The Secret to Success

Efficiency

It's something that I used to spend WAY too much energy on (and still do, to a point). I make checklists, make plans, make schedules, make spreadsheets only to end up remaking plans, remaking schedules, etc. This goes for work, for chores around the house and especially for setting a plan to lose weight.

But should I be focusing on being the most EFFICIENT I can be? 

Instead of trying to be perfectly efficient and not waste any time, I think it may just be more important to be perfectly consistent instead. If you consistently keep the same routine and discipline yourself to get to the gym in the morning, make it to work on time, have your meals at similar times of the day and get enough sleep every night, the efficiency will come as a result of your consistency.

If you form good habits, only good results can come from it. This has been an issue for me over the past year or so. I can have spurts of greatness, but can't hold myself to a consistent schedule and plan for more than a couple of weeks.

So that's my goal. One day at a time, one meal at a time, one decision at a time. Get enough sleep every night and get to the gym on time in the morning. Eat a good breakfast before work and keep the snacking at bay while sitting at my desk all day. (The latter point is my biggest downfall.) But I'm also going to be putting together a plan of sorts so I know what I'm supposed to be doing at the gym every morning.

What kind of routine actions do you do every day to make sure 

you're as healthy and fit as you can be?

Why I Want to Do This

When you're in a rut when trying to lose weight (or in my case, a 3-year rut), it's important to sometimes revisit the reasons that you're trying to slim down. Are they valid reasons? Are they logical reasons? Are they selfish reasons?

I was spitballing with a fellow YouTube Weight Loss Community member about the motivations and reasons behind our desire to lose the weight. While some may sound selfish, there are others complementing them which are completely unselfish. While some seem illogical and stupid, there are plenty others that make complete sense.

I feel that you need a variety of motivators in your journey to keep you looking where you need to look. If you only had one reason to hang your hat on, it may be easier to eventually put it on the back burner because it's "only that one reason" and go back to your semi-destructive habits. But if you're constantly reminded of your motivators, it's hard to shake off the feeling and ditch your goals.

So that being said, here is a list of some of the motivators and goals that I have corresponding to my weight loss:

• To gain self-confidence
• To have to buy all new clothes
• To dress in nice clothes rather than big jeans and sweatshirts
• To run a marathon
• To look (and feel) good
• To not have to worry about genetic heart disease
• To live a healthy and active lifestyle
• To be able to have a story I can share to inspire others
• To be able to say "I did it!"
• To attempt some level of triathlon 
• To feel comfortable and have fun playing team sports again
• I'll add more as I think of them

What are YOUR reasons for your goals? And your goals definitely don't have to be just to lose weight - I mean ANYTHING!

Change Is Hard

Tonight I've had an epiphany of sorts.

I've made it a habit of trying to breakdown my screwy mindset with this whole losing weight process. I know that I can achieve my goal physically (because I got went from 240-215 during the summer of 2005), but I feel that something needs to click mentally before I can get back to that.

Summer of '05 after my first 10k race (215 lbs)

Do I need to have my world rocked by scary, physical statistics about unhealthy I am? Oh wait, I've been there and done that. Maybe I need to do some physical accomplishment so I can realize what I'm capable of if I put my mind to it. What? I've run four half marathons? Darn...

Sometimes I just sit back, throw up my arms and wonder, "So what needs to click?!?"

Well after talking with my wonderful wife this evening, I think I've narrowed down some things. Maybe I'm scared and intimidated by the lifestyle changes I'd have to endure in order to reach my goal. Could it be that my innate desire to be comfortable and inconvenienced supersedes my desire to put in the work to lose 75 pounds?

Let's hope not.

Does the bad food really taste that good? Nope.  Do I lack support and encouragement not only from family members, but also from those who have accomplished last weight loss before me? Not at all! Am I just being a lazy wuss who doesn't want to "work too hard" to accomplish not only a wanted goal, but a NEEDED one? Now we might be onto something...

Every day that passes is one day closer to my 'goal date' - I need to be making better use of these days!

Me. Gym. 6 a.m. tomorrow morning.