How I Had An Amazing Experience
If any of you have been following my blog then you'll know all about what I'm about to say.
But for those of you who are oblivious to what has been going on in my life in the last few months I thought it might be nice to share the experience.
A few months ago, well... it was August to be exact, I did two things. The first was to finish writing my book: The Sorites Principle, which is about how to achieve the hitherto unachievable by persistently applying a myriad of small changes.
The second thing was to finally realise that the ominous creaking sound every time I heaved myself up onto the bathroom scales was a warning that I was now irrefutably too overweight for anybody's good and that it was high time to do something about it.
The only problem (and here you just might know of someone somewhere who once had similar one) was I'd tried several diets in the past with only modest results at best.
Only I wasn't looking for modest results. According to that BMI stuff you find on the internet, I needed to lose at least 15kgs (33lbs) to get out of the danger zone.
15kgs! That's about a seventh of my body mass.
Given that I'd never succeeded in losing more that 5kgs while being sound of mind before, what could I do?
And then it occurred to me (??) I'd just written a book all about achieving the unachievable through the constant application of lots of small changes. "Why not?" I thought. "Here's my chance to put my money where my mouth is."
So I set about it with ruthless precision.
Firstly I fixed a clear objective - one of those SMART-type ones, specifically to lose 15kgs in 6 months (by 28 Feb 2017)
Secondly I made a list, a surprisingly long list (which gets slightly longer every month) of all the little things I could do regularly everyday, each of which would help take me just that tiny bit closer to my goal.
These were as follow:
1: Eat from a smaller plate,
2: Drink alcohol from a smaller glass
3: At mealtimes have just one course
4: Eat until not hungry, then stop
5: Save leftover food for next meal
6: When in a restaurant, ask for a ‘doggie bag’
7: Eat slowly, chewing 20 times
8: Always eat sitting at the table; never eat while standing in kitchen, or while watching TV etc
9: Drink a large glass (300ml) of water before each meal
10: Keep the biscuit tin somewhere where I don't see it every time I open the cupboard
11: Take tea and coffee without sugar
12: Stop buying biscuits, snacks etc when I do the shopping
13: Stop snacking between meals
14: Drink water more often with meals instead of wine
15: Do at least one press up per day
16: Weigh myself every day
17: Plot my weight daily on a graph
18: Substitute snack habit with drinking water, exercising and fussing the dog
19: Take the stairs instead of the lift/elevator
20: Avoid or prepare for dangerously tempting situations (parties etc)
21: Stay away from areas where there's free food for the taking (e.g. buffets)
22: Keep a diet diary
23: Don’t buy favourite foods
24: Forgo dessert
25: Celebrate birthdays, victories etc in ways that don't involve copious amounts of eating
26: Stock up on healthier foods from supermarket
27: Plan meals in advance
28: Have a light evening snack instead of a full meal
29: Chew chewing-gum instead of snacking
30: Keep a weekly blog documenting my progress
On the first of September 2016 I started this little escape. It's now December. What has been the result so far?
I'm proud to say that to date, I've lost over 10kgs and well on track to my February target of 15kgs. It really is an amazing experience. I've managed to do something that I've been trying to achieve for years and by simply doing lots of comparatively 'easy' actions every day.
Not only can I not think of a simpler way to achieve something that was previously considered to be so difficult but neither can I think of a more appropriate time to be sharing this with everyone, especially considering we're approaching that time of year when we spend our free time rapidly gaining weight by stuffing our faces senseless and then halfheartedly resolving to miraculously lose it all the following week.
It might not be exactly rocket science but the power of the little by little compounded twenty-times over (or more) could be just the thing you need to make your unachievables achievable this Christmas.
Of course, as I point out in my book, it doesn't just apply to weight-loss. It works for learning languages, becoming a film director, starting a business, saving your marriage, getting fit, improving practically any skill or even writing your own book.
So what's going to be your New Years resolution? And how many little daily actions can you think of that will get you closer to it, little by little?
Definitely an idea worth contemplating while you're recovering from your Christmas dinner this year.
So I wish a Happy Yuletide to you all and may your Persevering Power be never-ending!
The Sorites Principles is available on all Amazon sites in paperback and eBook format along with the (completely free) Sorites Principle Worksheets in eBook and PDF format as well as 'Come In' Bookshop in Barcelona.