I guess the first thing you should know is that I did not find time to exercise. My weight loss was entirely attributed to diet.
For me, VFL.com was an educator. Knowing that I wanted my full $90 back (I got back $88), I started writing down my meals before I was able to log them. Immediately upon being able to log, I logged one of the previous days and discovered that I had been eating 3500 calories a day. I set the RMR on the lowest setting (which was most accurate for my situation) and decided on a goal of 2000 calories a day – since that is what most of the nutritional panels on food labels are setup for. With that as my RMR, I truly believed that if I could stay under 2000 calories a day, I could make my goal.
Over the next few weeks I started to learn the calorie count for each of the normal foods I ate, which made me wary of high-calorie foods. I started to turn down offers of food, saying, “If I eat that, I’ll have to log it. So thanks anyway.” Eventually, I learned that although I don’t care for plain salad—a chef salad is wonderful. I started eating a chef salad every night for dinner. (Please understand, I still have “fat and happy” tendencies and so chef salads have an entire hard-boiled egg on them, cheese, bacon bits, and a fair amount of dressing.) Since I could vary the dressing, or the cheese, or change to ham chunks—it was enough variation that I didn’t get bored. Breakfast, typically done on the go, soon turned mainly into a piece of fruit and a FiberWise™ bar. Lunch (my biggest meal), except for the beverage, did not change.
As for the scale, birthday-suit weight was often shared with those around me and my 10 day goal was to get the same weight dressed. That way if anyone ever didn’t believe me, I could prove it. Now the hard part comes, when the 90 days are over. I have lost 40 pounds—do I have the drive to loose the other 40 knowing that I have no financial commitment and no possibility of a prize? I believe so, as I still find myself unwilling and unable to eat as much as I used to. Only time, and my wardrobe, will tell.
I have noticed that I don’t get as winded going up four flights of stairs to my college class. In fact, I’d say that my breathing hardly changes now after the climb. As for feeling better, it is more of a feeling better about me. I value myself more for being able to get this far and have a marvelous feeling of accomplishment. Some of my immediate co-workers look at me as an example that “it IS possible.” That boosts my confidence as well, but also makes me feel very accountable to them to keep it up—which I very much appreciate.
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