The Minimum Plan

I call my plan to lose weight in '07 The Minimal Plan. It helps to remind me this is the least of what I have to do to get healthy and shed these extra pounds. I just figured, why keep trying to lose "x" amount for "x" event, it is always too much in too short a time. Plus, I never have a back-up plan for when I slip...and everybody slips. On top of that I never have any kind of maintenance plan to KEEP the weight I have lost off. I think I have all that now...and it really is quite simple. Basically I just sat down and said "What is the minimum amount of effort you have to do to slowly, but steadily, lose fat on a regular basis".

Stick with the minimum I tell myself...you can always shoot for more if you feel the urge. I am just tired of letting myself down with high expectations never realized. At the same time, I am not the kind of person who can lose 1 pound a month either, I would get frustrated and give up...and giving up means eating more. I need to feel good about my efforts, see progress and know that I am on the right path.

5 pounds a month would do that for me.

Of course it will take a year or more regain a healthy weight, but I can live with that. I have been blogging about it for longer right? I have been trying for even longer...two decades! 1 year is a piece of cake.

So, to figure the minimum of what I had to do, I figured what I want to be...weight wise. I picked a weight that I have been in the past that was comfortable to maintain and seemed right. It is still 10 or 20 pounds over the recommended level for a person my size, but so what...I know I am healthy and happy at that weight. Besides, I can always adjust that as the plan unfolds.

Just a realistic and do-able weight goal.

Once I had the goal I was already thinking about the maintenance. I think this is the key to successful weight loss, think ahead. What does a person, who weighs this much eat? How much do they eat? To determine that I went to the WebMd website and used their metabolism calculator. I plugged in the numbers for where I want to be, to see what I have to do to keep it off. Once I did that I had a ceiling, a limit of calories to eat daily..and that is what I have to re-learn.

I just need to eat what I want to be.

So now I can say to myself, "Look, you are not on a diet, you are eating what you should eat to be the weight you want to be...if you can't live with that, that stop trying and move onto something else." Re-learning portion control, hell just re-learning what a portion is, is key.

Of course exercise and activity is a big part of all of it, probably the biggest part actually. But this time I did not want to use exercise to lose weight, I wanted to enjoy exercise and know that I was building a better body, one that can burn more calories and fight more disease. I think a sure way to kill your desire to exercise, at least in my case anyway, is to think "I have to do this to lose "x" amount of weight". So my exercise plan fits into that mentality...slow and steady...again thinking of where I want to be in a year...or ten...from now. I thought about the activities I want to enjoy into old age, and decided to build a body suited for that.

More or less I am really trying to exercise for a healthy future.

Now, everyone falls. Usually when I fall off a diet I feel frustrated, guilty, useless. I give up and eat more than I did before. There is much binging before the next attempt at a diet. This is how many of us keep getting fatter. So I built into the plan days allowed to fall from grace, in hopes of reducing that feeling of guilt, and the tendency to spiral out of control after.

3 days a month, I can be "off" the plan, and take a "vacation".

That should be plenty. It can cover Holidays, it can cover a few special events, or evenings out or just mistakes involving my dear friends,  Ben and Jerry! What if I take more days off than that? I just take them from somewhere else, like the next month. I don't think I will need to though, plus I can always increase my exercise or just forget about it if I am still on track to lose 5 pounds in that month. There are options.

So basically there are only three simple parts to my plan...

1. Eat portions and calories of the weight I want to be.
2. Increase my activity gently, but progressively, each month
3. Allow a three day grace period... if I need it.

What do you think? Am I missing something or being unrealistic?

Comments

[Gabby]

I guess this post was a while ago, but it really interested me. I am wondering if it worked. I think it was not specific enough for me. I need to be able to follow a stricter plan or else I don't really feel I am being held responsible for my actions whether it is in regards to eating, exercise, health, or whatever. Well, I guess I will have to keep reading to find out how it all worked out

[BRae]

OK, Cool!!!!!! I wish you luck over the Holidays....me too! I don't care if I don't lose an once, just as long as I don't gain a pound...GOOD LUCK!

[FB]

OK, thanks Brae, I will!

[BRae]

This sounds a lot like the plan for Calorie Queens...it is a solid plan...you can go to their website and get all the info you need to start without even buying their book. They are 2 nice ladies and will personally get involved with you on their message boards...It isn't instant weight loss....that never lasts...it is learning a lifestyle and keeping the weight off. Give it a try....go peek...

[Margaret]

I like what I'm hearing about NOT being on a diet, but eating what you want to be. And exercise, you have to learn to enjoy it and use it to build your self-esteem. Otherwise, it's drudgery and no one wants to maintain that. I'm fortunate that I found running, and love it.