The Monday Weigh In: Thank You Fat Miller!
As usual, my BIGGEST enemy is MYSELF. Well I should say, WAS. You see, today was the first day in about three months that I stepped on the scale and saw an actual LOSS. Thank GOD. I love you -1.1 pounds... :)
Allow me to explain. In March, the wife and I took an AMAZING trip to the Bahamas and to Sea World, Orlando. It was the best week of my life. For real. We had never had the chance to Honeymoon, so we went all out. Part of going "all out" for me was eating whatever-the-heck I wanted while we were on vacation. I know - sounds stupid, but "Skinny Miller" had such a positive attitude, and had this to say:
Sure you can eat what you want. I mean, you lost over 80 lbs and you deserve to eat whatever you want just for this week. You'll get back on track when you get home... No worries. Have fun!
He is such a positive guy! But - I should have stopped myself right there and asked "Fat Miller" what he thought. "Fat Miller" is always inside me, and I am convinced, no matter what, that he always will be. He knows better. He has been down that path before. Here is what he would have said If I would have listened: (warning: Fat Miller is an ignorant fuck who has no feelings or emotions!):
Hey there Tubs. Your still not at your goal you know, so you should lay off the snacks. Besides, you'll gain 10 pounds and then keep snacking when you get home. You know I am right. You used to be a lazy ass, Slacker. Remember those Bitch Tits you had? Yeah - they are one step away. You'll be all jiggling again. Then you won't wanna work out cuz you'll feel fat & depressed! Muhahahahahahaha!
Like I said, "Fat Miller" is a dick. But I digress. The point is that I am NOT crazy. Wait - that's not the point. 
The point is that sometimes we need to let our old selves remind our new selves that we are always just a few bad choices away from sliding down the slippery slope of weight gain. By keeping focused on our goals, and listening to both "sides" of ourselves, we can do our best to keep ourselves on track.
This is part of what makes the "maintenance phase" so difficult. We get content and think we can stop pushing - and that just isn't the case. "Fat Miller" was totally right. I did gain 10 pounds while on vacation - and when I got back, I had zero motivation for awhile and gained a few more here and there. For awhile, I thought I would never see a loss again!
What I learned: I now know that I can forgive "Fat Miller" - all 240+ pounds of him - for being a total asshole, because sometimes, a little negative attitude is just what the doctor ordered.
Healthy 100 Calorie Snacks: Fact or Fiction?
Don't let the silly title to this post fool you, of COURSE there are 100 calorie snacks out there! That's not the issue for me at all...
The problem I have is two fold:
1. I tend to think they are healthy for me to eat just because they are only 100 calories
2. I have a hard time eating just ONE.
Let's look at #1 for a second. Be careful when choosing your 100 calorie snacks! Some of them are extremely high in fat and sodium - YUCK! So make sure you check the rest of the label and know what you are eating. On to #2 - eating just ONE. I don't know about YOU, but it's hard for me to eat just ONE 100 calorie brownie. I always try to justify it: "well two of them is ONLY 200 calories!"... Yeah - totally NOT the point of the 100 calorie snack.
So the next time you reach for YOUR favorite 100 calorie snack, check the label, and eat just ONE. Together we can all be as healthy as we want... :)
Teaching Yourself to Eat Responsibly
Even though I have been in maintenance mode for the better part of a year now (and struggling!), I still run into people that ask me the magic question: "What did you do to lose all that weight?!" I then commence with "the speech". I refer to it as "the speech" because it's probably much like the speech that most of my readers have given at some point during their journeys.
Come on, you know the one. It starts with the "Well I started working out and watching what I ate" and ends with "and that's how I lost ____ pounds". I always get the same bewildered look, almost like they are doubting that such a simple answer could have led to the results. It's not suprising, however, considering that the vast majority of people (including myself on occasion) do not eat responsibly. Our horrible eating habits are our biggest enemy in our war against obesity.
If this is your first visit, let me let YOU in on a little secret: I am a binge eater. When left alone to my own devices (especially at night), I am a monster. Lucky for me I have been able to "cage the beast" these past few years and fight the good fight. I am definately NOT saying that I am better than anyone else at eating responsibly (I'm not - trust me), but I want to help spread the word on the benefits at least... :)
That being said, here is the one simple thing to remember. Live by it and you will succeed in all your weight loss goals. Are you ready? Here goes:
Don't eat it because it tastes good, eat it because your hungry.
There. I said it. Kinda perverse actually... Wait? Wha? Slow down. Let me explain. Think of your favorite food. Now think of the last time you ate it, and more importantly, HOW MUCH of it you had and WHY you had it. If you are like me, you like huge portions and won't stop eating certain things until they are GONE. And that, my fine friends, is the root of all our weight issues in America. We love to eat things that taste DELICIOUS. When we eat, we eat because things taste good and don't stop until they are gone.
"Portion Control!" That, my friends is the key. I still eat what I want (and try my damnedest to squeeze it into 1700 cals a day), but I watch how much I eat now and try very hard to only eat when I am truly hungry. I also count my calories and measure my portions so that I can still enjoy the foods I love relatively guilt free. It's not about cutting out all your favorites, it's about eating them responsibly.
Man vs. Mexican and the #7daychip
Well I must say that I am pretty proud of myself today. I started this week off pushing myself to get back on track, and ratcheted my calories back down to 1500. If I want to eat more, I must work out more. That's tough love.
Today was the ultimate test, however. My boss let us know at around 10 am that he would be taking us to the local Mexican restaurant for a group lunch. Usually, I say that I am going to behave, but once placed in front of the chips I turn into some kind of Nacho Chip eating Beast whose hunger cannot be stopped.
Today, however, I left the restaurant victorious. I had 3 soft tacos with chicken, lettuce and cheese with salsa. No chips. Not one. And rinsed it down with two big glasses of water.
I left the restaurant full, and did not feel bloated for once!
Now if I can just get past the weekly office trip to the Chinese buffet I'll be ok... 
Fitness is a Journey, Not a Destination…
When I started my blog at retroactiv.com this past January, I launched what I felt was a clever tag line that summarized my experience with weight loss. "Fitness is a journey, not a destination. Start your journey today. Tomorrow is just an excuse." Pretty clever, huh. :)
I truly believe it to be true. It stemmed from the fact that I had heard so many people talk about how they were losing weight and on "diets". The word "diet" insinuates that its a temporary change that one is going through, that will have a finite end. This is simply not the case. Deciding to get in shape is a LIFESTYLE change. You must change everything from what you put into your body to how much physical activity you do on a daily basis - and continue to do so once you reach your goals.
This brings me to the point of this post. As I sit and reminis about all the struggles I endured while on my weight loss journey, I have come to realize that there is a much harder journey ahead: maintenance. Now that I have reached my goals, I have found that making the right choices can even be more difficult. Part of it is that now that I am "skinny", people think I should be able to eat whatever I want (which is how I got to be obese in the first place). "Want to go to the buffet today?" Of course I do - but not twice a week. "You only had one piece of pizza? Whats wrong skinny?" WTF. I am not that hungry. Damn. Yes I still count calories, and I am NEVER going to stop. I also still wear my heart rate monitor - even when shoveling snow or cutting the grass. Get over it.
The maintenance has been the most difficult part of the journey for me. I read a great post about feeling "guilty" about eating too much or skipping going to the gym the other day, and I must say that I completely feel the same way as Jon does. It's not that I am afraid to gain the weight back (ok, maybe a am a little), but now that I know what it took to lose it, I will NEVER let myself slip up again.
The point? While on your journey, realize that you will need to push yourself just as hard to maintain your "new self" as you did when you were trying to reach your goal. Not only will that help you manage your cravings and expectations, but it will ensure that you will never end up gaining all the weight back that you worked so hard to lose. Fitness is a journey, not a destination.
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