What do you want more?

A while back I was asked to speak to a seminary class on a topic of my choosing. I can't remember exactly what I talked about but I used an example that I do remember. Now, I am not sure if I thought of this myself or not, so if you have seen it done before, don't think that I am trying to take credit for something I didn't invent. Anyway, I called up on of the students and pulled out a $10 bill and asked him if he wanted it. Of course he said yes. I then said to him that he could have the $10 now or if he waited until the end of class, and sat quietly throughout my lesson that I would give him $1,000. I then pulled $1,000 in cash from my pocket (We were going on vacation the next day, that is the only reason I happened to have that kind of cash). Of course he agreed to wait and of course I reneged on the deal. But the point was that we so often take the $10. We give up what we want most for what we want now.

That applies to many areas in our lives. As it pertains to the subject of this blog, I was thinking last night about all of the choices I make. Not going to the gym because I'm tired, I'll just eat this one more time, etc. I have started to make a list of the things I want most in this area. My desires for weight loss are not cosmetic at this point in my life. I want to be healthy for my children. I want to be a grandpa. I want to be active and be free to do what I want. I want to get on a plane and not have to stress about getting an isle seat so I have room to lap over. I do not want to be a burden on my family or an embarrassment to my kids. So the question I have to ask myself is this; What do I want more? To take my grandkids on a hike or an ice cream? To be able to walk up a flight of stairs without sweating or a burrito?

I have to get out of the mindset that just one more time won't hurt. That has gotten me where I am. I know what I want more, do you?

Keeping focused

Well, here we are in February already. I cannot believe how time speeds along. With the passing of January, so to might pass our resolve on our goals. STAY FOCUSED! If you have already lost focus, recommit. It is a daily battle that can begin again in the morning. Don't procrastinate but don't get discouraged either. If you do bad today, then do better tomorrow. I found a cool website that can really help. It is www.thedailyplate.com. It is really good. You can put in just about any restaurant you want and see the nutritional information for most all of the meals there. You can also track your daily calorie intake. It will tell you how many you should be taking in and all sorts. Check it out!

Setting a Goal

As the year starts we are all setting goals for improvement in our lives. My family and I are no different. This year, my family and I have gotten together and decided that we are going to have a weight loss challenge. Unlike years past, where the challenge is for a short period of time, we are doing it for the whole year. On New Years Eve we all got together and weighed in. There were 10 of us in all. The winner is the one who loses the highest percentage of body weight by New Years Eve 2009. That is right, a full year. The theory is that this will inspire us to make lasting change rather than just a diet. We took a group photo at the beginning of this challenge.

The number my Dad is holding is our combined weight. AMAZING! And depressing! We plan to take a similar picture next year with a much lower number. We are each putting in $5 per month. The winner take all. That will be $600! I figure that this isn't really gambling since I know I am going to win. I see it more as an investment with a 90% return.

Ok, so that is what we are doing. We are in it together and the goal is lasting change. To that end, let me climb up on my soap box for a minute. Lasting change requires consistently better choices. By just doing small things, we can make a big difference. For example, skipping dessert might save 200 calories (that is a VERY conservative number), not having seconds when you are already full might save 400 or more. Think about all the snacking. We could easily cut out 600 calories a day without really modifying our eating hardly at all. Add to that 30 minutes of exercise and we are easily at 1000 calories less a day. Since a pound of fat is 3,500 calories, doing that would result in 104 lbs in a year! It is that easy! Tremendous Trivials. Little choices that make a huge difference.

Free to Choose

Free to Choose (FTC) has been created because I am tired of being a victim of the consequences of my choices! All my life it seems that I have lived in the shadow of my mistakes and bad choices. I have come to realize that every choice, good or bad, has a consequence. I have focused most of my time and energy wallowing in the mire of those consequences. NO MORE! I will now focus my energy on making better choices.

All my life I have struggled with my weight. My weight problems have spilled over into all the other areas of my life as well. Now, at 37, I am seeing the tolls that a life of obesity has taken on my body. I have had enough!

I have come to realize that it is the small, seemly insignificant choices that I make everyday that will make the difference. I am committed to making the small choices that will help me to change for good. I will park at the back of the parking lot. I will not use elevators or escalators but will take the stairs. I will not snack out of the candy bowl at work. I will not have just one more taco. All of these little choices add up to big consequences.

If you feel the same way, join me. The purpose of this blog is to share best practices, articles, ideas, recipes, anything that can help, support, and motivate us to change for good. Not just a fad diet to lose a few pounds, but to really change. Together, we can use or freedom to choose to affect our lives for the better and stop being slaves to our bad choices!