The Goal

I've got a goal, a tool by which measure whether I'm moving in the right direction or not, and that is to lose a pound a week.  I know that this goal may not seem very lofty, or like I'm taking weight loss seriously, but I think that assumption is probably influenced a lot by reality TV.  I've seen several different shows and I think the most I've seen for that initial week weight loss was almost thirty pounds.  So, why am I not going for something like that too?  I've got several reasons.

First, I don't think it's very healthy to lose that much weight so quickly.  I will say that there are circumstances where it is called for, like when someone is in imminent danger of death because they have a weight related medical condition, but these situations are the exception, not the rule.  Consider the flip side for a minute.  Let's say a man had been starved in captivity and after being rescued he ate so much food that he gained thirty pounds in his first week of freedom. I don't think anyone would see this situation as healthy, even if the man had been thirty pounds underweight.  I'm sure that instead doctors would oversee a gradual return to a healthy weight.  I have a hard time seeing such a large fluctuation in weight as anything but extreme and potentially a shock to the body.


Second, I'm not dieting, I'm changing my entire lifestyle.  I've actually had success dieting in the past, losing up to sixty pounds in just five months.  However, the diets I've tried have not really been good choices for a lifestyle.  I'm looking for healthy living, not dieting, to take care of my weight.  I'm concerned with nutrition, body function and how I feel, not just calories.  Actually, I'm not really even conscious of calories at this time.  Not every food choice is nutrition based, for instance I'm drinking a coffee right now and I know that's not the healthiest choice there is, but overall I'm concerning myself much more with nutrition in my diet, and that is not something I've done before.  I'm eating better foods, something I'll get into in a later post, and I'm cutting way back on certain things, again, something I'll get into in a later post, but I'm not counting calories.  I'm not planning on packing the pounds back on at a later date which is a problem I have with the whole concept of dieting.  My new lifestyle just doesn't support a 300+ pound me, that's all.

Finally, I'm patient.  I realize that I did not just wake up fat one day.  Every pound crept onto my frame slowly, not all at once.  The method I'm using requires time, in which I plan on learning the lessons I need to learn to maintain my new healthy lifestyle.  I'm not looking for a quick fix, I'm looking for a permanent one.