By Eric Harlan
Published: January 2, 2012
Updated: January 2, 2012
Print    Email

I’ve been chomping at the bit (figuratively) to write this post but I promised myself I’d wait a full year before I did.
Most of the people in my circles of overlapping communities have seen the new and improved me over the course of 2011. But just as a recap, I’ll do a quick review even though you can read more here.

Mid 2010, I was having some dizzy spells (end up being new glasses), but while at the ear/nose doctor, I was weighed by a jolly and very overweight nurse who giggled out “198, well at least you’re not 200 yet”. At that moment I knew I needed to make a serious course correction. 
I’m a bit of a Yoda protégé. In that “NO try not, Do or Do Not, there is no try” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqOQLl7qmw8&feature=player_detailpage#t=48s) I’m just the type of person that if I want something I make it happen regardless of the obstacles.  Don’t make the assumption that I get everything I want however, sometimes I don’t even try cause I can be lazy too but that’s beside the point haha.

Anyway, so I get the question all the time, did the weight stay off?  Well here’s the proof that the system that I undertook works.  Exactly one year later of my total weight loss, I have only fluxuated  a max of 3 pounds +/-.  Now that doesn’t sound like a big deal but when you fight as hard as I fought for 2.75 months every pound is lost ground.  As I write this im currently sitting at 160.2 pounds Which is 2.2 pounds higher than when I completed my goal of 198.0.

Now granted, with Kacey pregnant, SPC, Vacation, SPC Asia, Thanksgiving then Christmas all pretty much in a 2 months span, 2.2 pounds could be a lot worse so there is perspective in that 2.2 pounds trust me.

So yes, the process I undertook (I hesitate to call it a diet) works if you are committed to it, are committed to the lessons it teaches you. That said there have some I’ve been in communication with others that undertook the same process and didn’t pull it off. There are others that did the same as I and were 100% successful then there are some still in the process and are pulling through with some serious effort. 

 

The failures really comes from lack of effort, this isn’t weight watchers (which is a huge scam btw) or some other ‘eat your way to success diet’. This is literally a fundamental shift in your life, but a shift that happens over time and under an objective so that you don’t really know it’s happening. Then when it’s all done it’s just instilled in you.

The other big question I get when people ask is “How are you maintaining that weight?”  Well quite honestly I don’t have an exact formula, really what I do to maintain the weight comes natural to the fact that I went through the process.  So without a really good answer I’ll go into what is an average day for me. So normally I wake up and eat a bowl of cereal around 8:30am if I’m home.

Usually it’s a bowl of honey nut cheerios (I know I'm a big kid), or I eat a bowl of Kashi GoLean Crunch (Honey Almond Flax). You have to kind of watch out with these because they have kind of high sugars. Granted the Kashi is more simple sugars than the honey nut cheerios. Either way that’s usually breakfast but every so often I eat some pancakes/eggs/granola bar etc.

Around 10:30/11am I eat a second “meal” usually it’s an apple/orange if I'm home or one of the various bars I have in my bar drawer (you should see this thing everything from Nature Valley and Fiber Plus to Protein bars or peanut bars.

Lunch time usually comes around 12:30 for me. Most common when I'm home is a trip to Panera bread for a soup and salad pick two. (Sesame Asian Chicken Salad and French Onion Soup. I’ll get a sandwich every so often too.) When I'm not so good, I’ll make a trip to Chick-Fila or a Pit Turkey shop near me (pit is the not so good Yankee version of BBQ).

Again around 2:30/3pm I’ll have something similar to what I had at 11am.  A granola bar, apple/grapes/orange etc.

Dinner time is usually a crap shoot, if I'm on the road I find it eat slightly less “good” but not too terrible to throw me off. But usually it’s a good home made meal lots of greens moderate protein of chicken/fish/beef. Usually 2 or 3 to 1 ratio in volume not that I measure it but I just literally look at how much meat I have and triple that volume with whatever green I'm eating. Usually it will be something like salad/asparagus/broccoli etc etc.

Usually I don’t get too tired of anything. If anything it’s the bars that I get kind of tired of. It’s really hard to find a good carb to protein ratio bar that actually tastes good. But overall its really easy to maintain that eating style.

One thing I find important to mention is that just because you’ve lost weight and are skinny DOES NOT MEAN that you are ‘In Shape’. In fact there are some studies that suggest that overweight people that exercise are in better shape than skinner people that don’t.  Obviously the target would be working out and being skinny.

So my new year’s resolution this year is to actually be “In Shape”. Working out more, hitting the elliptical more actually taking my bike out for rides etc.  I’m not sure how motivated I am just yet or what my goal is going to be but as I figure that out and build up my ambition I’ll start working with that.

Who knows, this time next year I could be posting an update that I gained 15 pounds but in all muscle. Until then, I feel great with some minor tweaking here and there for course correction I don’t think I’ll ever go back to having that discussion with the nurse. If its something you'd like to undertake, please hit me up for some advice on how to start but the most advice i can offer is really get to the point where you are motivated to make it change.

To your health.

 

Before:

 

 

After:

 

 

 

Submit Article

11926 Views - View Comments (3)