Keeping it Off
For most people losing weight and keeping it off is hard work. If you do succeed, it is a great accomplishment and makes you feel like a million bucks. Unfortunately, most people continue to lose the hard way. That leads us to the actual story of Ralph, not his real name, and his quest to lose 180 pounds. At 371, Ralph's weight had admittedly gotten out of control. He had done it the hard way with diets and exercise programs and had found limited success. He considered surgery but decided the risks were too high and the changes in eating habits and lifestyle too great. He was faced with a dilemma; how could he make it easier to get the weight off in a healthy way and not repeat past mistakes and gain it all back again? 

Taking a Different Road
When Ralph first came in, we sat and talked for about an hour discussing his weight problem. After making several suggestions, Ralph knew he had left out critical components in his previous weight loss approaches and needed to add three major pieces to his new program. First, start an accurate journal of his activities, food intake, mood and other factors providing valuable current and future accountability and insight. Secondly he needed a better personal and professional support team. Support is the key to a successful outcome especially in the early stages. Finally, he needed to figure out why he was eating so much food. Not necessarily an easy task but an important one to stop his uncomfortable relationship with food. Adding these new components to his program would make it easier to lose weight permanently.   

The First 73 Pounds
In his own words, losing the first 73 pounds in 5 months "wasn't that hard." In reality, losing weight is not that hard if you have the right program in place. Ralph was committed to losing the weight and his journaling, support team and self-discovery all added to the ease and success of his weight loss. Early on he made an important connection between food and his emotional state. He noticed that every time he got "pissed off" at someone or something, he would go eat to relieve the stress. Stress eating is very common and the fact that Ralph discovered this connection was a great help to him.

His journaling allowed him to see that his approach to eating was sporadic. Before he would eat "when he felt like it" sometimes going 6 hours between meals. This caused his blood sugar to go out of balance and increased his hunger levels. In the beginning of a weight loss program, eating on a four hour schedule is a better strategy because your blood sugar stays balanced and your hunger centers won't push you to overeat.     

Ralph is on to his way to losing his next 73 pounds. He feels better about himself even though he knows he has a long way to go. Ralph would like to share some of the more important healthy lifestyle behaviors that have helped him turn his weight loss struggle into success.

Keeping a Record 
In the first 6 to 12 months, you are trying to erase unhealthy habits and substitute new, healthier ones. Keeping a journal helps you determine how well it is going. The discipline to write it down whether it's food, activity or a bad day makes you accountable to yourself (you have to stop and think about it) as well as your support team. Journaling provides healthy structure that is usually missing with people who have trouble with their weight. Initially a structured environment is absolutely necessary for successful weight loss. Before now, Ralph never kept a record and that was one of the reasons he struggled with his weight.

Personal and Professional Support Team
Ralph's support team is bigger now. He has found some people to play tennis with and has started to enjoy that time. He has also learned who his detractors are; those people he thought were on his side but were really not. His professional support team is valuable in keeping him centered, motivated and accountable.

Smaller Portions
It seems incredibly obvious but smaller portion are essential for weight loss. You don't need special foods or drinks, pills and potions, special diets or calorie counting. All you need to do is eat less. But how do you accomplish that? Eating smaller portions is easiest when you know how to visualize a healthy portion size. So like Ralph, with just a few small changes you too can make weight loss easier and more successful.