Good Evening Journal & Friends,
I've been reading Sean from shortly after his beginning, and went back to catch up on the posts I missed. He was one of the first bloggers to leave me a comment, and he made me feel welcomed, and encouraged me to DO this.
That was back when he was a Little Shot... now he is a Big Shot, and there is no way he can keep up with all his followers. But I highly appreciate his support back in my beginner days. It meant a lot to me, to see someone DO it, paving the way and being an inspiration.
He's been working on a book, and I can't wait to support him by buying a copy. No... I don't buy "diet" books any more. But this one feels like it's the story of change from a friend. Even though some might not think I agree with his philosophy about food (since I do low carb), I actually DO, in my own way.
Sean had food issues. At 505 pounds, well, duh! How well could I relate. So, he started out by making peace with food. He ate whatever he wanted, just not ALL of it. He had a calorie budget, and simply stuck to his budget.
And over time, he naturally made better and better nutritional choices. He took a lot of flack in the beginning from the "cleaner eater" crowd. They didn't understand why he took that approach. I did. I started at 460... boy, did I ever understand!
And he was honest with himself along the way. Because he realized that, bottomline, it wasn't really all about the food.
I totally agree with his approach! I just can't do "sugar". We don't all have the same physiology. But I still use basically the same approach, only within the guidelines of No Sugar (and stuff that turns to sugar quickly in the body, like starches). And once you learn how to shop, cook, and bake without sugar, there are tons of choices. So over time, I've gradually made better nutritional choices, though I still have a long ways to go in that department, that's for sure.
But I would highly recommend his simple approach. If you haven't found your own "path", then check Sean out. Go back, and read from the beginning. It's chock full of inspiration and epiphanies along the way. Oh, did I mention he's gone from 505 to about 230 pounds??
I promise you, you won't be disappointed!
PS: Invite you to join the discussion in the Comments, where we talk in a little more detail about Sean's approach, and how I personalized it.
From Dr Phil's book: "You will want to resist things that are new and that you don't understand... you can overcome this by consciously taking on the attitude of a willing spirit."
My verse for today: "Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music."
My quote for today: "For the person that is really progressing and they read up a lot and they have a lot of energy and discipline, they don't need a trainer. It depends on the individual. I don't need a trainer--I am my own trainer." --Jack LaLanne
Enjoy the Journey,
Loretta
=^..^=
DAY 545
14 comments:
As soon as I leave this comment I'll hop right over to read some of Sean's pearls. I'm in a similar place about foods, except that I don't eat my binge foods at all. Everything else, including sugar is a matter of learning and modifying portion control. I like this approach and it's certainly working well for me. I hope Sean reads your post and gets a nice glow from your championship and your progress both in weight loss and in blogging. You rock!
Yeah, Sean has lost over 250 pounds in less than 3 years. Thats bout 100 pounds a year, I guess, although I don't remember how much he lost each year. Odds are the first year was more than the second and the secon more than the next 6 months.
The thing is, I can't eat like that and it work for me. I've tried and my measly loss shows it. If I try to eat anything, but just stay within my calories--I can't.
And the other thing,of course, is that if I'm losing this weight to get healthy--well, I boat load of crap that fits within a calorie budget doesn't really support my goal.
Trouble is, of course, I'm eating a boat load of crap, anyway. I'm pretty disgusted right now. I can't lose weight like Sean does and I can't lose weight on my own healthy plan, either.
If it's working for you, tho, that's all that counts.
Deb
DEB: I understand frustration, believe me! I get stuck often, and feel it. I hesitated going into too much detail trying to explain someone else's "plan", but guess that sort of left it vague.
The way *I* understand it is this: I looked at it as a "skeleton" plan. I took the philosophy, minus the exact food choices, and inserted MY food choices: anything without the sugar/starches.
For some of us with big food issues, this approach works, because *I* get to choose what to eat. Whenever someone else tried to force me into their idea of an ideal plan, my rebellious brain kicked in. I had all kinds reasons (some legitimate, some not) to say "yes, BUT". Oh yeah, and I tried the anything goes approach, including sugar, and couldn't get rid of the overpowering physical cravings til I ditched the sugar.
The goal was not to address the "healthy" aspect of the food choices at first. It was to start. To get on a plan. To reduce QUANTITY. And by allowing me to spend my calorie budget (or whatever control method one chooses) I learn to do that without trying to address the Healthy part at the same time.
It's incremental. One thing at a time. My old perfectionist side wanted to criticize myself at first, and point out the crap I ate. Low carb garbage, if you will.
Instead, I decided to see it as Progress, not perfection. I mean that quite literally! For ME, it was progress to learn to LIMIT quantities. I could EASILY down 5 to 7 thousand calories in a day, no problemo. So for me to be able to say I haven't done that since March of 2009 fills me with gratitude! That IS progress, even though the actual weight loss is frustratingly slow.
I am only now really even CARING about making healthy choices. It's a process. We say that so many times, it gets cliche and annoying... and loses it's meaning. But it's still true.
There are lots of ways to approach this whole thing... and if another one works for you better, then no one should criticize that. We can all learn from each other, that's for sure.
But for someone that is still searching for a way, this is a good place to start. Then they can personalize it from there. :-)
Hope this is less vague, LOL!
I was just thinking of writing a post about how I just cant seem to get "it". I know how to do it, that it can be done......but dont seem to care I guess. Im heading over to Seans blog to check it out. Thank you for this post. I needed a shot in the "get up and go". And YOU inspire ME!
I have the same approach as sean. I eat what I want but cap my calories..on days I am feeling weak I limit what kinds of food I eat so I can stay on plan. I like sean. He's a good guy. Positive, and focused on improving himself.
Good post and I can't think of anyone more deserving of applause.
Loretta just stopped in to catch up and say hi. You're beautiful. :) Stay that way! xoxo-
D
I love Sean's approach to calorie counting.
If I were a calorie counter I would be using his banking system. In New Zealand I find it a total pain to count calories because officially we use Kilojoules and the numbers are befuddling.
But.... I am best at when I low-carb. I like not having to do any counting.
Like you, I am looking forward to the release of Sean's book.
Good for Sean. I like success stories. He has lost a lot of weight so he must have something interesting to say. I'll check him out, Loretta.
Wow this is an amazing story, I read about him twice today in comments and wondered who he was. I will definitely be checking out his site. what an amazing weight loss. thanks loretta, thia was a wonderful post and thanks for the heads up. hugs.l
I like what Deb said, "eating a boatload of crap"; I've been putting on some weight and wondering why--well, really I do know why. I'm trying to tweak a few things--another good book I read was, "Press Pause to Eat" by Dr. Linda Mintle. Glad to see you are back!
Sean is my hero, I am just not motivated at the moment. I think I am stuck in a winter rut of comfort food/eating.
I would love to meet him, he has promised me a front row seat when it comes across the pond with his motivational speaking:) Bring it on Sean!!!
I did a very similar approach when I started. I would allow things I felt I could not live without within moderation. I made sure it was moderation by only purchasing a moderate amount. Over time, what I couldn't live without sure changed a lot. By making nothing taboo - well, it's purely psychological - we want what we tell ourselves we can't have.
Most of the stuff I thought I couldn't live without I hardly ever eat any more. Not because I can't, but because I don't want to.
I made changes I could live with - permanent changes not temporary ones. How I started and where I am are miles apart at this point.
One of the keys, was knowing myself and working with myself. Sounds like Sean - and you - have a similar approach.
M PAX: "... well, it's purely psychological..." That's is exactly, Mary! That is what the people who criticized Sean in the beginning didn't get. He wasn't YET addressing the nutrition, he was changing his thinking. And for a lot of us with food issues, this approach works great. I just swapped out MY food plan for his (no sugar) and still ate whatever I wanted. And am gradually improving.
You are right... what I thought I couldn't/wouldn't live without has changed over time. And hopefully, each change is towards the healthy side. :-D
What a great post. Oh, wouldn't I love to be in that spot--where I don't eat sugar or things that turn to sugar. Not giving up. Thanks for sharing sean's blog.
Take care.
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