Earlier this year, in a post entitled This Guy Is Your New Guru, I wrote about how you could apply the same tactics Tyler Weeks used to lose 125 pounds in one year to any goals you have in your life, whether you want to makeover your career, your finances, or even your body.
But as anyone who’s ever watched one of those Biggest Loser “Where Are They Now?” interviews with the contestant who has gained most, if not all, of the weight back, the hardest part is maintaining weight loss once you have achieved your goal weight. How is Tyler doing?
Well, he’s had his ups & downs, including gaining a whopping 10 pounds in a single weekend of binge eating. But by and large, he has stuck to his plan, forgiven his diversions from that plan, and continued his healthy weight loss journey.
I had a meditation teacher who used the term “putting the puppy back on his path” to mean gently guiding your mind back to it’s relaxed state when it starts to wander. I tend to use this expression for any time you wander off the road from A to B.
For me, from almost the moment I declared my intention, in last week’s post, to do one thing a day with the goal of getting my eBook for Your Industry Insider done in 30 days, I wandered off the path. Part of it wasn’t my fault. I had my parents in town, which meant not just entertaining them. It meant the 2 1/2 year old son would not be going to day care. The same 2 1/2 year old who won’t nap except in the car now.
So, I did not get seven things done in the last week for the eBook. I did talk to my graphic designer and got her started on creating the cover. I did read some of the music industry book. I did finalize the outline. But I need to make serious progresss now if I want to launch the book in April.
This weekend, Brian has a class so I have the little one to myself. I hope to get him to nap (in the car only, but better than nothing) so I can read (hopefully finish) the music book this weekend. I can also write freehand in a notebook. (A laptop would definitely be too enticing for him to sleep while I worked on it.) And today I can use my lunch break to do some things. And next week, do the same.
[By the way, I just took out the word "hopefully" out of the last sentence. I had started "And hopefully today..." But who am I kidding? It's up to me. I can gently put the puppy back on the path.]
So congratulations and thanks to Tyler Weeks of 344pounds.com- for your weightloss overall, for re-losing those ten pounds you gained (readers, it took him about a month!) and for being an excellent guru.
What goals are you working on? Check out Tyler’s site & see if he can help you, too!
March 19th, 2010
Okay, so the “before” picture is YOU now. You weigh 344 pounds.
Not literally, but in terms of where you are in your life (unhappy, overworked and/or underpaid, overweight, financially underwater, single, bored) and where you want to be (happy, well-worked and well-paid, fit, financially flush, coupled, stimulated).
How do you get from 344 pounds to 215 pounds (and below)?
You ask Tyler Weeks, the guy in the picture.
This is what Tyler wrote when he determined that he wanted to lose weight, that he had to lose weight (right before he bought the scale that could accommodate his frame and before he started his website, www.344pounds.com).
My name is Tyler, I’m 23 years old, 6 feet and 2 inches tall, and I don’t know how much I weigh; I don’t own a scale that has the structural integrity to weigh me (most scales have a 300lb limit). I am considered by the American government’s health standards to be morbidly obese.
My weight is literally off any Body Mass Index (BMI) chart I can find.
I started my new healthy lifestyle today. A life where I can take my shirt off at the beach. A life where I’m free to sit in a normal chair without it squeaking for its poor little life. A life where I can walk down my driveway without being winded. A life where I can see my daughter marry her high school sweetheart.
A life where I’m not extremely obese.
Now you might not be “morbidly obese” in terms of the distance from where you are to where you want to be, but there are always areas where forward movement could be made (otherwise, why are you reading this blog, right?).
Here are some of the keys to Tyler’s success:
1. He made a firm and specific decision. See above for the firmness. The number of pounds he wanted to lose came shortly thereafter.
2. He was broke it down. On his journal, he recounts using a calculator to figure out the math behind his weight loss project. “At 344 pounds, 73 inches, and living a sedentary lifestyle the calculator said I needed roughly 3,576 calories to maintain my weight of 344 pounds. If on any given day I had more than 3,576 calories, I’d gain weight. If I cut back a little and ate less than 3,576 calories, I’d lose weight.” He followed that up with figuring out what kind of calorie deficit and what kind of increased activity he needed to aim for in order to reach his goal by his deadline.
3. He created accountability. Hence, the blog.
4. He started small. He knew just a little change was all he could handle at first. For instance, instead of going to a salad with dinner, he got potato skins instead of fries. Or got a turkey burger instead of a hamburger.
5. He allowed for backsliding. In fact, he never decided to always be good about what he ate. He knew that kind of deprivation would cause him to backslide. Instead, he let himself have cheat meals, but kept an eye on how many and reigned it in when they started working against his overall goal.
6. He never declared victory (and I believe he won’t). He still has a few pounds to lose and then he’s going to focus on getting fit. It’s a mentality that successful people have, they piggyback or roll in another goal after achieving the first.
You may have a few strategies of your own, but start with applying these six, which have worked so well for Tyler, to the areas in your life where you are a little overweight – or even morbidly obese. Do not be tempted to take on some kind of rigid plan that replaces Tyler’s. Those don’t work. If they did, he would’ve lost the weight before. (He’d dieted many times before.)
If you have no emergency savings account and you have decided you must have one, figure out how much you want to accumulate by your deadline. Firm and specific, remember? Then break it down per paycheck and have that amount direct deposited into a savings account away from your normal bank account. Then figure out where you are going to take that amount out of your monthly budget… and so on. If you want a better paying job, make that a firm decision and then figure out how much better. Etc.
It worked for Tyler, it can work for you. Let us know how it’s going. And if you need help with the job transition, you know where I am.
January 22nd, 2010
