:Obesity Information for all

My Obesity Free Challenge

Wow - Days 7-15.  After a week of struggling with my computer and my access of passwords, I am back.  Computer is functioning for now and I have a hard copy of my passwords so that I am not dependent on back-up servers or a portable hard drive.

In the meantime, eating and moving has continued…and I have started to fit into the pants and shorts that are my motivation for this challenge.  Despite travel to NYC on a long, slow, crowded bus, social engagements and family, my eating and moving have continued to progress, and my size and shape is benefiting.

Being Social without being Obese

All my life I have measured places and events by the food…a social after a game was measured by the beer or the pizza; dinner with traveling relatives by the amount of food I could eat without calling attention to myself; traveling itself was license to eat whatever and as much as I wanted.  In the past, if I was on a diet, and doing one of those things, I gave myself permission to be off my diet.  All good in theory, until I began to reason that I made ALL situations about food and there was never NOT a time to be off my diet.

One of my concerns with eating a packaged food plan, while convenient, is socializing.  What happens when you travel?  Or have a party to go to?  As I began to see that food was a true problem for me (as evidenced by my obesity), I started to think about how I wanted to live my life.  I still wanted to be with my friends and family in social situations - I just didn’t want to be obsessed with food.

How could I change that?  What did “normal” people do?

I began to apply the same learning theory that teaches children to throw a ball to my eating.  As a teacher I would give them small, attainable goals in learning how to move their legs, hips, torso, arm, hand and fingers to throw the ball.  I would show them how to break it down to the simplest parts then add to it.  I would TEACH them, in a slow, systematic way, how to throw.

Why couldn’t I do that with eating?

Why couldn’t I learn how to eat in a way that created the body I wanted to have?

I could - and I did.  Since part of my problem was eating WAY too much food, I had to change that first.  I had to start eating smaller amounts without feeling threatened.  Instead of telling myself that I couldn’t eat chocolate or chips, I aimed for eating LESS of those things.  It took me months to get used to eating regular portions, and feeling full, but that is how I did it.  One less bite a day, and a meal slowly added up.

Teach yourself to be active

I applied the same systematic approach to exercise.  First, just walking a few more steps each day.  Then, a few more steps each time I walked, each day.  Next, adding an extra 10 minutes after work, became 30 minutes in a few months.

Each progression was built upon slowly, and I LEARNED to eat and move in way that would overcome obesity forever.  I knew I needed to learn the habits of non-obese individuals to lose weight, and lose it permanently.

It really is that simple.  So when I traveled this past week…when my computer seized and I couldn’t access my information, when life happens, I still had the same skills in place.  I knew how to eat and how to move, without be dependent the food that was being delivered to my house, or a kitchen staff having to move heaven and earth to get me food the exact way I wanted it.

In less than 2 weeks I am on a plane to California - I will be wearing the clothes that I bought 3 months ago…the same ones that are 10 sizes smaller than I wore 2 years ago.

If I can learn these behaviors, you can too.  It can be that simple.