“The final straw came not very long after the photo was taken- after the passing of my father, when he died from a heart attack. He also had diabetes, and was desperately trying to turn his dietary habits around, but it was too late. I knew what I had to do at that point- I thought maybe it wasn’t too late for me.”
---
Through MyPlate, I have finally been able to lose 60 pounds- and still going! I tried dieting, I even tried various metabolism booster pills, and even exercises--sometimes.
The turning point for me was in the very photo I’ve sent in. We took a team photo at work and there I am, trying to stand ¾ turn, hoping to mask as much “backside encore” as I could. People have told me that they couldn’t believe I ever weighed 215, I guess I masked it well, but the problem with that was I couldn’t mask it from myself. I knew my weight was getting out of hand, and pictures don’t lie. The final straw came not very long after the photo was taken- after the passing of my father, when he died from a heart attack. He also had diabetes, and was desperately trying to turn his dietary habits around, but it was too late. I knew what I had to do at that point- I thought maybe it wasn’t too late for me.
My support in this project falls squarely on MyPlate. I could say family, friends, and co-workers, but in reality, they fuel the fire with verbal compliments, encouragement, and sometimes a little patience. The real drive to this engine is being able to make weight loss so EASY that there’s simply no excuse not to be doing MyPlate. I’m convinced that I would not have been able to succeed without it! My only other key element to this is Lost Trail Diet Root Beer, which I limit myself to one a day, but it satisfies my soda cravings without tasting like a diet drink. Giving up sodas was a huge step to success- but only because I’ve been able to replace it realistically with something that allows me to ease off of them. I still have a soda from time to time- but now I treat it more like a ‘dessert’ – and I really can just stop at 1 soda every few days as opposed to sodas all day long like before. MyPlate gave me the knowledge of just how many calories and sugars I was really eating every day, and when I started MyPlate, I honestly had NO IDEA it was that bad! It helped me treat calories like a bank account, with so many “calorie dollars” allowed per day, to every time I was eating something, I was “spending” them. To make more “calorie money”, I needed to get some activity time logged in. By the end of the day, any calories left over is “profit”. As a small business owner, I understand that concept clearly- so it clicked!
The biggest challenges I’ve found has been two things: First, the ability to be honest with myself- about EVERYTHING. Not just by ‘saying’, “I need to eat better”- but actually ‘DOING’ it. Facing the fact that the only person who can take the weight off is yourself is crucial to making the choice to do something about it. It is important not to blame—but even more important to take responsibility and step up to do the right thing towards changes for the better. It may start within, but it does affect others around you too. Secondly, plateaus are going to happen (Yes, they are annoying!) I’ve had a plateau going for nearly a month now- and I’ve tried a few changes here and there to see if I can break it, but it’s been quite difficult. Accept this kind of challenge gracefully, but giving up is not an option. It will happen!
People say that the three sweetest words ever spoken is “I Love You” – but I think “You’ve Lost Weight!” easily trumps it. Success in weight loss is a tremendous victory, even if it’s just a few pounds to tens of pounds. The secret to all of it is the success itself. It may seem difficult at first- (oh I had terrible headaches after giving up soda!) – but after the pounds started coming off, my pants were baggy. I didn’t notice how badly the loose clothing looked until someone commented at work about it. What an interesting and motivating change it was to go from “looking unhealthy” because I was too big – to “looking sloppy” because I was getting too small! It was an exhilarating feeling to walk into the office the next week with proper fitting clothes- and EVERYONE noticed! I don’t ever want to go back to eating the way I did before, because it is simply not worth it to me anymore. The doughnut never made me feel as good as slipping into a jean size that I hadn’t worn since High School! Success, even a small one- will feed the desire for MORE success, but before you take a bite of that cheesecake, chip, cookie, or fry- ask yourself, “will this do for me what a smaller size can?” I’ve found myself putting down the fast food, and opting for veggies more and more with that very question.
MyPlate is probably the most wonderful thing that I’ve ever encountered. It has succeeded where other diet plans failed miserably. I’m eating whatever I want- whenever I want, but I’m able to keep myself in check, and people tell me I’m looking better every day. I can’t say enough wonderful things about The MyPlate- in fact, I’ve turned others onto it as well. The results are very real, and more importantly- Real LIFE. The iPhone App has made the process so incredibly EASY that there’s simply no excuse NOT to be on MyPlate. When I tell others about how I did it, and they can too- the biggest point I make to them is, “You know how I *know* they really care about people getting healthy and fit? It’s FREE. They would rather you save your pennies for better foods that will really work for you, than some monthly fee that you’ll end up cancelling anyway. Greed is what strings people along month to month for outrageous fees that they already know people won’t stick to.” After they’ve given it some careful thought, I’ll see them again in a few days and they’ll tell me they’ve signed up. I have one friend who has already lost over 40 pounds since April and another friend who tried another calorie tracker App, and felt she liked MyPlate better--and dropped the other tracker. She’s lost nearly 50 pounds now! Another co-worker of mine just started on her journey- she’s already lost her first 10 pounds so far. I thank you--we ALL thank you. Anyone who is willing to be honest with themselves and really make the choice to want to be fit finally has a REAL, legitimate place to turn- LIVESTRONG.COM!
- Adam Bornstein
Have a question for me or want more health or fitness information? Follow me on: Twitter @BornFitness, Google+, or Facebook
Member Comments