The past three days, I’ve been doing something I’ve never really done in the past: I’ve been writing down everything I eat, along with the calories and fat for each item. I’m making sure to keep my caloric intake to around 2500 a day, which is what most sites are recommending for a guy my size. I’m doing this to help myself become more aware of what I’m eating, because being a guy who likes his grub, I have, in the past, had a horrible habit of just eating to be eating. This bad habit, coupled with my love of computers and the internet (read: sitting on my ass too much), has led to me being way overweight. To be honest, and to put myself on the spot a bit (okay, a lot), I currently weigh 273 pounds. Being a fairly short guy, that’s way too much. I’d say my “ideal” weight is somewhere between 170 and 200 pounds. I have a long way to go to reach such a goal, but I’ll make it eventually.
I want to lose weight for a variety of reasons, some fairly common and some not so common. I want to lose weight so it will be easier to find clothes that fit; so I can do more physical activities without being worn out so quickly; and for my health. Considering my family history, me being overweight is a Bad Thing (TM). My dad had congestive heart failure, along with diabetes; my grandpa on my mom’s side died of a heart attack.
I also want to lose weight because of my recent “devotion”, if you will, to Buddhism. The Buddha called his way “The Middle Way”, because he felt that people should avoid the extremes of self-indulgence and self-mortification (ascetism). I have certainly not erred on the side of self-mortification, but I do believe my weight and my eating habits are a testament to the fact that I have gone down the path of self-indulgence. I’ve let my body “slide” for too long, and it’s time to fix that. My body, while impermanent just like everything else, is what I have to use to do for myself, my family, and others, at least for this lifetime. It’s also what I have to use to meditate and to further understand myself and the world. Letting it go just isn’t something I can live with any longer.
A few people inspired me to start this “diet”, or lifestyle change: Marcel, my longtime German friend, who has recently lost quite a bit of weight by dieting and exercising regularly, and James, of leihu.com, who is also a fellow 9Rules member. (He’s also, coincidentally, a fellow Buddhist.) James also had a weight problem, and he has dealt with it marvelously. Check out those pictures, and give the man a congratulations; he’s earned them!
Along with the dieting, I’ve started exercising regularly, doing a variety of things: using my elliptical trainer, lifting weights, and doing various exercises on my exercise ball. I have, of course, not seen any weight change as of yet (it’s only been three days!), but I’m already feeling a bit better about myself, if for no other reason than I’m putting forth some effort to fix this problem.
As a humorous aside, I gave the book I’m using to keep track of my eating habits a title: The Fat Book. It’s in big, bold letters on the front page. I figure that will serve as a good reminder to stick with this…
Tags: diet and weight loss, personal
20 comments
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March 3, 2007 at 9:56 pm
James Mathias
Good on ya!
You’ve got my full support, if you ever need an ear to bend or advice or just someone to kick you in the ass, I’ll be there.
Losing weight is hard and it’s a battle, mostly up-hill, but with the proper attitude, knowledge and support you can succeed!
Go for it!
March 3, 2007 at 11:02 pm
Josh
Thanks James.
I’ll probably bend your ear quite a bit, actually. Thanks again for the support (and the inspiration!)
March 3, 2007 at 11:04 pm
Fig
I’ll join the line of people willing to kick you in the ass.
You’ve got my support as well as my ear, too. I also need to get onto the wagon. Perhaps you will inspire me!
March 4, 2007 at 1:46 am
Kristen
Good luck!
Weightloss is one of the toughest things to accomplish in a person’s life. Trust me, I know.
My advice to you in this: Don’t get discouraged. Stick with it. And indulge once in a while. Oh and take pics. So you can look back and go, “wow”
March 4, 2007 at 1:25 pm
Joshua J. Slone
“I have, in the past, had a horrible habit of just eating to be eating”
Something I’ve been doing for the last half year or so is getting big into air-popped popcorn. Gives me something to cram into my face while watching Battlestar Galactica, while doing about as little damage for the volume as possible.
March 4, 2007 at 1:46 pm
Josh
Joshua: I’ve never even heard of air-popped popcorn. Care to point me to a decent link? Do I need to buy anything special?
March 4, 2007 at 1:47 pm
Josh
Also…
Fig: I’m glad you’re willing to kick me in the ass. It’s nice that I can count on you for such a thing.
Kristen: Thanks for the support, as well as the advice.
March 4, 2007 at 4:50 pm
Fig
http://www.amazon.com/Presto-04821-Orville-Redenbacher-Popper/dp/B00006IUWB
There is a hot-air corn popper for you.
March 4, 2007 at 6:28 pm
Josh
Fig: Thanks for the link.
March 5, 2007 at 12:07 am
James Mathias
Popcorn is empty calories, no reason to eat it if it’s not pushing you forward in your goals.
Don’t replace bad foods with faux foods, replace them with nutrition packed goodies.
And don’t eat while watching TV or Movies, break those habits. Eating while doing something else causes you to eat faster and feel less full, causing you to eat more.
Eating should be done at the table with no distractions, conscious effort on eating slowly and getting satisfaction from the foods you normally shovel down your gullet.
Being successful with a life change requires identifying and changing the habits that contribute to your problem. Create and follow through on total solutions, don’t just stuff a band-aid over it. /preacher man
March 5, 2007 at 12:21 pm
Josh
James: Thanks for the advice. I’ve been trying to make sure I sit down at the table to eat; wandering around the house stuffing my face has been a common thing for me in the past.
Having been on the junk food wagon for so long, I’m not really familiar with a lot of “nutrition packed goodies.” Care to fill me in on some?
March 8, 2007 at 11:52 am
Heliologue
Something either ironic or entirely apropos about being motivated to weight loss by Buddha…
All snarkiness aside, I too have been watching what I eat for the last 18 months or so. I’m naturally rail-thin, but I worry about my health (heart, specifically, and also the risk of diabetes), so I’ve been trying to excise as much refined sugar and other crap out of my diet as possible. And exercising more, although my track record for getting to the gym is spotty at best.
Best of luck to you in your weight loss.
March 8, 2007 at 1:55 pm
Josh
Heliologue: What’s ironic about being motivated to weight loss by the Buddha? I don’t really follow.
Buddhism, when you get down to it, is really quite practical. Certain schools are rather esoteric, but mostly, Buddhism is a whole lot of common sense.
Good to hear your dieting has gone well. I’m still struggling a bit to get a regular exercise regime going.
March 10, 2007 at 4:14 pm
James Mathias
Josh, I think he’s referring to the Chinese representation of a Buddha, whom is often depicted as a “Fat, Happy Man” carrying a large bag or surrounded by or sitting atop many bags of gold.
And although this happens to be the most recognizable version of a Buddha in the West, he is not actually a depiction of The Buddha, but of the Chinese monk ChiChe Which literally means “Knowing This” who reached enlightenment through study and practice, but lived from 850 BC to 916 BC, which is 400 plus years after Siddhartha Gautama passed. He was also known as Pu-Tai and or Mi-Le-Fo which mean cloth sack, referring to the bag he carried.
Sorry, but I hear this one a lot especially in Idaho. Folks are always joking about Buddha being fat, when they really are referring to ChiChe.
By the way, I’m working on a blog post that addresses, dieting and eating in general, I’ll comment back here when I post it.
March 10, 2007 at 10:15 pm
Josh
Ah, okay! That makes sense. I was totally confused…
Is this ChiChe you’re talking about also known as Hotei or Budai, or is that another entity altogether? This is the fellow I’m thinking of.
Thanks for the heads up on the post about dieting and eating. I look forward to it. However, you won’t have to notify my here (unless you really want to). I’ve been subscribed to your feed for a while now.
March 10, 2007 at 11:58 pm
James Mathias
That’s the same dude, yup. Cool, I didn’t know he went by so many names! Thanks for the link, love learning new stuff.
October 27, 2007 at 5:12 pm
Jennifer
You can do it! If you ever want extra support, here is a site that has helped many including myself. All the best. I also love food journaling and I also keep my workouts in it too…. It keeps me honest with myself. All the best !
October 29, 2007 at 9:53 am
Josh
Thanks for the support, Jennifer. I’ll check the site out.
February 17, 2008 at 4:50 pm
Pete
I have a similar experience myself and also have been relating it to buddhism in some ways. One of the tricky bits is all the subconscious habits I have picked up over the years about what I eat, when I eat, how much I eat, how quickly I eat, etc. It can be quite tricky to untangle these. For example my mum was a child during the rationing in the war, so she grew up with a habit of always trying to make sure everyone is well fed, and always offering snacks, sandwiches, etc. between meals. As a consequence I eventually recognised a related habit in myself - if I felt the slightest bit hungry I would immediately resort to some sort of snack. Nowdays I’ve learnt to be a bit more resilient and have the time and patience to think a bit more deeply about what, when and how much to eat, and not just to blindly react to the urge so quickly.
On the exercise front there are similar habits to conquer - e.g. I went through a phase of being really good and going to the gym regularly and doing a good 1-2 hour session. I also got an elliptical trainer which I used a lot, usually fo 40 minutes at a time. Then I went through a phase where I was more stressed and had less energy, and ended up not doing anything. The eventual lesson I figured out was that I’d built up a fixed idea of an exercise session being a major effort of 40+ minutes, so if I didn’t feel upto it I didn’t do anything at all and just felt guilty or frustrated about it. Now I’ve figured out how to be kinder to myself and accept that if I’m not feeling so energetic then 10 or 20 minutes is still okay, and that this is a lot better than nothing. So now I do this every day, and more often than not, I get into it and start enjoying it and end up doing 40+ minutes anyway. But if I only manage 10 after a tough day at work, then I don’t beat my self up over it, so it’s easier to enjoy it and accept the experience as-is.
February 19, 2008 at 5:34 pm
Josh
Hey Pete,
Yeah, the subconscious eating habits that I have are tricky to deal with, too. I’ve found myself wandering to the kitchen to get something to eat just from boredom, or as just to be doing something. I think my mom also did a bit of what you’re talking about, are you hungry, do you need something to eat, etc. So whenever I’d feel the slightest bit of hunger - off to the kitchen!
Good point about the fixed ideas about exercise (or anything, really!) To be fair, I think having the idea of 40 minutes to an hour as “an exercise session” is partly due to the stuff we read about exercise routines. That’s the typical amount of time the literature professes - at least half an hour, 45 minutes or an hour being ideal. Then we get it stuck in our head that it’s either that or nothing at all, which is nonsense. Sure, one big block is better, especially for aerobic exercise, but if you’ve got 2 separate blocks of 15 minutes, doing exercise in those blocks is better than none at all.