I Don't Want to Hear That!

It's inevitable. You lose weight… especially a noticeable amount… people are going to want to know how you did it.

Sometimes they ask you. Sometimes they will ask a member of your family.

But by an large… they don't want to hear it. No matter what it is.

Witchcraft/Selling Your Soul to the Devil
"Seriously? Well, that's horrible. And morally wrong. I would never do that. It's better to be fat."

Drug Abuse
(see above)

Hard Times/Illness
"Oh, I'm sorry. I definitely wouldn't want that."

Surgery
"Well then, of course. But I don't want to go that route. I can't afford it."
"And it's dangerous."

Atkins (or any other low-carb diet)
"Oh, I could never give up my breads/pastas/cereal/rice, etc."

Eating Less/Portion Control/Moderation
"That doesn't work for me."
"Oh, that's so hard."
"I'd always be hungry."
"Oh, I don't want to hear that!"
"No. Seriously… what do you do?"

Exercise
"Yeah… I should do that, but I have bad knees."
"I just don't have the time to do that."
"I can't afford a gym membership/personal trainer."

Gave up Soda
"Oh, you will only get my Coke/Dr. Pepper/Mountain Dew/Diet Coke when you pry it out of my cold dead hands."

Drink Lots of Water
"I'd be going to the bathroom all the time! I don't have time for that."
"Yeah, I'm sure that would be good for me, but I just don't like water."

Okay… Seriously. What do people want to hear? From the outrageous and extreme to the very smallest changes … nobody wants to hear it!

I mean… I get it. Change it hard. It is. And if that's not something you are ready for… it's okay! And maybe you're really okay with your weight. Losing weight is trendy. It's the most popular New Years Resolution ever. And it's always every doctors answer for every problem. So you probably feel like you ought to be doing it. But deep down you're really okay with where you are… weight-wise. So, I get it. I get asking. And I get not really wanting or being ready to do it. It's okay.

But what do you want to hear?
I've lost 150 pounds in less than a year. I've done it eating breads, pastas, and cereals. I've done it eating meat and drinking milk and eating cheese. I've done it eating all sorts of fruit and veggies. I've done it putting mayonnaise on my sandwiches, and non-vinaigrette dressings on my salads. I've done it eating pizza and pancakes and waffles. I've done it eating ice cream. And cake. And chocolate. I've done it eating Thanksgiving Dinner, including pies. I've done it with all the goodies and snacks on New Years Eve. I've done it going out to eat. I've done it eating McDonald's, Wendy's and Subway. I've done it without being hungry all the time. I've done it while working a full time graveyard shift.

But for some reason… nobody wants to hear it. And nobody thinks they can do it.
Why not?
What exactly about what I've described about my experience sounds so ominous that they couldn't possibly do it?
And why do they not want to hear it?

How Things Do Change

Ahhh!!!!! 

Everybody take a deep breath. 

Can you taste it? 

It is the beauty of that extra hour of daylight.

My day finally came! 

God bless the person who first decided we needed this extra hour of daylight in the evenings. 

I realize I'm probably in the minority here… but I celebrate the day we "Spring forward." It is a glorious holiday. It's a toss up whether it's my 2nd or 3rd favorite day of the year. The 4th of July is always first. It's a contest between this and my birthday for 2nd place.

Tuesday night, I skipped the gym and took my run outside. And it was a beautiful experience. 

And last night I met with the trainer at the gym to re-work my routine. Per my request, I am now only going to the gym 3 days a week. The other three days will be running days. I really like this arrangement. It feels like something I can keep up with long term. I've loved the gym… it's been my happy place. But in the back of my mind, there was always this feeling that once I had lost the weight, I could take down my number of workouts. Six days a week seemed so excessive to me for the long term. And I hated that I thought that way. Because I was supposed to be doing this as a lifestyle change… not just a short term fix until I lost the weight. And I tried to tell myself all sorts of things as to why it would be think that way. And I tried to tell myself that I since I really did love the gym… it wouldn't be a big deal. 

However, once I decided I wanted to run (and not just run a 5k, but really be a runner)… things changed. All of a sudden running wasn't just about cardio. It wasn't just about the calorie burn or "getting the workout in." It was something I wanted to do. It kinda became a new hobby. I look forward to my run days. Roads and trails that I never even thought about or even noticed before are becoming routes that I need to run. Just because. Just to say I did. I don't halfway dread going out of town anymore because I will miss a workout. Because now I see it as an extra running day. BONUS! 

I get it… it's a little pathetic. I mean, really? Running? That's your idea of a good time? Are you high?

Or at least it's something I would have seen as pathetic a year ago.

Now it's exciting.