"YARC" Post of the Week, How Bad Do You Want It?

[windwalker]

This weeks post is to the people who are out there waiting for the right time, to make a decision, to lead a healthy lifestyle and join our WISH team.

There is a song by Tim McGraw, "How Bad Do You Want It". It's a good discription of making the decision to lead a healthy lifestyle. It's like quitting smoking, if you are ready and you have made up your mind you will do it, you can.

Losing weight, quitting smoking, eating healthy food, and exercising regularly, all have undisputible benefits. But you have to make the decision to do it and then do it.

The odd thing is most people know exactly what they need to do. But they want so bad to trust a certain "Diet" or "Plan".

We all know I'm the poster child for the "You Ain't Right Club", but my humble opinion, screamed from the soap box I stand on is, as always, there are no short cuts and there are no magic pills.

I personally love fried food, it's what people around here eat and what I grew up on. I can eat fried catfish, fries, hushpuppies and fried okra till I'm so full I can't walk. There is nothing to compare to the taste of crisp bacon and spicey sausage with some gravy over biscuits. I quit eating this stuff and I quit smoking, both habits were my comfort zone for 50 years.

I chose life, I chose health and I chose to have an active retirement, not one spent in a nursing home.

Not being ready doesn't make you a failure. But when you are ready, truely ready you will wonder why you waited so long to really feel good about yourself. The guilt most people live with because of their bad habits is very depressing, making the decision to finally make it happen is a wonderfull feeling. I know I been there and done that.

Right here on the WISH are many many wonderfull people who have made the decision to lead a healthy lifestyle and each and every one is ready to help, they are just waiting for you to make the decision.

YARC Panda

 

[mkymsehi]

Dave,

I'm so glad I read this post AFTER getting back from Disneyland. There was no watching what I ate, unless you consider me actually looking at the food on my plate, and getting stuffed into my "Pie Hole." The Disneyland WISH team will know what that means.

Running the 5K, then the half and finishing, I walked back out on the racecourse to meet up with friends who were behind me. I ran back with them to the finish, plus all the walking miles in the park, put me at around 23 miles that day. So what I'm saying is I earned all those calories I ended up burning.

My friend Karen and I about to chow down at Bucca Di Beppo.

 

[windwalker]

You don't naturally occur in nature Jeff. I also eat a lot but I go go go all the time to.

YARC Panda

 

[bunnyfoo]

I agree with you Dave! Thinking of my past failed weight loss attempts, I realized that I wasn't in the right frame of mind - I was looking for a quick fix and I wasn't willing to give up eating junk food and everything else. I think I was expecting to lose the weight quickly and was upset when it didn't happen right away. I remember talking to my PT about losing weight and why it wasn't coming off quickly and his response was that I didn't gain all that weight in a week so it wasn't going to come off in a week. So what I've learned along the way is that it's not so much of a diet or a temporary thing but it's a lifestyle change. And like you said, it's something that I'm very glad I did

 

[TEK224]

DAve,

After I read one of your YARC post of the week, I decided to see if I could make a good effort of changing my eating habits. It's only been 3 days so far, and I'm not sure if I like it or not, but I'm sticking pretty much to the plan. I've been eating more fruit and less sweets , drinking more water and other non-caffeinated drinks and trying to snack with more healthy options (granola or granola bars instead of chips and sweets). Haven't totally gone away from fried foods, but have cut back.

This isn't easy. I like to eat And I was a junk food junkie. I can give up most of the junk food pretty easily (I like granola). It's more the mental aspect of thinking about what I used to eat and not eating it now. I don't think I can go cold turkey. It's like a craving. I just have to find that balance between eating more healthy, but still being able to eat the things I like, just in more moderation and infrequently.

Terri

 

[windwalker]

DAve,

After I read one of your YARC post of the week, I decided to see if I could make a good effort of changing my eating habits. It's only been 3 days so far, and I'm not sure if I like it or not, but I'm sticking pretty much to the plan. I've been eating more fruit and less sweets , drinking more water and other non-caffeinated drinks and trying to snack with more healthy options (granola or granola bars instead of chips and sweets). Haven't totally gone away from fried foods, but have cut back.

This isn't easy. I like to eat And I was a junk food junkie. I can give up most of the junk food pretty easily (I like granola). It's more the mental aspect of thinking about what I used to eat and not eating it now. I don't think I can go cold turkey. It's like a craving. I just have to find that balance between eating more healthy, but still being able to eat the things I like, just in more moderation and infrequently.

Terri

Terri, I understand completely, been there so many times myself. As I mentioned I love fried catfish, (country boy), I ordered blackened catfish at RedLobster on tuesday, they screwed up and brought me this plate of beautiful fried fish. It was tough sending it back, but I did.

Americans eat a horrible diet and we are as a nation killing ourselves. We have health problems directly related to our eating habits. That's why the rest of the world hates us, most people in this world have to worry about getting enouth food for themselves and their families, while we keep getting more overweight every year.

But as I said if you are ready, there are plenty of people here to lean on.

Good luck, go after it and don't dought your strength, there is more about you than you realize.

YARC Panda

 

[princessrunner]

Terri, we have all been there with the junk food. My suggestion is not to undertake any drastic changes. Try making 1 change and sticking with that for at least a month, then undertake another. It takes your body awhile to adjust. I gave up sweets a few years ago. I still partake occasionally but I have rules that I follow for that and first of all is to acknowledge what I am doing. I was in a rut of mindless eating after my runs a short time ago and I have found that by saying "I am going to eat..." it helps keep me under control.

Another suggestion that I have is, when you go to reach for junk food, ask yourself if you are really hungry. Would you like an apple (or some other healthy snack close by)? Mindless eating does in a lot of people. Eating because you are stressed, eating because you are tired, eating because you are bored, we are all guilty.

As for how bad to you want it...put things into perspective in your life. Do you have serious medical illnesses in your family history, do you want to keep up/live longer for your kids, do you want to set a good example for others, etcetera. A healthy lifestyle sometimes requires a catalyst and we each have our own.

Bunnyfoo, no the weight did not come on all at once and it will not come off all at once. Think of all the time and effort you put into eating and putting it on and it will take twice that to get it off!! Slow and steady wins the race. Anyone who loses weight very quickly stands a higher chance of putting it back on.

Keep up the effort at a healthy lifestyle everyone. We are all here to support each other and we are all here for the same reason. We may take different roads but we have the same destination!!!

 

[wdw4us]

We made a change this week for our BBQ, only grilled fish (sea bass & shrimp), teriyaki turkey burgers and I forgot to put the cheese on top – didn’t miss it. Yes we had drinks but not an excess, mashed potatoes, WW dessert which was quite yummy – low fat ice cream (pumpkin) to go along with that apple torte. Made sure we did our walk to “earn” that pie etc and I managed to lose a pound today. So it can be done, we don’t have to suffer and we can eat real food. Small eating steps, and then a lot of walking steps to achieve our goals.

denise

 

[windwalker]

Denise and Lisa thank you so much for you inputs.

We all can identify with the mindless stress eating, I wish we didn't but that is how life is. We have our trials to overcome and our demons to slay.

YARC Panda