Resolutions and Health

I hope everyone had a happy holiday season and New Year.

Now that I'm back to work and catching up, I've seen many posts on many blogs talking about the "New Year's Resolution" and weight loss.  Of course, some of the blogs are selling something: a product, a system, a fantasy.  Given that back pain can be caused by excess weight being carried around, I thought I could use this blog to comment on my experiences in pain and weight loss.

I had always had a stomach but as I got into my 30's, I became more sedentary and my stomach got worse.  In addition to a sore back, my knees and feet were killing me.  I started exercising and eating better and lost about 50 pounds and became a whole new person.

A couple of undeniable truths that you need to understand are:

1. There is no "easy" way to lose weight and get into shape.  Every pill and product out there says you need to adjust your diet and include exercise to get the best results.  I didn't take pills, I didn't use instruments and I didn't join a gym.  I ate right, walked until I could jog and I bought some dumbbells for weight training.  It was a long, hard process that took 12 months and included setbacks in which I gained as much as 7 pounds back after a 2 week vacation.  Prepare your self.  Long term results will only happen with long term effort.

2. No reality exists in which you can go from eating french fries, pizza and Twinkies your entire life to a special diet for a month to look like a model and then go back to eating french fries, pizza and Twinkies and still look like a model.  Eating poorly and not exercising got you to where you are.  If you are fortunate enough to keep your resolution long enough to be successful and then go back to eating poorly and not exercising, you will gain all the weight back.  If you want to lose weight, don't look for a diet, look for a lifestyle change.

3. It didn't take you a week to put it on, it's going to take more than a week to take it off.  My friend recommended it to me and I've recommended it to everyone else when they start trying to lose weight:  Don't go near a scale for the first 6 weeks.  It can be very disheartening to have a couple of weeks worth of good workouts and healthy meals only to see that you gained a pound.  Give yourself and your body time to adjust and once you get past 6 weeks, you will start to see some results. The best way to tell if you are losing fat is they way your clothes fit.  Regardless of what the scale says, if your clothes are looser, you are being successful.

I'm going to stop here for now because I have more to say on the topic and I'll continue in another post.  I don't want to lose you in too much rambling.