Calories Counted: 1902 (seems low)
 |  Fat - 21.7% (46 grams) Protein - 15.0% (71 grams) Carbohydrates - 42.0% (200 grams) Alcohol - 0.0% Other - 21.3%Daily Sodium Intake - 3,580 mg Daily Cholesterol Intake - 109 mg Daily Fiber Intake - 22 grams |
I feel like I'm forgetting to put something in my food journal but I think I have everything. I'm feeling pretty full right now, so I feel satisfied.
I'm struggling with finding something to write about tonight, so let's get away from weight loss for a minute. Some of you who know that I'm getting a degree in Music Education here in December, and that means I'm doing my year of student teaching right now. From January to May I'm in a Middle School working with the bands. From September to December I'll be at a MAJOR High School program in the city of Detroit. The High School won the State Championship in football last year, so you can imagine what the Marching Band program is like. Intense program - this is a program that is traveling to Beijing, China in July, and Nova Scotia in August. They're big time.
Ok, so maybe this will turn "weight" related - I'm just thinking as I go.
One of the reasons I decided to start losing weight is because of my looks. I knew that in December of 2008 I would be graduating from college and looking for a job in my field, and I always had it in the back of my head that a 400 pound overweight guy wouldn't be taken seriously in an interview. I had no self control and couldn't even stay healthy - why would a school program trust the health of their music department to me? It always worried me - I didn't want to be the joke that the interviewer talked about after I left the room. First impressions always scared me - I mean, who wants to be the 'elephant' in the room?
On the flip side, I think one of the problems I've been having lately is that I'm starting to feel good in my own skin. Now, you think that'd be a good thing - but it's been hurting me recently (the past 3-5 months). I feel like I'm fighting an uphill battle now - I know I have a long way to go, but I am not AS embarrassed (I still have some of that in me) as I was back then - and I have people telling me constantly how much better I'm looking.
But I don't want to settle for "almost" or "pretty good". I want to be the one to turn heads. I know that if I keep going, and stay consistent, that it'll happen. In order for me to get the results like Billy, and now others like Brian are getting, I have to work as hard tomorrow as I did when I was working my hardest. I feel like I'm doing pretty good - not bad, but not PERFECT. I need to strive for PERFECT if that's what I want to get when it comes to results.
I'm babbling tonight - just being a bit reflective. I guess the point is - if you're going to comitt to something, why not go all the way? If you created a blog, why don't you use it EVERY day? What is stopping you from eating PERFECTLY instead of letting bad choices slip in? What makes you roll out of bed when you really would much rather stay in bed?
These are the things to consider when you are deciding on whether or not your weight loss goals are TRULY important to you. It's important to me - and even though I'm NOT perfect, I've got my eyes on the prize. Every day I try to find some way to improve.
What are you doing to make sure you're proud of yourself when it's all said and done? Will you have regrets?
18 comments:
This is a good post. I think a bunch of people when losing weight will eventually fall into the category of "haven't reached my goal but have lost X amount of pounds and people notice." This is a monumental decision point in weight loss and one that many folks decide that even though they didn't reach their goals...they have done good enough. The way I look at it is they may have done good enough that people who know them notice a difference in them...but any random person off the street is still going to seem them as a fattie. This is the point to dig in and work twice as hard. There is a quote by Muhamid Ali that I like...I think he is the one who said it.
It's not that people set their goals too high, its that they set their goals too low and reach them.
Excellent post.
I know exactly what you mean. You'd hate to think that being overweight could hurt your chances of getting a job, but people do judge, even subconsciously. A healthy fit guy with your same skill set? Maybe there was just "something" they liked better about him. Sad, but true.
Also, about people losing some weight and then settling. EXACTLY. This is what everyone does. And then they slowly gain back without noticing. And why don't they notice? Because they were still chunky, so they can add fat slowly and not notice. My goal is to get lean, so that if I gain 5 lbs I'll be like "where did my abs go?"
I think it's also a matter of loving what you have too much to let it go. When you get super-fit, it's such a great feeling it's worth working to hold on to. When you get "less-fat", it's ok, but it's not enough to motivate you to work hard to maintain.
This is why we need to bust out of that mold, and not be in that large group of people who fail or fail to maintain.
another question: I see that your diet is 22% fat, 15% protein, 42% Carbs, 0% Alcohol, and 21% Other.
What the hell is "Other"?
other is lean pockets.
seriously though, this is a good post. you're a different person at this point, and its easy to re-evaluate your goals when you get semi comfortable with how you look.Don't.
Billy, other was the recipe that I put in - for some reason sometimes the recipes give you calories and such, but if certain things aren't filled out (like how much Vitamin D is in something - hell if I know), it'll give that rating. One of the flaws of the analyzer.
I've felt this temptation too, even though I've only lost ~15 pounds. My pants are falling off me hips, my girlfriend loves the fact that I'm slimmer and have muscles now, and people are noticing the changes. So I start to think "Yeah, maybe I'm not so bad." But then I look in a mirror without flexing, and see my double chin, and that kills it right there for me. Still got a long way to go.
It's not about being less bad. It's about being as good as you can be.
Amen brother Billy.
The truth is that sometimes the goal from the beginning is just to be less fat, not to be 'as good as you can be'. For some people, that becomes the goal as time goes on, but others aren't wired that way, which is why it becomes tempting to just relax. But I agree - if you're gonna do it, do it all the way & get it done.
I have to say though that I sometimes find it troubling that not blogging every day is perceived as being less than 100% committed. A person can be putting 100% effort into their weight loss and just living the best life possible without the blog bearing witness. Maybe it's my perspective because I had lost about half of my weight before I got a blog, so for me, the blog is a nice addition, and the encouragement is great, but I don't think it always reflects the amount of work or commitment that I'm putting into my weight loss efforts.
Rebecca,
The goal of the FAT Coalition has always been to support each other and blog about it. I'm not pointing a finger at you (honestly, your name wasn't even on my mind when I talked about this), but if you go back through the history of the Coalition, you'll notice significant trends.
In months where certain members were posting more regularly, they were losing more weight. When the posting drops, the weight came down.
To each their own - I just try to inspire people to be conscious about their weight. At the end of the day, I have a choice - do I just say "screw everyone else, I'm doing this for me", or do I say "I want to make sure that I motivate others to reach their goals"? I choose the second one. That's why on the majority of blogs out there, you'll find me leaving comments.
When I see people not blogging as much as they used to - that is the key. If you were never someone to blog constantly, then it's not the same. But when I see someone who used to post 5-6 times a week, and now they're posting MAYBE once a week, and they're struggling with their weight, I see that as a concern. What are you doing NOW that you weren't doing BEFORE?
To each their own - but I use this blog as a source of motivation for myself. The more comments I get, the more I know people are watching, which means I feel more and more accountable to the group. That's what works for me. So, if there's others out there that get motivated the way I do - I'm going to make sure to put in the effort to support them in a way that leads them to their goals.
That's my contribution to the Coalition.
This is a great post. And sadly its so true that you could possibly not get a job being overweight. I can relate to what you say about settling. I do that way to fast, but am realizing that is not what I want to do. I think with me its more of being scared of failing if I try further. But failure shouldnt even be in my vocabulary ;)
I want to come to some of the bands shows when you get in the program. So keep me posted :)
Amen, Tuck.
It's easy to settle, and that's why many people don't achieve their goals. It's also why I'm already trying to psyche myself up to keep going once I hit the ones. It's not easy to keep the fire stoked, but you've got it going on again now. Keep it rolling, bro, and rock it out. You'll get there.
I didn't feel like you were pointing a finger actually, I was just responding to the idea. I have no doubt that for people who have a strong association with blogging and weight loss there is a trend, I just think it's important to acknowledge that falling into a vat of chocolate, as Lacy put it a while back, is not the only reason that people don't blog.
I definitely think that the support that can be provided through the coalition can be very helpful and motivational, and I try to comment as often as I can. I definitely have noticed and much appreciate your consistent comments since I started blogging. Your contribution is significant.
You can say it. I'm a blog addict ;)
I agree with Rob that the coalition was started as a tool for support and accountability. We would blog semi-daily, and keep tabs on each other. If someone stopped blogging regularly, we weren't able to do that.
The coalition has grown so large that it encompasses members with all sorts of different weight loss strategies and blogging habits. The only membership requirement is having a blog and talking about losing weight, if not actually losing it. Many people don't blog very often. That's fine, but maybe they don't belong in the "Coalition proper".
I'm not trying to say if you don't blog every day you shouldn't be in the coalition. What I am talking about is the same reason Rob tried to break it out into "FAT" and "FAT Xtreme", because he was trying to revive that idea of daily support and accountability that we started off with.
As for me? I sorta feel like I'm still in it for the daily support and accountability.
Yikes - I spent all my time yesterday putting comments in everyone else's blog, I didn't realize I haven't blogged for two days. No time now, but I'll get one done today.
I think it's challenging to try to have 'membership' to an online group like this. How do you know that someone who has a blog about weight loss considers themself to be a 'member'? How do they know what the 'rules' for membership are if they were not there from the beginning? Don't get me wrong - having observed the dynamics among the various people that are connected here, there is definitely a group identity, culture & membership, so I'm not denying that there is a group, I'm just wondering if it's always clear up front what it means for someone to 'become' a 'member'.
Billy - apparently your perspective on blogging has evolved, because if I remember correctly when you had pretty much arrived at maintenance a few months ago you were looking to back off of the blogging. Just wondering what, if anything, happened in your thinking to change your perspective on the role of blogging in this part of your journey. Forgive me if I missed it along the way...
Hey ROb, I have been reading your posts and have continued to beinspired in my own journey. During this post you asked a question..."what is getting in my way?" I think knowing the answer to that question has removed tons of stumbling blocks for me. Or at least considering teh possibility that there is something else in me that wants something different than my conscious mind wants. SO with that said...there is a training over here in Grand Rapids in March called Discovery Seminar. The whole purpose is to help people discover what stops tehm from having what they want in life. Here is a link...check it out and if it interests you but seems impossible to make happen...I would say do everything it takes to make it happen. http://www.accd.org/index.cfm/pages/50
Best of luck to you...
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