the sidewalk.
My diet has really changed. I used to just eat poptarts and pizza. Now I cook pretty much every meal I eat, tracking the macronutrients along the way. I take a multi-vitamin in case I'm not getting the micronutrients I need with all these veggies and fruits.
It is expensive to eat healthy. It really boggles my mind why that is, too. I could save so much money if Ramen noodles were nutritious! My food budget has gone from about 250 a month to about 400. Hopefully, this healthy eating thing will translate into a healthier life with less interaction from pricy doctors.
My best advice for anyone is to portion and cook your own food. You'll like it better because you'll make it the way you like it, and you'll know exactly what's in it. Can't say that about all those prefabricated meals. Burn calories making your dinner, why not?
Those who have no idea what they are doing genuinely have no idea that they don't know what they're doing. - John Cleese
