My First Attempt at Weight Loss

So my doctor told me in September that I needed to lose my the chub around my middle and gain some muscle mass in my upper body. This meant a diet + exercise. Rrrrrrrr.....

I'd been a certain weight from 18-28, then gained 30 lbs, and had stayed there for the last 7 years. When it comes to weight control, I'm a simple guy. Calories in > calories out = weight gain. The reverse = weight loss. I had made some attempts to lose weight just on the input side, but it never worked. This time I would try both.

1) Avoid empty calories. For me, this meant eschewing soda at lunch completely. And it meant cutting my Nequik consumption from 1 pint/day to 1 pint/2 weeks.

2) Don't have snacks in my drawer at work. If the snacks are there, I eat them. So I finished off what I had, and didn't buy any more. There's still a vending box there, so if I NEED a snack, I can get one. But it's a lot less tempting.

3) Increase salads as part of meals.

4) continue my bike commute. We ended up taking the insurance off my car to force a 1-car situation, and it's working. I bicycle for 40 minutes every single weekday.

5) Add weight lifting. Increases muscle mass, burn some calories while lifting. Plus the muscle mass burns calories just sitting there.

So no major changes - I don't count calories, I don't run for an hour every day, I eat completely normal meals, and I'm not hungry.

Result? Lost 12 lbs in 3 months, increased my upper body muscle mass a little, and I can see it everywhere. My jeans fit better, I feel more confident, and I can lift more than I used to. I was never huge, but I will soon not be an overweight American. Just a couple months to go, and I see my Dr again. I'm going to be happy to see him. And maybe I won't have to get cholesterol meds.

For inspiration, check out this article from Peter Bregman at the HBS site.