"If I Can Lose It... a middle aged tech-fanatic's extraordinary journey & guide-book for losing weight" is now available everywhere online. Yes, I've removed the final chapter from this blog, but if you wish to view some excerpts please visit www.ificanloseit.com and look for the links. The book is about my ongoing weight loss, and shows you how to DIY. It's really true, if I could lose it (and I did), so can you.
Finally, I am seeing progress once again! What am I doing differently? I know, by this point you expect me to say, "nothing," however I am to disappoint you in that I have started doing something uniquely different. I went all the way back to when I first started using this method I have been calling a live-it. I realized that when I started I was not avidly consuming those extra calories that I was gathering up in my daily collection of exercises. That's it. I literally went back to the square one that began even before I began to write about my experience, and it's working! The trick of the moment is to just not let myself get below the 1200 calorie mark in Net calories, and to be really aware of not letting myself act as though I had already lost the weight. Even as I write this it sounds a bit complicated, and I'm making every effort to be a clear as possible. Let me try again:
My current calorie goal is 1640 per day.
When I exercise for a total of 448 which I managed to do today I end up with 2088.
Yes I could and have been feeling free to eat a total of 2088 and fully expect to lose weight.
For the last six days I've been eating as close to the 1640 as possible.
When I do this, at the end of the day I am left with a net of 1192
A single almond brings my total total to 1200.
If I go over a little bit that's fine.
As long as I'm not suffering to lose weight, I'm good...
I like to believe that I am a very honest person, and when it comes right down to it - I really am. The problem is, that while I work diligently to tell others the truth, I sometimes fall into the tendency to tell myself little white lies - so that I can have what I want. Well duh! Anybody relate to that one..?
Yes I'll admit it, an added minute or two tacked onto whatever exercise I get... avoiding noting down a calorie or two on things I eat. I've done it, and I've done it recently, after which I wonder why the things that I know work for me - don't work!:-) See the pattern here?
As perfect as I am the way I am, I still have the desire to lose a few more pounds. Do I know how to make it happen? Of course I do! Do I sometimes stand in my own way? Uh yeah... I do.
Here, I have all the tools right at hand to do exactly what I want to do, but if I use those tools to bolster inaccurate numbers it's a lot like trying to hammer a nail with a screwdriver. I end up setting myself up to fail. Just great!
No, all is not lost, but let's face it what needs to happen is that I need to come clean with myself and move forward. That's exactly what I'm doing here. Nuff said?
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Continuing With the Truth
I do feel reluctant to write when things aren't going perfectly.
Remember Dr. Atkins and all those rumors that were floating around about how he weighed rather a lot toward the end of his life? Did that reflect on how his methods worked of failed? Would it make him less of a diet guru if the rumors turned out to be true? The real question should be: did you ever lose weight using his ideas?
What would happen if Valerie Bertinelli were to pack on the pounds again? Would that mean that the Jenny Craig diet didn't work? Not really.
Jennifer Hudson is now in the spotlight for Weight Watchers. She's beautiful now, and she was beautiful before she lost the weight. However, she has a new book to promote, and she's the spokesperson for WW, so for the time being she really has no choice but to stay on track. Kind of a lot of pressure don't'cha think? But one might say being under pressure might be a good thing when it comes to this subject... One might, but all I can say is that in real life we are all pressured in one way or another, and sometimes let's face it, we do not live up to how we think things should be. I wish the very best for both of these women - they've done the work and they deserve the credit.
And then, there's me... not a celeb but I am the guy who said that I could do it without paying money to do it, and here I am having to tell you that I've gained almost pounds back.! "TEN POUNDS?" you scream!
Hey, I said almost, didn't I? Don't exaggerate, okay?
Anyway, I said it. Here's the truth - I weigh more now than I did when I finished the book.
Oh the horror!
For more than a year I maintained my weight but then I gained those pounds over Christmas. Up until this moment I haven't focused on taking them off. But then yesterday I noticed that my pants were fitting just a bit tighter. Since I don't like that feeling I'm now doing something about it. Am I signing up for instruction from someone smarter or more knowledgeable about how to lose weight than I could possibly understand all on my own? Will I be spending money to really understand how to do it. Puh-leaze! You've read the book right?:-)
Over the next few weeks I'll be going through the process all over again here in the blog - in real time. Today I weigh 187. (That's right - when I was writing the book I said I'd be taking off 50 pounds, but I never got that far. When I'd lost 30 I decided that I was fine with that. We'll see how far I go this time.
I do want to be clear about this. Losing weight is not a matter of taking it off and then everything is perfect, is it. For those of us dealing with it, it is a lifelong process. Sometimes we have everything under control, and sometimes we pay no attention and end up with more pounds than we want. The trick, as I see it, is to accept ourselves for what and who we are. When we gain some weight that we do not want - we have the ability to take it off. All we need are the right tools, and - the desire.
I started a topic on that site (http://amzn.to/gLZG9H) a day or so ago. - What follows is a copy/paste of one of the discussions. I thought it pertinent.
All the King's Men says:
So you wrote a set of instructions to tell people how & why they don't need a set of instructions to lose weight? Hmmmm.....
Jonathan Ellis says:
Ah, All the King's Men - I love this question! You have written exactly the sort of comment that I might be inspired to write myself. However, you need to know that I am not Humpty-Dumpty, nor have I fallen from the wall.-)
I have not written a set of instructions on how and why people do not need instruction to lose weight. Such a thing would be disingenuous and I would not do it. Notice in the title I was very specific in calling what I had done "a journey." As I see it I've wandered through a territory, that on the surface looked familiar, yet turned out to be rather new. In my wake I left notes indicating what I did, turns that were false, places where going downhill made things easier, and places where going uphill were the better choice in spite of the work involved. So sure I have written down instructions but only as a method to indicate where I've been. There is nothing included telling anyone the path that they must take. My path is my own. "If I Can Lose It..." is the story of how I got to where I wanted to go. Everyone has the choice to read my map before they set off on their own journey, or to stop by the drugstore and buy a magic pill that will indeed take them on a journey (though not one of their own choosing), or to seek out a weight-loss guru who for a certain price will give them the answers they always wanted if only they will do it exactly as told, or they can take advice from various gigantic corporations who will sell them diet plans that they can use to lose those extra pounds each and every time they gain them back.
I am incredibly pleased to announce that as of this moment IfICan Lose It... a middle aged tech-fanatic's extraordinary journey & guide to losing weight is available for sale through this link, and in the next seven days or so will be available through Amazon and in a little while after that in bookstores everywhere if only you will ask for it. And you should ask for it. Really you should:-) If the book seller wants numbers... here they are:
ISBN/EAN13:
1456354728 / 9781456354725
If for any reason the link doesn't work correctly please just copy/paste https://www.createspace.com/3499086 into your address bar.
Yes I will keep every one posted on the various release dates.
...is when new pounds appear and we can clearly remember when not so long ago we managed to take them off. But it must be remembered that these are not the same pounds at all. They are new and must be approached with the same degree of intent. This is not about sliding back or any such nonsense. It's about facing up to a new challenge, the key word being new... these are new pounds. They are not the same pounds that were shaved off a while back. This is the challenge: deal with what is happening right now, and do not be tempted to focus on what has already occurred. Those pounds that were previously lost are still gone. Focus then on how you made them to go away before... and do it again.
Although I continue to live my weight control I have decided to take a bit of a break from the blog until a day or three after the New Year. When I return I will report on my progress to that time but I will make no predictions. One thing I have learned for sure is that no matter what I think about what I'm doing the results will consistently be at least a little bit different than my expectations.
If I Can Lose It... a middle aged tech-fanatic's extraordinary journey & guidebook for losing weight is now in the hands of the designer. When he has completed his task it will be passed to the publishing house, and printing will begin some seven days later. Does this mean that the book will be available before the end of this month? One can only hope. [Reference last line in paragraph above.]
See you in 2011 where we will surely, each and every one of us, be amazed and dazzled by our own abilities.
