I guess word is catching on about how much I lost in the last four months because I’m getting the usual questions a lot more often now. “What’s your secret?” “How did you lose so much so quickly?” “TEACH ME!”
So, instead of answering everyone individually, I’m going to try to put my jumbled brain thoughts into this post. Keep in mind, my mind is very cluttered and I don’t always find the right words to say what I’m trying to say, so if you still have questions, just find me, staple me to the wall, but keep my hands free so I can sign, and ask more questions. I have nothing to hide, I’m not trying to make millions of dollars off of it. I’ll be candid (honest) with you, and blunt. Take it for what it’s worth.
First of all, there is no secret. That is the very first thing you MUST understand in the beginning. There is no secret fad, or diet. Diets work for some people, they do, and I’m proud of them. But there is something you have to understand first. All diets come down to the same cardinal rule of weight loss: You MUST burn more calories than you EAT. “But Richard, it can’t really be that simple, can it?” Yes, it is that simple. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying losing weight isn’t hard, it is. But the formula for success is really very quite simple. It’s much less complicated than Einstein’s E=MC(2). It’s more like WL = CB – CE. Where WL = weight loss and CB = calories burned, and CE = calories eaten. If CE is bigger than CB, you’re not going to lose weight. Capisce?
“But Richard, how do I know how many calories to eat?” There’s plenty of diets out there, and I haven’t tried them, because the first one I started with I swung for the fences and hit a homerun. Weight watchers works, and here’s why. It is custom tailored to meet YOUR physical dimensions and necessity for weight loss. It doesn’t work for everybody, but it can usually work for most people. Weight watchers is a little more complicated than I make it sound, but it basically is you have a set amount of points you can eat each day, and when you eat, you can figure out based on nuitritional info how many points each of those is. Go to http://www.weighwatchers.com for more information. Weight watchers, while is a little more complicated than calories burned vs calories eaten, is really simple to follow and you can get a plethora of information from their website for like $19.95 a month for three months. Some people get benefit from going to the meetings each week. I didn’t feel the need. In reality, the meetings are mostly just for accountability. If you can stick to your program, and have accountability from friends in your life, do yourself a favor and save the money. Just do it online. I used WeightWatchers for the first three months so I had a solid understanding of what to do, after that you can pretty much do it on your own, and I have been ever since June. If you can’t afford weight watchers, that’s fine, go to this website and you get an idea of how much calories you should eat every day to lose weight, maintain weight and gain weight: http://www.hpathy.com/healthtools/calories-need.asp
Okay, next is exercise. You can do weightwatchers without exercise and still lose weight, but you will lose weight a lot slower. People, Americans especially, want instant results. You’re not going to get that, especially if you have less weight to lose. Losing weight via new lifestyle/exercise is a long process. It is not easy, especially at the beginning. Exercise helps the process and you also start building up muscle and feeling better about yourself. I know it, I felt better about myself. But most importantly, your body gets endorphins that you previously don’t get. For those of you who don’t know what that is, endorphines are a natural high that makes you feel good. You feel better, you look better, you smile more, and you get motivated more and other aspects of your life start to get influenced by it heavily. “Richard, did that happen to you?” Absolutely! I said I’d be candid, honest, and open and I am. I was in a dark place in March, I had just had my accident a few months earlier, was at the heaviest of my life and not taking my medicine for my ADHD and generally just feeling like garbage. I don’t remember the exact moment, it was probably the biggest loser casting call, but it was like I got slapped in the face and someone said “hey! wake up!!!”
So, your next question, “Richard, what do you do at the gym?” When I first started this was my workout regime:
15-20 minutes on the eliptical (for those who don’t know what this, its a great machine for those of us who can’t walk or choose not to and for me it was great on my knees) I originally was doing eliptical for a short time because I ran out of energy after 20 minutes. I now do it for 30-45 minutes and usually walk/run as well some. From start to finish (shower) I am in the gym 3-4 days a week for about an hour and a half.
Weight machines, varies with each person. When I first began, I didn’t do my arms very much, but that was because I was still nursing my injured wrist from my car accident. Also when I first started I was lifting maybe, 40-50 pounds on my arms and upper body? I can now lift over 100 which is not as much as I would have hoped but I’m STILL nursing an injured wrist even today.
My legs and knees originally I was lifting 10-15 pounds because of my knees. I can now lift leg extension 115 pounds, leg curl 130 pounds, calf raise is about 300 pounds, and for the best part, the leg press I can do 750 pounds now. My legs have always been very powerful, since I used them for leverage in football. I’m just now starting to get that back and it feels great! The leg curl and extension don’t bother me too much as they put a lot of pressure on my knees so it’s to be expected.
“But Richard, I can’t afford the gym.” You know, that’s okay. You can work out from home there’s plenty of workout stuff. I have a friend who uses turbo jam and has lost 8 pounds of the 25 she wants to lose. She’s a full time interpreter and a mother of 4. Time is not something she has a lot of but I’m proud of her. I used to do Taebo, it’s great! You use your own body to lift weights and it can be done at home. I just didn’t like doing it from home because for some reason it felt weird. There’s even a program called “ten minute trainer” I never used but you can look into it. P90X another friend uses, he lost I think 50 pounds.
Alright, we’ve got the eating down, and the exercise down. Now for the most important part. Motivation. All of this will be for naught if you’re not properly motivated. One thing I have learned, if someone asks me “how’d you do it?” and I tell them and they come up with an excuse every time. I just stop and say “I’m done here, you’re not ready.” YOU have to be ready. People have told me for years I need to lose weight, but I wasn’t ready. When I was, look at the results! They can be you. But you’re not going to do it if you’re not ready. I’m not going to waste my time helping you if you keep finding excuses on why you can’t lose weight. It all comes down to one thing: YOU ARE NOT READY. It’s that simple. I’m being honest here. It can get very lonely on the road to weight loss, you have people around you supporting you, but in the end, it comes down to you vs your weight. If you’re not properly motivated, not even Jillian or Bob (trainers on biggest loser) will be able to help you. You will find ways to cheat, and then you’ll say “didn’t work for me!” And that’s what a lot of people do, they try for a week, and then they quit because they think it didn’t work. I’m betting you more often than not, its because they weren’t properly motivated and cheated. The first month is the hardest to get through, especially the first 2-3 weeks as you go through withdrawals (explained later). I need to add a disclaimer here, it is true that some people can’t simply lose weight, my mom and brother are two of them. My brother tried every diet in the world with a doctor watching him like a hawk, and he still couldn’t lose weight. My childhood friend couldn’t either. So I know it’s not possible for everyone. I’m just asking that if you’re properly motivated, at least give it a month.
Anyone who tells you “I can get you to lose XX pounds in a week and keep it off!” is lying to you. Because after a week, that’s when it becomes the hardest and that’s where a lot of people get frustrated and give up. In the second week usually is when your body goes through withdrawals. Foods you used to eat, you now begin craving. This is the most difficult week(s) of all. I can promise you, without a shadow of a doubt, after these weeks the rest will seem like a breeze. “Richard, what’s the trick, how do you get through?” Lots of support and lots of water. I made a promise to myself in the beginning if I have to starve to lose weight, I would quit and say “screw it.” But in the 2-3 weeks in the beginning, the withdrawals you feel will feel like hunger pains, but they’re not. Your body is aching for foods it used to eat and you’re denying it those foods, its like a baby crying out “FEED ME!” There is good news though! Those desires go away, and eventually turn to disgust on what you used to eat/drink. Or, you go back to eating/drinking them, and you’ve failed to break through. “Richard, does that mean I can never eat ice cream again?” No! I ate ice cream last night, but in the first month I implore you to eat healthy and that’s it. No junk food, no negative foods, nothing but healthy food for a month. Hard? yes. Doable? Look at me. “Richard, Why?” Your body is used to being in control, especially those of us overweight. Your body is used to you giving it what it wants when it wants it. You need to take back control and say “NO! I decide what to eat.” After that first month, you start eating healthier, and feeling better. I have eaten unhealthy, I’ve even went to mcdonald’s, but not during that first month. I go, and I am not worried I’ll relapse to my old self, because I am in control now. And THAT is the key, the big secret to my success. You need to be in control of what you eat and put in your body. For the first month I basically lived on chicken and brown rice and salads. Because it was healthier, and I could still eat enough to fill me up. During that first month, if I ever felt the need to eat, I first grabbed a bottle of water (16-20 oz) and drank it completely, and if I was still hungry, then I ate. Usually, I found myself full from the water.
If you have any questions, I’m more than happy to open myself up to and answer them. Now, as a friend reminded me last night “you don’t have to do it his way.” And you don’t. My way worked for me, because I had the discipline for it, it’s not for everyone.
I’d like to end this with a “that was then, this is now.” Type deal, who I was then vs now.
Then: I went through a 12 pack of pepsi in a day! 
Now: One soda a day (diet pepsi or diet something), rest of the day water or juice drinks. I cannot STAND pepsi anymore. It’s just too sweet.
Then: 325 pounds
Now: 261.2 pounds
Then: Bad knee pains, 7 knee surgeries
Now: Able to leg press 750 pounds, no knee pains, and rejoining softball in August! 
Then: depressed, down, and feeling like garbage.
Now: Happier, healthier, and a little depressed at my bank account and how much I have to spend on clothes, but that’s a good thing right?!
Then: Blood pressure the worst it was 170/110. My doctor said “I’m surprised you haven’t stroked out yet.”
Now: Well, I have only myself to blame that I’m on medication, but I’m going to talk to my doctor about reducing it or stopping it if possible. My blood pressure now is usually about 125/80.
There’s lots more, but I’m tired of typing. Until next time,….
