Rick The Stick – a comic on the Interwebs

Good morning!

It’s Weight Loss Wednesday – we’ll dig a little bit more into ‘Rick the Stick Diet’!!! Recently my Netflix account has been getting a workout of it’s own. I’ll touch base with you tomorrow to get your thoughts on some things I’ve been watching.

To recap our last three ‘Rick the Stick Diet’ posts:

Water – Drink plenty of it.
Eating – Smaller portions. Use your ‘sane brain’ to your advantage.
Motivation – Set a goal and find the mechanism that gets you going – and keeps you going.

Last week may have been a little preachy – and if you thought it was, then I apologize. I’ve already given you the key ingredients to what has worked for me. I’ve lost 40 pounds in 4 months – and I’ve done it without killing myself. If you think about it in the past, four months is not a long time. But if you think about having to wait for something for four months, it seems like a lifetime. The problem is perception. Regardless, one of the biggest challenges during my four months of losing weight (besides finding the mechanism that’s kept me going) has been focus. It’s difficult to stay focused for four months when you’ve been eating almost every four hours for years of your life.

I’ll be honest. Work helps. Being in a routine helps. Employing the ‘sane brain’ is easy, resisting temptation and maintaining focus – is hard.

My wife will break out some bread with dinner. I love me some whole grain bread with olive oil – but I say no. At first it was REALLY hard to combat, now it’s just difficult. I tell myself, when I hit my goal weight and I am focusing on maintaining my weight as opposed to losing it, then I’ll have a small portion of bread.

My wife will break out her ice cream dessert as a snack. I love me the ice cream – all kinds – but I say…maybe. I decided I needed an alternative. At first I found low calorie substitutions which are great – but eventually I just had to said no. That’s 140 calories – which takes at least a 10 minute run on the treadmill to burn off. And if you read my last post about how I feel about jogging right now, then you’ll know why cutting that 140 calories was easier than adding more to my exercise routine.

Note: my wife is not evil, she’s just not overweight like I am – so why should she suffer?

It’s easy to fall in love with losing weight. People notice when you lose 10 pounds. They’re complimentary, they ask you how you did it. People are impressed when you lose 20 pounds! They want to know what you’re doing and how you’re doing it and when you’re doing it and they start thinking about how they can do it. People are amazed when you lose 30 pounds!! They ask you all these great questions about what you’re secret is. You see? The weight loss for me, has become conversation about me. I may be dumb, but I’m not stoopid and if there’s one thing I’m an expert on – it’s me.

And there is the problem. I start thinking I’m a superman. I’m my own hero. Keep in mind, that I’m the one who got my fat self into this problem. I’ve had to work hard to dig myself out. I should be proud, I should have had to work hard to lose the weight, I should stay focused. Going back to my last post again, my motivation was to get to 222 by the time my son reaches his first birthday. That’s what I need to focus on. Not the number of pounds I’ve lost, not the ‘attaboys’ and not the pats on the back. I want to be healthy and I want to see my son grow up. I want to see him graduate high school. I want to help him pick a college (University of Florida or ELSE!!! . I want to live a better life.

So there it is. I’m doing it for me. It’s what I want. It’s what I am doing. I told you back when I started, that this was all about me and I’ve been honest with myself. And I’m staying focused. When I achieve my current goal, I’ll set a new one. Actually, I already have: I am going to get cut. I am going to blast weights like I never have before. And I’m going to do it because I want to be physically able to play ball with my son. I’m going to do it so I can grow old with my wife and live a long and healthy life.

What would you do it for?

Ken

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