Today we will make progress on both diet and exercise. Some of this is mental and some is physical. Here is what is coming up:
- think about and write down some information about you and food now
- think about and write down some information about you and food for the future
- learn about breathing and why it is important
- think about and write down your exercise and/or sports goals
- learn and start doing a few simple exercises.
Done!
If you have not yet looked at the other posts in this series, please go here first and then come back:
Weight Loss Let's Pretend - Deciding to track your weight and face reality
Yes, You CAN Lose Weight! - Finding out your BMI and getting over excuses
Your weight loss journey is all about awareness. If you are overweight or obese, you probably do not think too much about your food habits now. They are habits and you just do them without thinking. Sure, you might feel stuffed after a poor meal, but you just go on about your life. You feel guilty and know you should change, but so what? You have other things to do, so you put it out of your mind.
The same goes for exercise. You know you should exercise and sometimes you do and sometimes you don't. Who's counting?
Guess what? The sands of time are counting. They are counting down. Start now and you will soon look back on your old, fat, sick, life and be glad that's over. Don't start now and you may never start. Please watch this video and decide if you need to lose weight now, or you need to wait until you are fatter.
Despite what I say in that video, which I know you just watched, I have now worked with people over 300 pounds. One man was close to 400 when we started to work together. Once he lost over 100 pounds, he left for Japan and continued to lose. I lost track of him when he decided to tour Asia further. He would not have done that at his highest weight because he could barely get out of his chair.
You may be shocked to know that thin and healthy people are not like us. They DO think about what they are eating and when they will work out. That simple difference is a big one. I know you don’t want to think about your food and exercise. I did not, until I finally knew I had no choice or I would be dying fat and dying soon.
Today we are starting with some thought and action about food. We are not going to overthink this. You did not gain weight overnight and you will not lose it by tomorrow. What we are going for are small steps, taken over time, that lead to permanent change you can live with.
Tracking Food
I know! This sounds horrible! It’s not though. You are only going to track food for a few days to get a baseline. You don’t need to change anything or you can change if you want to. The point is to find out what you are eating now so you can improve.
Here is one of my attempts at tracking food.
I did this tracking long before I knew what I was doing. On what planet is 8 cupcakes 150 calories? How is frosting and yogurt zero calories?
Oh yes, I did eat that frosting out of the tubs - no need of cupcakes at all. Frosting was on sale a lot and I did not feel like baking anyway.
My tracking might possibly have some clues as to why I was obese at the time.
I got the idea that if I did not know what I was eating, I would never be able to change it, so I started recording what I ate. I had this spreadsheet open all day, 7 days a week at the time.
I used to track my work hours and I used this file for many other things. Here you see some bad food choices and the calories I was estimating. I look at the details now and know why I felt so bad and so hungry all the time. When crackers are a staple, this is a bad diet!
Later I stopped tracking calories and tracked nutrition instead. As in:
- How much Vitamin C was I getting?
- How much sodium?
- How much fiber?
Etc
My fitness trainer did not let me count bad food. He only wanted to see the nutrition. I could eat cupcakes all day, but that would do me no good.
I have never gone back to calorie counting again.
But all of that is for a later time.
For now, just get something set up and track what you eat for a few days. I dare you to try to shock me.
- get some type of notebook for this whole endeavor
- use a random sheet of paper
- set up a file in your computer
Don’t get hung up on how you track you food; just start doing it. We will talk about this further in a later post. But we can't talk about it if you can't remember what you ate.
Food Awareness
The action comes later. I am not going to give you a food plan. We are going to develop it together over time based on your thoughts and actions about your habits and goals.
You: I don't have any idea what my habits or goals are!
Me: I know. That is why we are working this way.
Anytime I see a 5 day eating plan, I know it will not work. Many coaches and gurus write them. I’ve read thousands of them over my many years of obesity. I never followed one of them for more that a day or two.
I threw out my food. I bought the new food. I went out for dinner somewhere expensive and fattening so I would not have to look at that stupid new food until it spoiled and I could go buy all my old food again. And where's my boyfriend the pizza delivery guy?
We are not going to do this now. Instead, we are going to chip around the edges of what you eat now and make it better over time. This is so much more effective and workable than someone else's plan, and it will not cause you to go insane.
So here we go.
STEP ONE:
I want you to identify a few bad habits you would like to change.
These should be specific. Examples I had seen with past clients are:
- I should eat less drive through fast food. (from a person who ate it many times per week.)
- I need to stop drinking so many sodas. (from a person who only drank soda.)
- I need to stop eating so much butter and cheese.
The idea is to think quick and don’t worry if these are the “worst” food problems you might have. Also, do not worry that if you write something down if will be gone overnight and then you will die. I promise you, this is not the path we are going to choose.
Instead, whatever comes to mind is perfect. Once I see what you come up with, I will be able to tell you which are the:
- easiest
- most efficient
- least expensive
- least disruptive
ideas for you to try for positive change. Then you can pick one or two changes and try them.
After succeeding with those, (or not) it is on to the next change. Over a few short weeks this process will snowball and you will be on your way to success in weight loss. The idea is for you to find what works for you and stick with it. Today we are making a starting point. Then we will work with it, and adjust as needed.
One example from my weight loss journey might help you understand this concept.
I was a diet soda junkie for years. There was a point in my life in the early 1990's I used two carts at the grocery store. I shopped once every two weeks when I got my check. One cart was for all the diet soda I was going to drink in those two weeks at home and at work. The other cart was for everything else. I shopped at a 24 hour grocery store in the middle of the night so as not to be stared at like the freak I was. It was bad enough to deal with the check out clerk.
Fast forward to 2011, the year I finally got thin and healthy. I was still a diet soda junkie and I knew I shouldn't be drinking it. My fitness trainer tried to get me to stop. I drank all kinds of other drinks, but I still had my diet soda and still drank it all the time. I wasn't going to stop. Nothing he said was going to change my need for diet soda.
Then, about 3 months before I got to my goal, I all of the sudden could not drink it. My beloved diet soda tasted like chemicals! This happened seemingly overnight. One day I was drinking it and the next day I could not even stand the smell. I have never had another diet soda since.
Om occasion, I have had regular soda since then. I drank organic in the states a times and I will drink soda here in Thailand once in awhile. This is not a regular habit and I don't feel bad about it whatsoever.
NOTE: Thailand bans a huge number of chemical substances allowed in the US food supply. This is why I am not as picky about organic here.
Based on my experience, I do not force anyone I coach to give up any food or drink. If something is too hard, we will work on something else. It will all work out in the end. You may give up that one beloved "bad" food, or you may not. But if most of what else you eat is healthy, there is nothing to worry about anyway.
STEP TWO:
Identify 3-5 healthy food ideas that you think you could try if you knew how.
Again, these should be specific. Examples I had seen with past clients are:
- I need to eat more vegetables, but I don’t know which ones to buy, or how to cook them.
- I need to eat more salads, but I hate salad.
- I need to find a way to make my food taste good without adding so much salt.
Any thoughts you have on about healthy ideas you want to achieve are going to be fine. Just write them down.
Remember our goals:
And remember where you are coming from. See the small heart on the left side of the graphic below? This is the good food you already eat. Soon that heart will take up the majority of that side of the picture. Soon the the nasty stuff will be much smaller. And because of those changes, everything on the right side will improve.
And remember where you are going:
To recap:
- Track your food intake for a few days.
- Think of and write down what you want to stop eating.
- Think of and write down what you want to start doing.
That is it for food today.
On to Exercise
But before we tackle the subject of exercise, We are actually going to do some! Time for a dance break! Oh yeah! Come on with me now. Don't make me dance alone. This is 2 minutes and 42 seconds of pure delight and you can flail about just the same as I can.
You don't need a bathing suit, or a bunny suit, or a business suit, or an airplane, or even any shoes! So get right up out of your chair; hit play, and come back all refreshed for more work!
Whew! That was fun. Did you notice how thin everyone was back in the 1960's? Soon you will be one of those people, but in the current year.
Now let's think about exercise.
Do you have sports goals or any type of fitness regime that appeals to you now? Maybe you have a lot of activities you wish you could do. Write them down.
What are you doing now? Are you trying to work out in any way? Write it down.
What holds you back? Are you overweight or obese? Do you have any other physical problems? Fears? Write this down.
An example of what I’m talking about is swimming. This is my sport. Here is me filmed by my son 
In this video, I am teaching people how to swim underwater with no arms. This is for people like me who have arthritis and cannot tolerate slapping water with their hands and feet for laps on end. Nothing's impossible.
Many people who want to swim are afraid to for reasons of:
- fear of being fat in a bathing suit
- fear of drowning
I find a lot of people want to swim. Since I have been trying to help people with fitness over the last years, those are the two sticking points that come up when we talk about swimming.
We can bust through those with ease. I have been a swimmer since I was a fat four year old. I swam when I was a fat teenager. I swam when I could barely fit into the largest bathing suit size they had. So I can help you swim.
You can do any sport or activity you want to do. In the beginning you may have to modify your dreams and goals a bit, but over time, you can do that activity and do it well.
So don’t hold back on your dreams. If you want to bike long distances or climb a mountain, write it down. If you want to be able to walk around the block, write it down.
Learn to Breathe
Yes, really.
So here we go – jumping off a cliff
Ok, not really, but that poster tells you one of the most important tasks you have; for weight loss, and for the rest of you life. Start breathing! When I worked with a fitness trainer, he was astounded by my shallow breathing and spent most of the year we worked together telling me to breathe constantly.
My breathing playlist on You Tube gives you more information. And this is one of the videos from that playlist talking about why fat people do not want to breathe.
I still have to make myself breathe and I do. Every obese person I have worked with has the same problem.
Here is what I want you to do.
Take a few deep breaths whenever you think about it.
You: I’m never going to think about breathing.
Me: I know! But now you are going to think about and even do it!
Some ideas for breathing:
- take three deep breaths whenever you get up from your computer
- take three deep breaths whenever you sit down to your computer
- take three deep breaths as you start your car
- take three deep breaths before you go into a store
Questions:
- Can I take 2, 4 or 5 breaths? - Yes
- Will this make me look fat? - No
- Is this really necessary? - Yes
Breathing has a power of renewal. You do not know this yet because you have not done it. Trust me now, and start breathing.
I mentioned in my video above, which I know you watched, that using a breathing spirometer will help you learn to breathe better. This will be the best $10 or so that you ever spend. If you get this gadget and use it daily, you will be helping yourself to a better life. Check it out on Amazon and read the positive reviews. Then buy the thing and try it.
Here is one review to give you an idea of what's coming.
Did you even know you have breathing muscles? Now you do.
Ignore the reviews that tell you this spirometer is too small. Those are healthy he-men types. This is the one you need. If it ever becomes to easy for you, you can spend another $10 later.
Stretching in Bed
After the exhaustion of learning to breathe, now we are going to stretch in bed. I told you we are taking small steps! I would like you to stretch for a few minutes in the morning and a few minutes before sleeping. The reasons to do this in bed are:
- you are already there
- you are stiff in the morning
- you are tired and worn out at night
- you will not fall over or hurt yourself
- you do not have a good excuse not to
I am talking about a few minutes of easy effort that will make your days and nights much better. This will be a big win. I have a post on my blog with more information about about stretching in bed, but here is the meat of the post:
Does the poster above make sense to you? Do you think you can do this exercise before bed and after you wake up?
I had to physically help one client do this in the beginning of our time together, because this poster was too complicated for her. Please let me know if this is true for you.
Otherwise please do this stretching for 5 minutes each morning and 5 minutes each night. I have been doing it for the last eight or so years and I plan to continue until death do we part.
Going back to the section about breathing, be sure to breathe with intent as you do this stretching. You think that this small amount of movement will not help you, but I know it will, so please do it despite yourself.
Here are a few more exercises you can easily do.
The first is going to work the soft tissue on either side of your spine. The basic steps are these:
- Find a corner of a wall
- Lean up against it
- Settle in for a couple of minutes and enjoy.
Then work out your hands once a day – or more!
And this one might be harder than it looks. Do it in bed if you cannot get down to the floor. If you are obese, your stomach will be in the way. That's ok! Just do what you can.
And don't forget to start up a dance video of any type when you feel stiff, sore, or tired. As you have seen in this post and the last - dancing around like a nut for two minutes is very invigorating.
That’s it for today.
To recap:
- Write down what you eat for the next few days
- Chose some bad habits with food that you think you should and could improve
- Choose some good habits with food that you think you might be able to try
- Breathe intently as often as you can
- Write down some activities you would like to be able to do
- Do some easy exercise every day
And finally, feel hope and optimism that these steps are actually going to help you lose weight, because if you do them, they will!
= =
Thank you so much for following along with this series. My next weight loss post is post coming soon. I'm working now to make my coaching work understandable in a blog format. I do not want to overwhelm you. I want to help you succeed.
If I was your one-on-one coach in person or online, I would be doing a lot of work for you. Out here on my blog, I need to write so that you can help yourself. Please ask questions or comment on this post. I want to hear from you.
Contact Me
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Find my books at Amazon and at Selz
If you are interested in one-on-one coaching, online or in person, I want to work with you.
I offer packages, designed for you, in 1 month, 3 month, or 6 month terms; renewable.
Live In
I live in Bangkok Thailand and I am available to relocate.
- Food services are negotiable and range from full shopping and meal prep, to working with your staff, to acting as a coach to help you learn for yourself.
- Exercise help is offered daily on your schedule and based on your fitness level.
- Motivation help and planning will allow to to you continue and succeed when I am gone.
- Remote follow up is available and negotiable.
Online
Normal services are back and forth by email 3X per week with 1 or 2 online sessions per week. I have many resources, worksheets, videos, and tutorials and they will be offered as we agree together, and in line with your needs. This depends upon you and your time availability.
All pricing is negotiable upon consultation to determine your needs.
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NOTE: According to the CDC, close to 40% of Americans are overweight and another 40% ore obese. Those numbers are old, and sure to be worse now. When I first heard these stats in the late 1980's, 20% of Americans were obese. When I was a fat kid in the 1960's and 1970's I was one of only a few. The number goes up by the minute now. If you or anyone you care about is obese, please follow this series so you can beat the odds.
And please remember: