This is a little embarrassing for me, but I want to share. I want to share because while it is embarrassing, it is also inspiring and a source of pride.

And I have learned the secret to easy weight loss and want to share it with you! More on that later.

In August of 2012 my doctor advised me to get my weight down from 250 lbs. to 210 lbs. I didn’t feel too bad about my weight since in my 20’s I had been over 300 lbs. Regardless I decided to really go for it.

Here, the most embarrassing part, is August 2012 me at 250+ and current me under 205 lbs.

Start2Goal

My original strategy was simple. I was going to walk for at least 30 minutes every day and take a picture of myself every week along with weighing in. I felt dumb going for my walk every day. But I did it.

After a few weeks I decided I would rather run. So I started running. Sort of. I would run a block and then walk a block. After a week of that I bought actual running shoes. VERY important. I also decided my weight loss was too slow, so I bumped my exercise time to one hour five times a week. I used iPod playlists to time my intervals of walking and running and to make certain I did a full hour. It was also around this time I started using MyFitnessPal as a food and exercise log.

I kept this up until I was doing 5 miles walk/run. At the end of October of 2012 my iPod went loopy half way through my run/walk and kept jumping tracks. I decided to run at a real easy pace and see how it went. To my surprise I finished feeling just as absolutely exhausted as I always did. On my next run I decided to jog the whole 5 miles and made it without dieing. I have been running ever since.

Every morning starts with a 3.5 mile run. Saturdays will often include a longer run of 5-7 miles or one of my crazy 10 mile days. Our black lab Sam goes on these runs with me. Three times a week I include a body weight routine. Some days I go for an extra run after work. It helps to refresh me. Or I break out the skateboard, go surfing, and it is about time to hit the slopes for some snowboarding.

What is the real secret to easy weight loss? Here it is; If you make an effort to get out there every single day and exercise it eventually becomes something you want to do, that you have a hard time stopping yourself from doing. You will work hard at it, but you will no longer be searching for motivation. It will be easy. And the weight will slowly come off.

I know, not the answer you wanted. It wasn’t the answer I wanted in my twenties and thirties. But it works!

I adjusted my food, but I never gave up anything. I still eat donuts with the guys at work on Fridays like we always do. Sometimes as many as three! I shouldn’t, but I do. And I still drink beer on the weekends because I find it tasty. And sometimes I’ll find myself pushing for just one more mile because eating half the pizza in one sitting is crazy fun. While I don’t always make great choices for my food, I still track it and this helps me make better choices at those other times.

And look at that start-to-goal photo of me again, the one I find embarrassing. See that guy on the right? He has a bit of a belly and some love handles. Other folks call me skinny. My doctor calls me inspirational. Even my hyper-critical Wii Fit calls my BMI normal. That is a normal, healthy male. Yet I still criticize my less than perfect shape. The media has fed an unrealistic ideal to us. I have had body image problems my entire life. While I continue with my fitness routines because I love them, I also need to work on reprogramming how I see myself. That might be even harder than dropping the weight. But the last year and a half has taught me that through focus and perseverance I can bend my reality into conformity with my will.

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