About Fogdog's Weight Loss

Don't Focus on the Goal...

If you've followed this blog you know that I've struggled for many years with improving my health. I've finally reached a point where I've managed to maintain a small amount of success. Now it's time to take the next step, but I believe it requires a new way of thinking.

Instead of trying to get healthy, why not shift focus toward learning how to build healthy habits instead. Follow me as I try to teach myself how to Engineer healthy habits that will allow me to take my health to the next level. Let's see where this experiment goes!

Saturday, June 13, 2015

Day #160 - Evolution

When I started this process 160 days ago I knew it would be hard to change.  I knew there would be challenges, ups and downs, and the occasional setback.  What I didn't expect, however, was a complete change in the way I approach losing weight. 

This is an expansion of my last post in which I declared that I'm done focusing on losing weight and instead I am shifting my focus to living a happy, healthy life.  Though the difference can appear subtle, but it's fairly significant from my mental perspective.

Here's a comparison of my old and new way of approaching the problem:

Old Plan - Focus on losing weight
  • Carb cycle 6 days a week - Eat 6 times a day with no carbs on "low" days and some carbs on "high" days
  • Unrestricted day on Sunday
  • Drink a gallon of water every day
  • Weigh-in every week and record on spreadsheet
  • Blog every day for accountability
New Plan - Focus on being healthy
  • Try to avoid processed foods and refined sugar
  • Try to eat a wide variety of foods that I enjoy
  • Eat only when I'm hungry; stop before I'm full
  • Practice awareness eating and slow down
  • Drink water when I'm thirsty
  • Weigh-in once a month
  • Blog when I have something to say
Under the old plan I ate as part of a "regimen" whether I was hungry or not.  On my unrestricted day I inevitably would eat way too much, trying to get it all in before another 6 days of restriction.  As I got to the end of the day if I didn't have all my water in then I started drinking it faster to get it all in.  The only measure of my success or failure...the scale.  When I didn't feel like blogging, I did it anyway because I said I would.

It just wasn't working, I wasn't happy, I had to try something completely different.

I've been following this new plan for the last 10 days and I feel great.  I feel like a weight has been lifted off me.  I might not lose weight as fast this way, but I'll be happier through the process. 

More to come

Stay Strong!
 

7 comments:

  1. KarenJune 13, 2015 at 11:52 AM

    I think not eating processed foods and sugars is key- IMO. I had awareness about the sugar, but once I saw how triggering food preservatives - even small things like guar gum and emulsifiers are for me, I became a believer. Real food - for the Win. Good luck and take care. Karen P.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Lowcarb team memberJune 13, 2015 at 2:56 PM

    'avoid processed foods and refined sugar' I so agree with Karen here ... and it is what we have been saying on the low carb diabetic blog for seven years now.

    Good Luck and keep at it - it is so worth it and you and your family deserve it

    All the best Jan

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  3. Alati June 13, 2015 at 3:34 PM

    Glad youre feeling well and another vote to staying away from sugar and processed foods!

    ReplyDelete
  4. KatrinJune 14, 2015 at 11:53 AM

    Your're new plan sounds very realistic and doable. I know with myself, even though I know all the "rules" there are to weight loss, I have to do what works for me....and I'm definitely a work in progress!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Scooter HussyJune 15, 2015 at 12:08 PM

    Congrats on finding a healthy sustainable plan - this sounds like something you could do for the rest of your life.

    ReplyDelete
  6. SaraJune 30, 2015 at 8:13 AM

    We all have to find what works for us individually. I actually lost the weight and have been successfully maintaining for two years now, while eating processed and sugary foods. Eating those kinds of foods is actually one of the reasons why I've been so successful :) But, that's what works best for me, and may not work for someone else. The key is to find something you can follow for the rest of your life, because maintenance is for 20, 30, 40+ years :)

    Just found your blog and now following!

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousAugust 28, 2015 at 2:48 PM

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    ReplyDelete

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