Perhaps. There are many plans out there that offer "guaranteed and quick results" if you follow their plan and purchase their processed food and supplements. I've been there and done that. Thousands of dollars later, I decided that this time around, I was gonna go old school and do the old reliable, from now until I die, lifestyle change. I know that it is absolutely the only chance I have to finally keep my weight in check.
Sadly, there is no quick fix, or trust me, I would have found it years ago. Losing weight is hard work, and even though I was the one who made myself morbidly obese in the first place, I will acknowledge that I have worked my ass off over the past year. I mean, I don't deserve a medal (unless I've run a race of course) for finally correcting the wrong I have done to myself. But acceptance and self-forgiveness is a huge part of healing through this journey.
The good news is that if you are trying to make your own lifestyle change, once you find a sustainable (and by sustainable I mean you can do it for the rest of your life) eating plan (mine was to follow the eating plan of Dr. Poon which is low carb, low fat, low sodium and all purchased at a grocery store), it does get easier. But only if you stick with your plan. Which means, don`t cheat yourself. If you are really serious about making the change, you have to give it 100%. You deserve no less.
I do best when I have structure and routine in my life. Ask anyone I work with (or has been to my home) how completely anal I am about certain things (ie: my desk, organization of my files, my clean house). The solution for me (and why didn`t I think about this sooner) was to become just as anal about my diet and exercise as I am about everything else in my life. One may wonder how I manage to run 36k per week, commute 3+ hours to and from work, have a family and work full-time in a fairly demanding job (I`m sarcastically writing this). I hear a lot of people say that they don`t have time to run or do some other form of exercise. Well, since I have committed to the lifestyle change, I have to get up early in the morning to run.
Five thirty-ish to be exact. I need to be home and in the shower shortly after 7am to drive my 1.5 hour commute to the GTA (greater Toronto area). I know some of you may think I`m crazy, but what is even crazier, is just throwing everything I`ve accomplished down the crapper. Not an option for me. Me not getting up at 5:30 because it`s still dark or cold is just an excuse and a sure fire way for me to return to my old behaviors. Again, not an option. I gave all my big, old clothes away.
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| My schedule for next week. Notice my runs are scheduled before my work appointments! |
In order or me to fit my runs in for the week, I schedule them into my agenda like any other appointment. And I keep the appointment no matter what. Since I`m just beginning a new LTR (Learn to Run) clinic and FWO (For Women Only) clinic, it`s harder to count those runs as part of my weekly runs. As the clinics move forward, some of the time spent teaching clinics can be counted as my weekly mileage. Starting next week, not so much. I`m doing 10 x 1 minute running 2 minute walking intervals. We`ll only cover about 1.5k at a very slow pace.
So just to reiterate, there is no quick fix. For diet or exercise. I stopped making excuses, took the proverbial bull by the horns, and I lost 110 pounds so far. If I can do it, anyone can. I was the biggest excuse maker out there. I know exactly what I need to do to be successful. The only one who has the power to sabotage me is me. And I`m not about to go back where I started. It is just not worth it!