Lifestyle change 1

So this week I think I've had more conversations than usual about what I'm doing and how I'm doing it and what's working.  So, while I have shared a few thoughts before I thought maybe it was time to share a little more in depth.  Some of those conversations have had me talking a lot so I also thought I'd break it up into several posts instead of one really long one.

So, what am I doing?  How have I lost 109 pounds in 6.5 months?  I'm changing my lifestyle.  Here are a few ways.

I have built into my budget a gym membership.  I haven't been to the gym for over 2 months.  In my former life I would have seen that as wasted money.  But I don't anymore.  I spend $1000 a year on car and renter's insurance and hope I never use it.  But that's not wasted money.  So I spend a few dollars a month for a gym membership whether I use it or not - it's there when I need it.  I plan for it so it's not an extra expense.  It's as important to me to have in my budget as groceries.  It's just a part of how I live.

Most days I'm eating something 5 times a day.  Some days 4 and some days 6.  Three of those are meals and the others are snacks.  Most meals are 300-500 calories and most snacks 100-200 calories.  I eat less each time but I eat more often.  I am seldom hungry and almost never stuffed/bloated.  And for the times I get hungry I carry extra sugar free gum.  The five calories per stick is an easy way to take the edge off my hunger and because I eat every 2-3 hours it's not usually that long until it's time to eat.

I've replaced potato chips and candy with carrots and celery.  I drink water almost exclusively.  I used to buy 2 Liter bottles of soda and would often drink the entire bottle in one sitting while watching a movie.  Pizza and Chinese food were my "bad" meals of choice.  I haven't gone without.  Healthy Choice frozen dinners has a nice sweet and sour chicken meal at 420 calories and about 600mg of sodium.  Lean Cuisine makes some pizzas at 350 calories and weight watchers has mini pizzas (4 to a serving) at 270 calories.  I find those options to be very satisfying both in taste and in the amount of food I need.

As I see my weight going down I see my health and energy level improving and that gives me motivation to continue.  It's a privilege to know as well that people are benefiting from or getting inspiration or motivation from my journey.  But it is also God at work in me that is spurring me on.  It is for His glory and without His strength I would not be hitting the numbers I am hitting.

For His glory and His honor - that others too might run to freedom.

Less of me.  More of Him.
-Eric

How does it feel to lose 100 pounds?

On June 30 I stepped off the scales 100 pounds lighter than January 3.  I've had a couple weeks to reflect on what it means.  Or at least on how it feels.  I didn't want to simply duplicate a previous post (little things matter) but how it feels is most relatable in many of those practical terms so it might.

How does it feel to lose 100 pounds?  What does it mean to me?  It means I can now walk in between rows of chairs facing forward instead of sidestepping.  It means I can walk home from work in 10 minutes instead of 20.  It means I can walk up the steep driveway where I work and breathe a little heavy instead of gasping for air and when I get to the top I can recover normal breathing in seconds rather than minutes.

For the last couple years I've had fairly bad headaches 2-3 times/week.  I'd get them while sleeping and wake up in the morning and sometimes in the middle of the night barely able to stand the pain.  The window sill above my kitchen sink is almost full of empty bottles of headache relief tablets.  What has the journey meant?  I haven't had a headache in months.

Thursday night I walked downstairs to the laundry room in my building in shorts and a muscle shirt.  I've done that before but this time I didn't care if anyone saw me.  That's what it means to me to have lost 100 pounds.  I'm starting to see myself differently.  I'm starting to feel athletic again.  I don't know that I feel like an athlete yet but I see it on the horizon - not that I'll be a great athlete since I never was but just being confident enough to get out there and compete - the feelings are coming back. 

I realize I still have a long way to go to hit my goal weight.  I also realize I'm still overweight - likely still in the classification of obese.  However, I'm not seeing myself that way anymore.  I'm seeing a victor.  I'm seeing an athlete, a competitor.  I'm seeing a person on a journey that knows where the finish line is and how to get there and is confident that he can handle the obstacles that may come up along the way. 

What does it mean to lose 100 pounds?  To be ahead of schedule on both my target weights and the 100 pound challenge?  It means I like myself better than I used to.  It means I'm happier than I used to be.  It means I am becoming a new person - physically and, in my case, spiritually.  It means I'm seeing the promises of God in new ways and I'm seeing God's blessings come again and again.  It means I am truly becoming less and God is truly becoming more in my life.  It means I'm getting a new picture of who God created me to be and I'm becoming more and more of that man as I get out of God's way and let Him have His way in and through me.

What has it meant for me to lose 100 pounds?  It truly means...

Less of me.  More of Him.

-Eric