Last year I lost 64 pounds (about 30 kilos). Sounds good but I have a lot of weight to lose and I wanted to lose it all in 2025. There were a couple of months I stalled so I reduced my caloric intake and moved a little more and the weight started to shift again; I was the lightest I’d been in 15 years. Things were starting to look up as I began to feel healthier and more vibrant. Then I went to Sweden. I gained about 4 pounds (less than two kilos) more from over consumption and not the quality of the food which was excellent, especially in and around Gamla Stan, the old part of Stockholm. By the time I touched down in Indianapolis after two weeks away I knew I was getting sick. For the next 10 weeks I was sick. Doctors couldn’t figure out what was wrong and antibiotics and steroids did little to nothing to help. It was a respiratory infection coupled with complete body fatigue. Ten weeks is a long time to have an infection I felt like I was never getting better. Eventually I did.
Unfortunately between then and now, I’ve gained back 16 pounds (7 kilos). Yet again I’ve let myself down. I’m not going to sugar-coat this but telling myself, and others, I’m going to do something and I don’t is demoralizing, somewhat soul crushing, disappointing and frustrating. I like to think I’m not one to let people down so why do I feel it’s okay to let down the one person who needs to be top of the priority list? A rhetorical question but one that needs to be asked because what I want to do, and what I end up doing don’t match and this needs to change. Now.
I can go on almost any diet and lose weight, if that is, I adhered to the diet and implement discipline. But, but if the reasons why I put on weight in the first place and why I’ve struggled so hard and for so long to lose it aren’t being address it will be cyclical and the cycle will continue. Firstly a ‘diet’ or drugs are bandaids – perhaps a good kickstart but a ‘diet’ gets boring and drugs work until they lose their effectiveness and the body get used to them. Lifestyle changes, knowing why I overeat, discipline, consistency and keeping it simple are all keys in being the time I finally get this albatross off my back and lose weight. For me right now, one of these stands above all – discipline, so that’s what I’m focusing on – one thing at a time and discipline is the key to all of them. Actions must be aligned with goals and for that to happen, there has to be discipline. So, I’m doing a challenge, alone. More to come later…