I’m on vacation this week, so I’ve recruited a good friend of mine, Dan, to write a guest post! We met in taekwondo class and quickly became friends. He has recently started to share his weight loss success with a few people and I was incredibly proud of his determination and almost shocked to see how quickly it shows! Most of the readers of this blog are women, but I’d love to get a different perspective for the men. I was thrilled when he agreed to share his story.
Dan’s Story:
They say the best way to lose weight is to eat less and exercise more. Well duh of course but, there is a little more to it than that. In the last 4 weeks I’ve lost 24 lbs and still aoing. There is an art and science to it. This requires focus, discipline and determination. Weight loss does not happen overnight but by staying focused, you will see results by the end of the first week. First let me say, I am guy, and in the world of beer drinking and seemingly endless supply of junk food around. Not to mention, a world of peer pressure from keeping said beer and food from entering my mouth, is quite a challenge.
So How Do I Do It:
When I eat, it is the only thing I do at that time. I eat a lot less this way. I eat small portions, I stick to foods that can be cut or sectioned into small pieces, this is very important. During each bite I place my fork down. During each bite I remain present to the food. I feel the texture of the food, savor each flavor and enjoy each bite. Once I clear my mouth of that bite, I take another bite and place my fork back to the table. Even though I have had a substantially smaller amount of food, I am left feeling satisfied with my meal and full.
Besides smaller portions, I establish a calorie budget for the day. I like to stay between 1200-1500 calories. To do this, I must choose foods that will pack in as much nutrition into my calorie budget. This requires me to also understand food. I learn about what foods provide nutritional benefits. This diest is not a carb free or a food-restricting plan, is just eating small balanced meals.
Breakfast: I have a cup of either 0% or 2% fat Greek strained yogurt. Just plain yogurt, no flavor added. The fruit on the bottom types offer little additional benefit, in fact is provides unnecessary sugars and very little fiber. Just eat plain yogurt. Fage seems to be the best.
Lunch: I may have sushi. This is one of those super foods that provides good nourishment and is typically already in small bite size pieces. The fish provides Omega 3, a healthy amount of unsaturated fat, which is needed for your body to distribute fat soluble vitamins and seaweed and rice which offer fiber. Plus some sushi has vegetables such as celery, bell peppers and avocado are all great for the body.
I may alternatively have a small salad. I have a mixing bowl at my desk which allows me to use a small amount of dressing my having the ability to mix the dressing in thoroughly. Make sure it has a low saturated fat meat like fish or chicken for protein. When I select a salad I make sure is it very colorful. This ensures I get a high variety of vitamins and antioxidants.
Snack: A good light snack after lunch is raw almonds, only 1/4 cup and follow the same principles of eating. I eat 1 almond at a time and do not eat another until I have cleared my mouth of the first almond.
Dinner: A light balanced meal and rarely ever do I eat after 6:30 in the evening. I have a meal with vegetables and a small portion of a meat. It is ok to have lean red meat but the portion should be larger than 6oz. That is a little larger than a deck of playing cards. You can have a potato, but it should be 1 small redskin potato. A good preparation for this is to cut the potato sprinkle with garlic, Italian seasoning and a dash of salt. Toss with one tablespoon of olive oil to coating evenly and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
Tips: Keep limes and lemons handy for the meats, they make robust low fat and low calorie marinade base. When you use fat, just use olive oil and sparingly. Keep tea handy and lots of it. Green tea, Oolong tea and Rooibos tea, Teavana is a great source for good tea. When your are hungry brew some tea and sweeten with honey or agave nectar. Avoid sugar crystals and artificial sweetener, try to keep it as natural and unprocessed as possible. Chemicals impact your liver’s ability to process the fats in food.
Alcohol! Don’t drink much of it at all. A little on the weekend is good, keep to wine and beer avoid the hard liquor it offers no benefit to your body.
Exercise:
Just make sure to find time in the day, at minimum 1 hour and it should be at cardio speed the entire time. Stretch in and out. 10 minutes should be devoted to stretching. 30 minutes should be high level cardio on the treadmill, elliptical or other running environment, the rest of the time should be weights and abdominal work. For abdominal work, I typically use a decline bench at 45 degrees and perform multiple types of ab work and hold a 10-12lbs weight ball. Vary the tempo for crunches and full sit ups. Do halfway pulses and full range twist ups. I even grab a balance platform, get into sitting stand and throw 30 punches while holding 10 lbs weights in 3 sets, ultimately 90 punches while balancing on the platform. I have also chosen a gym with a studio which also allows me to set up endurance exercises and practice poomsae (Forms) and kicking techniques.
If I am not at Taekwondo, I am at the gym. Weather pending and my meeting schedule permits, I will run during my lunch break, it takes about 45 minutes dress in, run, shower and dress out. Later that day I will go to the gym or Taekwondo depending on my school schedule.
Slipping Up From the Diet:
Of course I slip. A little emotional intelligence and strength is key. It is not the end of the world, I jump right back on the wagon immediately, but this requires discipline and there is nothing to feel guilty about. I just get over it and keep to the mission of weight loss and continue to take actions consistent with my goal. I just go back to the gym, eat right at the next meal and get that I can’t change the past, I slipped and that’s done with. It does not impact my future.
My Goals:
Starting Weight: 230lbs (September 11th)
Current Weight: 204lbs (October 18th)
Target Weight: 175lbs
At 6ft tall, I have identified a healthy target weight, I keep reminders at my workspace and in my kitchen. It helps me to be present about what I am eating, why I am eating and keeps me on track to my goals. But here comes my challenge, I have injured myself in a Taekwondo tournament. I have the challenge of keeping on my diet and altering my workout while I recover from my foot injury. Perhaps there will be a follow up to this in my weight loss mission.
Here is a Before & After Photo
*Disclaimer: Dan or myself are not registered dieticians, nutritionist or medical/licensed professionals. Please consult your doctor or medical team for any advice related to weightloss and your health. As you may know, each body is different and requires special treatment for desired results. This post is informative and published to provide a personal observation of motivation and goal setting.
I am really excited to see Dan’s progress and I hope he will enlighten us with some more updates in the near future! Great post!
Filed under: #3 Make Time for Exercise/Healthy Eating, Motivation | Tagged: mens health, taekwondo, weight loss | 1 Comment »
