YOU HAVE TO WANT IT

Well, I have been blogging for almost a month now. Frankly, when I started I didn't think I would have this much to say. I guess being on some sort of diet and exercise plan for 30 plus years gives one more wisdom than one might think.

All through those 3 decades there were many reasons I wanted to lose weight. When I was younger my parents wanted me to lose weight, then in high school there were the girls, then friend's weddings I was in, then I wanted to be noticed by a certain lady, then I wanted to lose 30 pounds for my 30th birthday, 40 pounds for my 40th birthday, then I wanted to be thin for my own wedding (I really appreciate my wife who loves me the way I am), now that I'm approaching 50....yep, you guessed it,  50 pounds for my 50th birthday. Now that I know that I am going to achieve that goal easily and since I have done some soul searching while writing this blog, I finally understand that the only reason that one is going to be successful on any diet plan is that they are doing it for themselves. You have to want to do it for yourself and you really have to be tired of being overweight. Otherwise, it is not going to work, or if it works initially it won't last.

I'm not here to judge anyone, because I've been there. If I would have read this blog 20 years ago, I wouldn't have paid any attention to it. So please do me one favor. If  by some chance you happen upon this blog but you are skeptical, or you think there is a better way to lose weight, or you are just going to wait until they come up with a pill to melt fat, all I ask is that you print out this post, or write down the key points I'm going to list below and tuck them away for a later date, for that date in the future when the light bulb goes off in your head and you realize Melting Man was right.

• the only way to lose weight is to burn more calories (by exercise plus Basal Metabolic Rate combined) than I take in. Calorie Deficit.
• keep a journal and write down everything I eat along with how many calories each item is
• drink a lot of water
• the biggest percentage of my calories should come from lean protein but don't deprive myself of other foods I like
• exercise routinely,  at least 3 times a week. Cardio exercises that get the heart rate up for a sustained period of time. Progressively add more exercises and time spent on each exercise as I  lose weight and get in better physical shape.

Now take these key points and put them somewhere where you can easily access them later on. Come on, I've never asked you for anything, just do this one thing for me. It won't kill you. Which brings me to my last point. Another reason that people lose weight is because they have a "health scare", you know that phrase no one wants to hear, "lose weight or you are going die soon".