The second article on Finding a Healthier Lifestyle that I posted about is now up on dumb little man - Finding a Healthier Lifestyle - Making the First Cuts. The author and I clearly prescribe to the same incremental improvement philosophy:
The first reaction many people have when they discover the need to change lifestyles is to drop all of their normal habits in favor of radical diet and routine modifications. Your body and your morale will not adjust well to such radical changes and you will likely lose interest after a month. Instead of radically changing your bad habits you should slowly improve them into good habits.
This is very much the approach I am trying to take. I know my caloric intake is going to have to go down for two reasons as I progress. First, because while I have been making good progress in lessening the amount I am eating I know I am still eating too much and in some cases too much of a bad thing. Second, because I am big right now my base caloric needs are higher. As I shrink (hopefully!) I will need fewer calories to sustain. Which means I better not get into any eating habits other than challenging myself to reduce consumption.
This is the same approach I am taking to exercising. Monitoring my strength training to try to continually increase by just a little bit the time I am working out and the weight I am lifting. Same with running - slowly increase both the distance run and the pace.
It took me 20 years of abuse to get my body in the shape it is in, spending a couple of years to fix it is not out of line. Slow and steady wins the race. Of course it can be darned frustrating when you are in the middle of it! That’s why the documentation is so important. 30 pounds later you can go back and see actually how you were doing when heavier and how things are better.
Can’t wait to get there myself.
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