How I lost 40 lbs
Some people are bored. I'm having too much fun. Some people are out of ideas. I'm having too many. Some people are looking for new recipes. I'm struggling to re-create the thing I did yesterday. Some people are afraid to improvise. I find it hard to rehearse.
Like every other talent, Creative Genius is both a blessing and a curse. With so many cool new things coming up it's so hard not to forget all the great things you already have.
So just to make sure I don't forget it, here's how I lost 40 lbs so far.
Don't be perfect, just be.
If you were perfect you would have been removed from this world. But if you're still here it means you have work to do. So "just do it". Even if it does not feel right, even if you suck at it, even if you tried last time and failed. Even if everyone is watching. Plan, do, analyze, repeat. Change takes time. So give yourself time. Change need space. So create space, push back, stop doing stuff unless you absolutely have to. Don't do too much, but do something consistent.
Don't diet, have a diet
It takes a while to let go of the food-related guilt. But I believe it's the least healthy ingredient in our relationship with the food. If you survived somehow till this day it means you have a diet. It's yours.
Whatever it is, and it makes you you. So you can't go on a diet just like you can't become someone else.
But you can emulate. Little changes. Consistent effort. One "diet" I would suggest is a "Change Diet" which means: limit the changes to your diet to 1-3 a week. And after a couple of weeks or a month see which changes stick and which should be rolled back.
What works for me so far is having a certain ingredients around all the time:
Fresh fruit of the season - that's my desert and snack most of the time.
Make tea - mostly at work. Drink spring water everywhere else.
Vegetables that require no cooking: cucumbers, tomatoes, salad, bell peppers - eat them raw with the meal.
Vegetables that need minimal cooking: beets, cauliflower, broccoli, string beans - boil, chill and serve.
Vegetables that are good for roasting: potatoes, eggplants, zuccini, cauliflower and broccoli too.
Cooked beans- add them to any meal to make it more filling. Never run out of them.
Hot sauce, garlic, dill, parsley, pesto, horseradish, salt, pepper - add to any meal to spice it up.
Kefir, cottage cheese, fish - eat them when you feel you're still hungry
Eggs - 1-2 meals a week when you want something festive and made to order.
Oatmeal, buckwheat or rice - 2-3 times a week, with beans
Cook a big pot of vegetable soup once in a couple of weeks. Borscht is our favorite so far. I can have it for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
Tuesday: fast till dinner
Friday: fast till lunch
Treats: know when and how much
Beer or a glass of wine: one day a week, midweek after dinner , to get over the fact that it's not weekend yet.Smelly cheese or ice cream treat midweek , but not before or after the fast.
On a weekend 3-4 bigger meals with bread , red meat, fish, beer, wine( up to 2 glasses per meal) and sweets
Don't Exercise , Play
I stopped going to gym because it takes too long. I plan to use my home gym in the winter
I have a kettlebell at home and two at the office. I do 50 snatches 3-4 times a week. Takes 2 minutes.
I have a pull up bar at home and one at the office. I use it 2-3 times a week
I run 3 miles 1-2 times a week, and do some stretching before and after the run.
I bike to the train station and back 2 miles 3-4 times a week, about 10 minutes one way
I do push-ups and sit-ups 3-4 times a week.
I do some parkour type of training : jumping, balance, high bar work 2-3 times a month.
Eat the frog first
It's usually not the food and sports that are eating you, it's something else. The thing that's broken , some kind of hunger for the brighter future. Some words that got stuck in your throat. A project that never lifted off. A job you never quit. A recognition you never received. A thank-you note you never written.
That's the really important stuff. And unless you are dealing with that somehow you won't be able to manage and sustain your weight loss effectively. So deal with it and you'll be able to do other projects too.
Good luck.
Like every other talent, Creative Genius is both a blessing and a curse. With so many cool new things coming up it's so hard not to forget all the great things you already have.
So just to make sure I don't forget it, here's how I lost 40 lbs so far.
Don't be perfect, just be.
If you were perfect you would have been removed from this world. But if you're still here it means you have work to do. So "just do it". Even if it does not feel right, even if you suck at it, even if you tried last time and failed. Even if everyone is watching. Plan, do, analyze, repeat. Change takes time. So give yourself time. Change need space. So create space, push back, stop doing stuff unless you absolutely have to. Don't do too much, but do something consistent.
Don't diet, have a diet
It takes a while to let go of the food-related guilt. But I believe it's the least healthy ingredient in our relationship with the food. If you survived somehow till this day it means you have a diet. It's yours.
Whatever it is, and it makes you you. So you can't go on a diet just like you can't become someone else.
But you can emulate. Little changes. Consistent effort. One "diet" I would suggest is a "Change Diet" which means: limit the changes to your diet to 1-3 a week. And after a couple of weeks or a month see which changes stick and which should be rolled back.
What works for me so far is having a certain ingredients around all the time:
Fresh fruit of the season - that's my desert and snack most of the time.
Make tea - mostly at work. Drink spring water everywhere else.
Vegetables that require no cooking: cucumbers, tomatoes, salad, bell peppers - eat them raw with the meal.
Vegetables that need minimal cooking: beets, cauliflower, broccoli, string beans - boil, chill and serve.
Vegetables that are good for roasting: potatoes, eggplants, zuccini, cauliflower and broccoli too.
Cooked beans- add them to any meal to make it more filling. Never run out of them.
Hot sauce, garlic, dill, parsley, pesto, horseradish, salt, pepper - add to any meal to spice it up.
Kefir, cottage cheese, fish - eat them when you feel you're still hungry
Eggs - 1-2 meals a week when you want something festive and made to order.
Oatmeal, buckwheat or rice - 2-3 times a week, with beans
Cook a big pot of vegetable soup once in a couple of weeks. Borscht is our favorite so far. I can have it for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
Tuesday: fast till dinner
Friday: fast till lunch
Treats: know when and how much
Beer or a glass of wine: one day a week, midweek after dinner , to get over the fact that it's not weekend yet.Smelly cheese or ice cream treat midweek , but not before or after the fast.
On a weekend 3-4 bigger meals with bread , red meat, fish, beer, wine( up to 2 glasses per meal) and sweets
Don't Exercise , Play
I stopped going to gym because it takes too long. I plan to use my home gym in the winter
I have a kettlebell at home and two at the office. I do 50 snatches 3-4 times a week. Takes 2 minutes.
I have a pull up bar at home and one at the office. I use it 2-3 times a week
I run 3 miles 1-2 times a week, and do some stretching before and after the run.
I bike to the train station and back 2 miles 3-4 times a week, about 10 minutes one way
I do push-ups and sit-ups 3-4 times a week.
I do some parkour type of training : jumping, balance, high bar work 2-3 times a month.
Eat the frog first
It's usually not the food and sports that are eating you, it's something else. The thing that's broken , some kind of hunger for the brighter future. Some words that got stuck in your throat. A project that never lifted off. A job you never quit. A recognition you never received. A thank-you note you never written.
That's the really important stuff. And unless you are dealing with that somehow you won't be able to manage and sustain your weight loss effectively. So deal with it and you'll be able to do other projects too.
Good luck.