If you talk to anyone that has lost a significant amount of weight, they will most likely point to very specific events in their life that motivated them to make the life change.  Find someone that has lost the weight AND kept it off, and they will most likely point to A specific event.  This isn’t scientific research but this has been my experience in speaking with many, many people that have shed significant poundage.

Looking back on my trek, it took a cosmic 2 x 4 to get my attention.

Don’t get me wrong, I thought I wanted to lose weight and get in shape.  I tried many diets and they all failed miserably.  I tried exercising but it never ’stuck’.  I always had good intentions but never that one thing that kept me going day after day.  Here are some of the motivations I experienced.  Maybe you can associate with one of them.

I’ve been on vacation in Biloxi since last Friday.   In Biloxi, as you probably know, there are plenty of casinos which means plenty of all-you-can-eat buffets.  Not just for dinner but for breakfast and lunch as well!  How do you keep from falling off the wagon with all this temptation?  Here’s the simple answer.

You just do the best you can. 

Here are a few simple ways to stay on track and still have some fun!

I really am not normally one to complain (my wife may disagree) but in this case I am making an exception.  In listing my pet peeves, hopefully it will help new gym goers know what not to do.  There are some that may disagree with a few of these but these are MY pet peeves and therefore they can’t be wrong, right? Anywho…here goes:

1.  The Over Achiever

There is lifting heavy and then there is lifting too heavy.  Lifting heavy means that you are at or above 80% of your 1 rep max.  Lifting too heavy means you are over 100% of your 1 rep max.  The signs of lifting too heavy are easy to spot.  There are two signs that will tip you off.  The first is a small range of motion.  On the bench press, I call them ‘chest flinches’.  The funniest one I’ve seen is when a guy had a spotter and was, at the most, bringing the bar down 2 inches and then back up.  Really?  The second is when you see a guy with a spotter and he’s helping on the first rep…then he continues to help through the rest of the set at which time he yells, “Awesome set, dude!”  Ugh.

First, you need to know what BMR stands for!  BMR stands for Basal Metabolic Rate.  This is the amount of energy (calories) that your body needs to function on a daily basis.  In other words, this is the number of calories you can consume and maintain your current weight.  

It might seem obvious why this is important since it gives you the number of calories you can consume and not gain weight.  While it may seem logical to just consume fewer calories in order to lose weight, the important part is to know by HOW many calories you should reduce your daily intake.

Enter in the Harris-Benedict Principle.  This formula is a fairly simple calculation that helps you determine your ‘maintenance calories’.

They say you never forget your first love.  Mine became a lifelong mistress.  At the height of our love affair, she greeted me every morning…my Silver Tin-Foiled Beauty.  It was a match made in Heaven.  It was also a homemade biscuit at the convenience store on my way to work everyday.   It had freshly cooked real bacon, a heaping helping of scrambled egg, melted cheese all on a grandma-baked buttermilk biscuit and wrapped in a beautiful, flavor-saving tin foil wrap.  On those special mornings, it would be complemented with a deep-fried hash brown packed in a grease-soaked pouch.  I had those “special mornings” at least three times a week…and sometimes on weekends as well.

By now you’re probably wondering what the heck I’m talking about.  What I’m talking about is my days  pre-FFB (before I became a Former Fat Boy…a.k.a. when I was just a Fat Boy) and the indescribable urge to placate my cravings on almost a daily basis without any regard for what I was doing to my body.  Looking back now, I can only guess how many calories one of those bad boys had.  Combined with the hash browns, my estimate would be around 1000  calories.  That was just on my way to work!