Diets Don't Work, so Let's Try Running/Walking

Back to the popular subject of weight loss, we have determined that diets don't work because we have to be ourselves because everyone else is taken.  The last time I checked, I am not Jenny Craig, or my name is not Adkins, and as cool a name as it would be, mine is also not South Beach.  So I know that if I try those diets they will work and I will lose weight, but I will gain it right back and then some as soon as I stop eating Jenny's food, or add carbohydrates back to my diet after eating meat and cheese like Adkins, and as soon as I quit the South Beach diet, my South Beach body will be back in the South Ditch.  So shall we move on to something that actually works?

Here is my validation that what I am saying will be successful.  I made a before/after picture of myself and am excited to try to inspire others to a healthy lifestyle.

I have spent the majority of my life overweight.  I have tried every diet, and every exercise program.  I have finally found what works and it is SO simple and will change your life.

The left side of the picture is the time that I made a major decision for myself and my health.  I was literally laying on the couch and bounced up and announced what I know now to be the most incorrect statement I may have ever made.  I said, "I have never seen a fat runner so I will start running."  My husband looked at me like I had an eye in the middle of my forehead because I had NEVER been a runner.  I never ran in high school, never ran period.  I am the embodiment of Elephants on Parade.  I am not light on my feet and not a graceful runner or graceful at anything.  That day, I got out and ran to my mailbox.  Now I can probably spit on my mailbox from my front porch.  So we are talking about a couple of hundred feet that I ran that first day.  I was winded, tired, and needed a two day rest after that first run, but two days later I ran to the stop sign at the end of the street.  This is how I got started.  Did what I could with what I had.  After gradually increasing my distance over time and with a day to rest in between, I built up.  Then I found the podcast that really got me moving.  Here is the link to the Couch to 5K program that I used.  It combines walking and running and gradually introduces your body to movement.  Remember, Eat less, move more.  That is the ticket.

I downloaded this podcast to my mp3 player and did it religiously.  It beeps in your ear and gives extra instruction along the way to help you stay motivated and on track.  It starts out with people who are not conditioned or in shape, and in 9 weeks, moves to being able to walk fast or run for 30 minutes without stopping.  It works!  Trust me, it does.  So this week's medicine is simple:  continue eating what you want but less of it, and add Couch to 5K to your ipod or MP3 and get moving!  Let's do week one this week!

I moved on from C25K to bridge to 10K then I trained for a half marathon and eventually ran a full marathon.  I am back to running for my health now, which we will discuss in a later blog post.

Here is the link to what I used.  http://www.djsteveboy.com/intervals.html

Here is your motivation, so grab a friend and let's get moving!  

Now this is a point to ponder.

Let's get some followers, and share my link on your facebook page and twitter.  I have one follower.  Folks, I am not going to continue blogging if I don't have followers.  I have a few who are telling me they are reading, but not a bunch.  Who is reading my blog?  and who is subscribed to it?  I would love to go viral with blogging and get some advertisers on here, but I have to have subscribers to do that.  I read a statistic that most blogs last 9 months unless they have subscribers and advertisements.

Here is another question for your to comment on:

What is your running/walking, fitness story?

Be Yourself, Everyone Else is Taken

Elementary, Middle, High School, even College...spent trying to walk, talk, and be like someone else.  Someone I viewed as popular, I wanted to walk like them, or hold my books like they do when they walk down the hall.  I wanted to fix my hair like they did and it never seemed exactly to work out because in my adult life I learned that different hair textures and kinds just won't go into certain styles.  Explains why we have those "awkward years" where we all look a bit like animals at the zoo.  However, there is always that set of animals or even one animal that we want to look or be like and try to emulate them at all costs.  Even growing up we try to be like our parents and fit into their mold.  Then when we get out on our own we still carry that mold with us and our first meals we cook are the meals we had at home(even though they aren't worth eating at that time because they aren't as good as what momma made).  The truth of the matter is, when we try to be like everyone else, we feel trapped, like we are put into a box and it becomes claustrophobic in that box.

For me, the real transformation to being myself came about 8 years ago when I decided to cut my hair into the spiky do.  I remember at the time I was working very part time at the bank and I mentioned to a couple of my co-workers that I wanted to get my hair cut spiky.  Of course, I met with protest.  Oh NO, you don't want to cut your hair like that!  Well, maybe I do.  YOU may not want to cut YOUR hair like that, but maybe I do.  It took me another month or two before I was brave enough to cut it because I have to admit, it is SO hard to overcome people's opinions and when they seem to be free flowing, it makes it even harder.  I did cut my hair and I have had it like it is now, spiky and sassy, every since.  I am fairly convinced that I will never have another hairdo.  It suits me perfectly.  It is ME.  Anyone who knows me knows that it is ME. I feel so free.  If we all could take a step back and realize that everyone is different, and not to impose our opinions upon other people then there would be a lot less pressure and stress in the world today.  Embrace our differences.  If you are out with a friend and she says, how do you like this shirt?  Say, That would look great on you!  Trying to make other people fit into molds is one of the most debilitating habits that has been presented into our world today.  Embrace yourself.  Be yourself, Because everyone else is taken.  Now that is a point to ponder.

This very point is the reason that dieting never works.  Every diet tries to put us into a mold that we don't fit into.  Diets try to make us eat foods that we don't normally eat or don't normally like.  God made us all different and some of us don't like plain yogurt and blueberries.  Some of us like chocolate and pizza.  And some of us want to be healthy and thin.  

See if you recognize this pattern:  Decide to diet, go on the diet, buy the foods suggested, stick to it for a week or two or a month or two, loose some weight, get excited, stick to it another week or two, feel deprived, binge, go back to what you were doing before, gain the weight back plus some extra.

In my experience with dieting, the reason this happens is simple: we were trying to be someone else.  We can't be someone else, because someone else is already taken, we must be ourselves.  Folks, the secret to healthy dieting and weight loss is simple:  Eat what you want, just not a lot of it. That way, we are being ourselves, and we are setting ourselves up for success instead of failure.  If I want a piece of pie, I eat one, but a very small piece.  You can make good choices along the way, and over time, we are going to talk about good choices and elaborate further upon secrets to dieting.  But one thing at a time.  For now, Eat what you want, just not a lot of it.  When you go to a restaurant, ask for a to go box when your meal arrives and put half of it in the box.  No one needs the absurd portion that is presented at a restaurant.  Order what you want, just don't eat all of it.  This way you are not depriving yourself.  The #1 reason that we don't stick to diets is because we get sick of depriving ourselves of things we love and we cave in.  And when we have deprived ourselves for so long, heaven help the first pie we dive into...  If we eat what we want, just not a lot of it, then we are not depriving ourselves.  We are cutting calories without deprivation.  Can you live the rest of your life without pie or carbohydrates? NO, Can you live the rest of your life eating what you want in small quantities? YES!  Yes we can!  Setting ourselves up for success we are!

Over time, I am going to share my struggles with weight loss and what has worked for me.  Everyday is a struggle.  I have to get up and make up my mind that I want to eat small amounts of what I like and get my exercise in.  Some days are better than others.  But every day I make up my mind to do it.  You can too.