Losing weight has been a great challenge. "Great" in the sense that it's a big undertaking, as well as the fact that it's rewarding, too. Sure, it's hard to get started when you're used to eating whatever you want, how much you want, and
whenever you want, but I think I've mostly gotten the hang of the lifestyle change. Yes, I slip up occasionally. Yes, I've "cheated." Overall, though, I've felt like I've made incredible progress over the past 4 months, in which I've lost more than 60 pounds. SIXTY! That's the weight of the typical 9 or ten year old child (yes, I looked it up)!
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15 weeks, 62 pounds lighter. No surgery, no pills, no gimmicks -- only hard
work and persistence. |
Part of what has helped me is dietbet.com -- I joined an online game 7 weeks ago, where you bet you can lose 10% (no more than 30%) of your weight within 6 months. You pay $25/month to play, and each round, the 1000 players vie to lose 3%, which the time frame is one month. Weigh ins are monitored by referees and may require auditing if cheating is suspected. The last rounds, you have to maintain (or continue losing) to win. But every round has a rolling cash prize, with the biggest payout at the end. You don't get paid until the end, though, and that's after the Diet Bet staff takes a cut of the winnings. The overall pot is $80K, and in the first round, only about 60% of the players met their goal. I have a feeling in subsequent rounds (we're almost done with round 2), even fewer people will meet their goals because they haven't enacted a lifestyle change. It's cool, because I can and will easily lose 10% of my weight in 6 months.
What I will say to those wary of going on a "diet," is that you may feel hungry and even moody at the beginning of your journey, but that goes away. You'll be eating small meals every few hours, so even if you are a bit on the cranky side, you know if you keep at it. Always remember that in a few hours you'll eat -- the next meal is coming soon. I rarely feel hungry between meals, and when I do, I eat. The barometer for my hunger or propensity to snack (since I am a boredom eater) is to ask myself "would I eat a piece of fruit now, or do I just want something to eat to allay boredom?" But now, I really just innately know and don't have to ask myself. You get the hang of it.
Onward and downard!
