To all the young people out there...STAY IN SCHOOL ========================================== Jerry Aragon; The Humor Doctor humordoctormd@yahoo.com |
My articles published 200+ websites |
Here's the Skinny on How I Lost 40 Pounds |
This is me before.... |
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Here's the skinny on how I lost 38 pounds; 1) Moderation; 2) Water diet; 3) Mental toughness; 4) my fear of diatbetes! Losing weight is a tough problem for anyone! Statistics show that over 50% of the American people are overweight, and I didn't want to be part of that club, so I had to lose weight. Plus, I knew that carring the extra weight was not good for my health and my heart. Growing up, I had always been a skinny kid, so weight was never a problem. I was so skiny, that I had to run around in the shower to get wet! (just kidding). I come from a skinny family of four brothers and five sisters, and none of us ever had a weight problem and neither did my parents. Throughout my adult years, I was always of average build...about six feet tall and 170 pounds, and I kept that weight for many years. During my lifetime, I have never been a heavy eater, either. But, for a few weeks, I noticed something was not right with me. I did not feel right. I felt listless; overweight; bloated; not sleeping well, and just plain awful, etc. My clothes were not fitting right, and I was a little short-tempered! Something was wrong, and I had to find out what it was. When I found out what was wrong, boy did I get a surprise! One day, I went to see my doctor for my annual physical examination, and I got on the scale to be weighed, and I weighed in at 209 pounds! I was shocked! Fortyk pounds over my normal weight! I was numb! No wonder everything was falling apart on me! I got off the scale, and sank to a new low, and a little depression set in right away! How could this happen? How could I weigh so much? I've never weighed this much in my life...not even close! But, 209 pounds! I felt like I had just been hit in the stomach...a very LARGE stomach! There are those who read this article and think that 40 pounds is small potatoes...but, 40 pounds are very large potatoes to me. And yes, a six foot frame would have no problem carrying 209 pounds, but I didn't want that. As soon as I got off the scale, I knew the weight was coming off...but how? How could I motivate myself? Diabetes: I am extremely afraid of getting diabetes! My aunt and a neighbor who lived next door to my parents died of diabetes! And,k I worked with a fellow who got diabetges, and went spinning into depression! Clothes: Today, (2006) clothes are expensive, and I was NOT going to start buying new clother that fit...not on your life! And, then what's next...buy more new clothes as I got bigger and bigger and bigger? No thanks! The thought of having to buy new clothes motivated me, in part, to take some serious action, and I knew a big challenge lie ahead. I was determined to lose 40 pounds no matter what! It would be my top priority, and I didn't care if it took a year, two years or three years, I was going to lose 40 pounds! When I left the doctor's office, I felt awful. And, for the first time, I could sympathize with what overweight people go through. My first stop was to buy a bathroom scale, because I have never needed one. And, when I got home, I jumped on it, and sure enough...209 pounds! I knew nothing about weight loss and diets and so forth. I didn't like the feelings inside of me at all. I perceived that people were going to be looking at me a certain way and calling me names. I was sick! |
There are millions of books out there on weight loss and diets. I had no idea where to start. First, I had to take a couple of days to think things out, as to what my game plan would be. I needed a little time to get out of this panic-attack I was in! I got a yellow pad and started scratching down some notes, and I chose to do the following: Attitude: Attitude is everything! I thought attitude could be the most important factor in all this For, it was attitude that helped my to quit smoking 30 years before. A mix of attitude, discipline, patience, sacrifice...that's what I wanted in my game plan. If I could quit smoking, with the "mental toughness," it took to do it...I could lose 40 pounds...and I was ready to kick some butt...MY very big butt! First, I had to get rid of my cry-baby attitude and self-pity about meself...which is not like me! I knew, over the next several months, I was going to take a healthy dose of agony, and a lot of whining on my part! .Patience: The next decision was to be patient from beginning to end. Losing all this weight was going to take time. There's NO magic dust here; no magic pill; no magic malt, etc. Now, that I had decided that patience was going to play a major role, I could settle down a little. Aids: The thought of books, pills, snake-oil were thrown out the window! I decided to make my own rules, as I was not going to spend money on all this stuff. If my game plan would not work...THEN I would go out and get the help I needed to lose the weight. There are no books; doctors; malts that are going to help...unless the person WANTS to lose the weight! When I quit smoking, I did it because I WANTED to quit and I was ready to do it, and nothing was going to stop me. Appearance: I'm not going to look like a slob any time soon! Looking good makes a person feel good; and keeps the self-esteem and confidence high. That's important to me! Some people don't care about appearance, but I do. Moderation: Next, came the idea of mederation. During this time, I ate everything I ever ate...except less of it. I decided to cut all portions in HALF! Instead of eating two eggs forbreakfast...only one. Instead of eating two slices of pizza...only one. Instead of eating the whole apple for a snack...cut it in half and save the other half for a rainy day, etc. Like my mother, I have a sweet tooth, and I love sweet things like cakes; candy; pies; pudding...and, all of this would have to be cut in half, too! By doing this, I would be able to maintain the quality of life I have always enjoyed, only I would now have HALF of what I enjoyed before. In other words, I would have my cake and eat it, too! (forget I said that!) By doing it this way, I would not go COMPLETELY crazy...just HALF crazy! Water Diet: Several years ago, I heard about a water diet of some sort, but knew nothing about it. Usually parents will not let their kids eat candy or sweet things before a meal, or they won't eat their meal. Makes sense to me. So, I decided to try it. That is, drink a full glass of water before a meal and then I would eat less. A pound a Week: The thought of losing 40 pounds was overwhelming to me, and I didn't like it. I decided to get rid of that thought, and I would focus on losing a pound a week, which sounded better to me than losing 40 pounds, etc. As you can see, I created my own rules and my own game plan. Since I'm not a rocket scientist, my math told me, that it would take about 40 weeks at a pound a week, or ten months to do the job. That's okay...it took me about 10 months to quit smoking...and losing this weight was every bit as important as quitting smoking, so I dug in for the long haul. I knew I was going to take the weight off...I just didn't know how long it would take. From the time I implemented my game plan, everything I ate was cut in half, and by the end of the month, I had lost three pounds...YAHOO! I was making progress right away, and I was enthusiastic and I had to stay motivated. I thought my game plan was a good one, and each day, I couldn't wait to get on the bathroom scale, to see if there was any good news. Six weeks later, I dropped down under 200 pounds! I was on Cloud 9! I would give my game plan about 3 months, and if there was not much progress, then I would get in touch with all the snake-oil salespeople I could find, etc. I think I have a big advantage over some people bacause: 1) Walking/jogging: I have been walking/jogging 10-15 miles a week since 1986. And, still, in the year 2007, jogging helps me to sweat out the good times and the poisions in my life...and stay fit. Jogging helps me to keep the stress out of my life; sleep better; create better; and solve problems better, etc. Because I was doing so good, I gave myself a little treat...my once a month Pig Out Day...and eat whatever I wanted! Everyone should give themselves a treat from time to time. During this occasion, I ate a Mexican dinner; Chinese meal or an Italian meal. But, the good times don't come without strings attached. I had to pay the price later, in the form of adding 5 miles to my jogging routine, and it all had to be done in one session, to burn out all the good times! (Boo-hoo!) It's called "sweat therapy) 2) Quit smoking: I had to use the discipline to quit smoking over 30 years ago, and now it would take discipline to get the weight off, etc. But, it took more than discipline. As mentioned earlier, it took sacrifice; determination; fight off temptation and peer-pressure and a lot of patience! |
So, week after week and month after month, I stayed with my game plan. A pound lost here...and a pound lost there, and I was on the right track. My attitude was the most important in all this...I know I can...I know I can...and it was only a matter of time before I won the battle! But, it was a roller-coaster ride right from the beginning. At the six month mark, I was down to 185 pounds, and I was on Cloud 42...YAHOO! Up and down I went...up and down...I would lose three pounds and gain four! The toughest part was to get down below 180 pounds AND stay there...up and down...182 pounds...down to 178 pounds...up to 181 pounds...down to 176 pounds...it was driving my crazy...sorry...HALF crazy! FINALLY...I got down below 180 pounds, and I couldn't be more happy and proud! YAHOO! This was nine months into the mission and I was on Cloud 67 and going up! But, I had a little more work to do, as I still had not reached my goal of 170 pounds, but I knew I would do it! The little train that could...was steaming up the mountain...a pound a week...40 weeks...40 pounds...have gone bye-bye! I went back for a physical exam the following year, and my doctor said to me, "Jerry, you've lost a lot of weight this last year...have you been ill, or did you lose it intentionally? I JUST SMILED...YAHOO...HIGH FIVES FOR EVERYONE! |
This is me AFTER... |
This is a family website |
* * * UPDATE: I lost all that weight in 2001, and as of October 2007, I still weigh 170 pounds, and I don't think I've gained the weight back because of patience...it took a long time for me to lose the weight, and the body had time to adjust. All the things it takes to quit smoking and/or lose weight are free; determination; discipline; fighting off temptation and peer-pressure; comittment; patience...YAHOO! |
Losing weight is a tough problem for anyone Statistics show that 50% of the American people are overweight, and I didn't want to part of that club, so I had to lose the weight. |
My articles published 200+ websites |
To all the young people out there...STAY IN SCHOOL ========================================== Jerry Aragon; The Humor Doctor humordoctormd@yahoo.com |
"Don't be afraid to give up the good, to go for the great." Kenny Rogers |
.Get inspired...get motivated...get going! |
Copyright; Jerry Aragon; 2007 All Rights Reserved |
