Note: Usually the topic of health/weight is a pretty personal one that I am not willing to share on a public website, but a lot of people have been asking me this question, so I think it might have a lot of value for those trying to get into shape!
August 31, 2009 was an all-time low in the history of my health. It was the night that I came back Vancouver after spending the summer living in Toronto. Living on the own for the first time, my eating habits had clearly deteriorated and without refereeing soccer or too much other exercise, I had gained about 25 pounds over the summer. That night, I made a commitment to get back into shape, and between September 1st and December 1st, I had managed to lose 50 pounds, which was even more than I expected. There are four key reasons why I was able to get healthy so quickly. Two of them, exercise and eating habits, you will recognize as common weight-loss tactics. However, two others, planning and accountability, were just as important in the process. Let’s explain:
Exercise: This one is quite simple. It doesn’t really matter what you do, as long as you do it. Over the three months, I was able to exercise almost every single day, with fewer than 9 rest days over 3 months. My exercise consisted of lots Soccer Refereeing (games and training sessions) and going to the gym. I had always hated going to the gym, and that is why I never used to go! However, after forcing myself to go to the gym for a week, I started to enjoy myself. All of a sudden, being at the gym was a sanctuary to relax my mind and focus entirely on my body. A big highlight for me was actually when I had my first good business idea while working out last month – I felt like I was not only achieving the objectives of strengthening my body, but also strengthening my entrepreneurial mindset!
Eating: This one is a lot more difficult. Food is my weakness. I love eating great food! To start, I made a commitment to cut-out my biggest weakness, my sweet-tooth. I entirely eliminated any sugar in my diet, with the exception of some naturally occurring sugars in fruit. No candy, no chocolate, no sweets. Instead of eating several big meals a day, I started eating constantly every 2-3 hours. This also helped stabilize my energy level throughout the day. My last meal of the day would typically be 5:30 or 6:00pm and I wouldn’t eat anything after that. On a typical day, I would eat about 10 servings of fruits and vegetables. I tried to limit my carbs as much as possible, and didn’t eat very much pasta or bread over the three months. When it came to drinking, I only drank water and tea. Nothing else. My alcohol intake also went down considerably compared to the summer, which was a big help. When I ate at restaurants, I simply took the healthier food option. I wouldn’t say that the quantity of food that I ate decreased, but I just ate smaller, healthier portions more frequently.
Planning: A lot of my energy went into planning my path to a healthier lifestyle. This took significant time out of my days, but I don’t think I would’ve been successful if I hadn’t been so meticulous in planning my strategy. For exercise, I planned out all of my exercises a week in advance. On Sunday night, I knew exactly when I would be working out every day for the next week. It was powerful for me to look at my weekly calendar and know that I had all of these times allotted and that I would stick to them. Food planning took even more work. My mom was a big help in working closely with me to figure out my eating needs and buying the appropriate groceries. When my parents left for a vacation and I was home alone for 10 days, I planned out almost every meal in advance. Prep time for making healthy food also needs to be taken account when undertaking this challenge – and scheduling that time into your calendar.
Accountability: This is a biggie. I decided to be accountable in several ways during the three months. First and foremost, I was accountable to myself. I put up some post-it notes around my bedroom that stated my weight-loss goals. I also put up a post-it note above the bathroom scale that I used to track my progress as my weight decreased. I was accountable to my BlackBerry. Anytime that I had scheduled exercise or a meal into the calendar of my phone, I stuck to it. This includes all of the times that I got up at 6:00am to exercise before going to work as well as all the dinners that I scheduled to eat at 6:00pm instead of 7:30 or 8:00pm. I was also accountable to other people in my life. I was very open with my parents and some friends about what I was trying to do and I asked them to help me stay focused in reaching my goal. I started a monthly “accountability email” to my soccer refereeing boss where I would share with him my progress in the last month and also my goals for weight loss, training session attendance, and exercise for the next month. This even led to a weight-loss bet that him and I began last month so that he would also have more motivation to lose weight!
The reason why I lost weight was because I exercised lots and I ate healthy, but I don’t think that I would’ve been successful in those areas if not for planning and setting up some accountability. In all, I am thrilled with the experience. I feel great, look much better, and I am still getting more healthy. Be sure to drop me a line or add a comment below if you have any questions.