How I lost 45 lbs.

Since last April I lost 45 lbs. Believe it or not I was considered overweight for my height, 5'4". I was well over 175 lbs. My normal range, according to what I read on WebMD is between 18-145 lbs. Once I get photo available, than I can really compare the before and after. I actually lost the weight through November of last year and have maintained my weight.

Last winter in 2009 I was watching the Biggest Loser, eating some unhealthy snack, and I said, "I can't continue doing this." So, I started really paying attention to what the two trainers were saying. Then, I bought my wife Eat This, Not That. I was actually trying to inspire her to think about eating more healthy. But, I started reading it. Eventually, that led me to read food labels, paying attention to calorie content, fat, sugar, and sodium contents. I did this on all the foods I currently ate at the time.

So then, I did a Google search for nutrition and weight loss and came across the WebMd Food and Fitness Planner. After getting a nice tax refund my wife and I decided to get a membership at the Battle Creek YMCA and I decided to begin my plan for healthy living, starting with weight loss.

Most important for me was to begin with prayer. Involving God in the process was helpful and certainly good for my spiritual health. Spiritual health is more important than physical health, after all. No matter how healthy my body gets, it will eventually perish. My spirit will not.

Not everyone advocates counting calories, but I thought it was quite helpful. This is where I began my fitness plan. Using information from the Food and Fitness Planner it said that based on moderate levels of physical activity I should consume around 1250 calories a day in order to lose 2 lbs a week or 1950 calories in order to lose 1 lb a week. So, I figured somewhere between these two numbers would be good. In my next post I will discuss more on my dietary changes and touch upon exercise. I will post a sample of a spreadsheet I developed that was extremely helpful for me. I don't know how accurate it really was, but it worked!

If starting a healthy living or weight loss plan, it's important to gather information first. Assume you know nothing about eating well or possess incorrect information. Make sure you check with your doctor to know exactly what you're current level of health is. Your situation may be different from mine!