And other helpful, commonsense weight loss tips.
Yes, I took that line from Tom Leykis. (If you don’t know who he is, he’s a radio talk show host, syndicated out of L.A.)The origin of the phrase isn’t what’s important. Putting it into practice is. Seems pretty simple, doesn’t it? Want to lose weight? Stop eating so much. Fewer calories taken in = fewer calories you have to burn off to start losing weight. Basic math, really.
Yeah, but there’s the problem of actually doing it. I’m really good at rationalizing all kinds of crap – iPods, videogames, DVD players, vacations. You name it, I’ve got a well-thought-out excuse ready to go!
Except for this one. There’s no way I could bullshit my way out of this. I eat too much crap. And not just “crap” meaning food, I mean really crappy food. I can polish off a can of Pringles in one sitting and wash it down with a liter of Mountain Dew. Of course, in Korea the bottles are 1.5 liters, and it’s a waste to leave just 500ml of soda in a bottle, so you may as well kill it off instead of putting it back in the fridge. (See what I mean about rationalizing?)Ice cream too. I loves me some ice cream. Especially little snacky-type ice creams. We have a small convenience store in our building at work. They sell really good ice cream there. I used to get one after dinner every day. Maybe a second one later on for a snack if the urge hit. (No, there’s no rationalizing that one. I’m pretty much just a fucking pig at that point.)
So, I’ve taken drastic action. The fork is making fewer trips to my mouth. The chopsticks, too. (Hell, I don’t even know the last time I used a fork.) I’ve also stopped riding my motorcycle to and from work. The walk takes about 40 minutes (each way), and it’s pretty good exercise.Pringles? No more for me. Soda? I’ve cut way, way back. Less than one can a day most of the time.Ice cream? Nope. I’ve replaced it with these mini frozen yogurt things they sell at the store. The motorcycle?
No way in hell I’m getting rid of it!
But I am riding it less. I use it for getting about on the weekends, and sometimes running errands before work. To and from work is strictly done by means of Nike these days.
I’ve been doing this for almost three weeks, and things seem to be going well. I’ve got more energy, I’m saving money on food and I may even be losing some weight. The Pringles still call out to me in the grocery store (especially those Cheese and Onion ones….) and I don’t eat that great on the weekends (I will not give up my weekly pizza), but progress is being made. Slowly, but it’s happening. No need for pills, supplements, crazy shakes, all-meat diets, gym memberships or expensive exercise equipment. Eating less and exercising more seems to be doing the trick. Who knew the “secret” to losing weight could be something so simple?And hey! Maybe I’ll get to the point where the students stop telling me how fat I look.
^.^