Weight Loss That is Safe, Simple & Satisfying

 Weight Loss that is Safe, Simple & Satisfying

Session One

Welcome to the Safe, Simple & Satisfying weight loss blog!

March of 2007, I stepped on our bathroom scales and saw that I weighed more than I had ever weighed.  On that day, I determined that I would never weigh another pound.  I also decided that I would lose some weight but I was not going to try quick fixes.  I was going to give myself time to decrease my weight slowly over a period of years.  That is how I gained the weigh so it seemed reasonable that I lose it the same way.  During the next coupe of years, I lost a significant amount of weight, then I assembled the guidelines I developed for myself into a multi-session class that I taught in 5 different churches.  I discovered that losing weight can be fun and fulfilling.  Every time I taught the material, someone in the class lost weight.  I like to encourage others, so I hope you are encouraged from this blog.  For now, there are three sessions which I’m posting all at once.  I have no immediate plans for additional posts because all the information is included here.  If you would like to contact me you can do it via email;  fisherterrya@gmail.com

You can eat unhealthy and lose weight or you can eat healthy and lose weight.

You can eat foods you dislike and lose weight or 

You can eat foods you like and lose weight.

Common sense says, eat healthy and eat foods you like.  In the first two sessions, you’ll be asked to identify foods you already like that will help you in your weight loss.  You’ll be asked to give up foods you like that will not contribute to weight loss.

Initial Steps for you to take:  

Step #1.  Decide you would like to lose weight.  Since you are reading this blog, I assume either you are thinking about it or you’ve already decided you want to lose weight. 

Step #2.  Set up your plan.  I will give you ideas for a plan but I hope you personalize it to fit you, your life & your lifestyle.  

Step #3.  Follow the plan for a week. 

Step #4.  After a week, re-evaluate the plan.  If you discover you are not following it or cannot follow it, do not feel guilty.  That just means the plan is not yet suited for you.  

Step #5.  If needed, adjust the plan.  Try something different.  I’ve taught this material 5 times at different churches.  Not everyone who has taken the material has lost weight.  I’m not sure why, because I never ask.  If someone approaches me and tells me his or her results, I welcome the news.  

This worked and continues to work for me.

Universal Truth About Eating:  

When your body wants a cupcake, 

broccoli is never a satisfying substitute.

Foundational Principle of this blog

No Guilt.

At no time do I want you to feel guilty about what you do or do not eat.

Enjoy this time.  Have fun with the food and the exercise.

Brief Personal Weight Gain & Loss Bio: When I graduated from High School I weighed 155 pounds, at my college graduation I weighed 165.  On my wedding day my weight was 185. See a pattern?  Now, fast forward to a morning in March, 2007.  I got on the bathroom scale and could not believe the numbers I saw.  234!  I decided on that morning that I would never weigh a single pound more than that.  I wanted to lose weight but at that point, it seemed impossible.  The idea of ever weighing less than 200 lbs seemed REALLY impossible.  I began a slow process of adjusting food intake and adjusting exercise.  By January, 2009 I was down to 228 lbs.  Then I began further adjustment and by May 2009 I was down another ten pounds at 218.  A few months later in August, 2009 I was at 200 and not long after finally went below 200 down to 195.  Since then I have stayed around that.  As you can imagine, I am not super skinny but my weight has stayed in this range.  This morning, before writing this blog, I weighed 192.6.

I discovered that with weight loss you can experience a snowball effect; it might start small and then pick up momentum like a snowball rolling down a hill getting bigger.  The first 10 lbs might be very easy, the next ten more difficult, but many people have discovered that the third 10 are very easy.

As a personal benefit, it might be helpful if you wrote your own weight gain biography.  The purpose is not to make you feel bad about yourself, but simply help you face the facts of your life.  You are an incredible individual no matter how much you weigh.

Now we come to what I call our weight loss mantra:  Safe, Simple & Satisfying

I developed that mantra long before I ever used it.  Once I decided to lose weight, I put the mantra into practical use.  Those three words are easy to remember and become your guide as you choose the foods you will eat and the exercise in which you will engage.

It is important that everything you eat is an expression of these three words.  Make sure the food you eat is safe.  If you are diabetic, have high blood pressure or high cholesterol, you need to be practical about these conditions and choose foods that will not cause you problems.  If you are on any type of medication, make sure the foods you chose to eat do not interfere.  In some ways, we are a walking chemistry experiment.  Please, please, please, if you have any health problems consult with your doctor.  Choose safe foods.  

In addition to foods that are safe, choose a menu that will be simple for you.  I could never go on the Zone diet nor Weight Watchers because, for me, they are too complicated.  I have friends who swear by both programs because they are like puzzles to be solved.  Those eating plans are simple for some but not others.  I’ve developed my own personal eating plan that is simple.  The foods are simple to buy, prepare and eat.  Finally, everything you eat needs to be satisfying.  One of the reasons many people fail to lose weight by following a prescribed program is because the food is not satisfying.  Once you eat a meal, you want to be satisfied.  If you are satisfied, you will not continue to eat.  Perhaps you have heard of people or maybe you have been one of the people who go on a diet, loose weight, then go off the diet and gain it all back with maybe a few additional pounds.  My theory is that the diet plan featured food that was not satisfying.  For this plan, you are going to start with eating food you already like.  As you move along, you might find new foods to add to your menu.   Since you are starting with food you already enjoy, after you lose the weight, I believe you will keep it off.

It All Starts With Breakfast  

Stop reading the blog and write a list of all the foods you enjoy eating for breakfast.  Here is a list of some of the foods I like for breakfast:  grapefruit, bananas, oatmeal, yogurt, Captain Crunch cereal, donuts and coffee with lots of 1/2 & 1/2, pancakes, French toast, biscuits & gravy, eggs prepared a variety of ways, whole wheat toast, egg white omelets with tomatoes & mushrooms.  Now that you’ve seen my list, create your own, then continue reading the blog.  We will return to your list later in the session.

Medical Concerns:  If you have any medical conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, etc. please check with your doctor to make sure your plan is safe.

Practical Tip of the Session

Simple food, in their natural form, will tend to contribute to good health as well as weight loss.  For example, you can eat an apple versus eating apple crisp.  A small portion of apple crisp might not be harmful for you, but an apple in it’s natural form will be a better contribution toward weight loss.

Tried & True Guideline

3-5 servings of fruit and vegetables daily is a good idea for multiple reasons.  This is healthy, and, depending on how they are prepared, these foods tend to not add weight and will usually promote weight loss.  Although 3-5 servings has been the guideline for many years, I have also heard nutritionists recommend 5-7 servings, even 10.  No matter how many servings you choose to eat everyday, make sure you have the food in the house.

Now lets review your breakfast list using the Mantra.  But first, look back at my list.  Which of those foods are Safe, Simple & Satisfying and will promote weight loss?  It is easy to choose some of them.  Grapefruit, bananas, yogurt, egg white omelets, whole wheat toast are healthy choices so they are safe.  I like them, so I find eating them satisfying.  They are also simple to prepare and eat.  Nearly every morning, I eat a container of yogurt and a piece of fruit like a banana.  These days, we have a new dog who has decided that the yogurt and bananas are sharing food so she sits in front of me while I eat and waits for me to share.  Now look at your list of breakfast foods.  What foods will be Safe to eat, Simple to prepare, and Satisfying once you eat them?  Circle the items and make them your breakfast choices for the next 21 days.

Movement is Important.

What forms of exercise do you enjoy?  All those years that I slowly gained weight, I was always active.  Some seasons of my life I exercised more than at others, but I have never been sedentary.  At times, I’ve needed to adjust my exercise either due to my schedule or physical limitations.  These days, I do a lot of walking because of the aforementioned dog who gets 3-5 walks every day.  I also enjoy working out with weight machines, riding a stationary bike and swimming.  For many years I was a runner, but as I have aged, minor injuries began to take too long to heal, so I gave up running.  I also include a lot of crunches and stretching.  So, what do you like?  Biking, swimming, yoga, tennis?  A doctor once told me that each person needs to discover an exercise that he or she will do without being reminded, pushed or otherwise manipulated.  Please be practical.  If you weigh 300 lbs and you’re not an NFL lineman, do not expect to run a marathon next week.  Choose exercise that you will find Safe, Simple & Satisfying.  If you have been sedentary and all you do is walk for 10 minutes a couple times a day, that is a wonderful start.

21 Day Commitment:  Make a commitment to eat from your choice of breakfast foods and exercise consistently for the next 21 days.  You might be wondering why I’m suggesting 21 days.  There are two reasons.  The first is that 21 days is not a very long time.  Most people see it as a manageable time commitment.  The second reason is because research indicates that it takes a least 21 days to develop a new habit.

A final word for this session.

As a Christian and pastor, I look for encouragement from the Bible.  You might find the following two scriptures to be encouraging.

II John 2  Dear Friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health…

I Corinthians 6:19-20  Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?  You are not your own; you were bought at a price.  Therefore honor God with your bodies.

May you have fun and be blessed as you embark on this journey!