Losing Weight: It's All in My Head

Wow. Writing a blog means that people actually read it.

Since my first post, I've gotten a lot of comments here, on Facebook and in person. Most, if not all, of them have been positive. Everyone's been supportive and wishing me well on my journey.

Some people have busted me. These actually make me laugh a little bit. "Hi! I read your blog. You're, uh, not going to eat that; are you?" "Hey! I saw you at the pizza place the other day. Pizza? Really?" It makes me realize what I'm really getting myself into here.

And then there are the helpers. I know you mean well. I get it. "You should try this pill! It worked for me!" "You should only eat peanuts! It worked for me!" "You should wear mittens when you eat! It worked for me!"

Here's the deal. Here's what I've figured out. I'm going to throw down my knowledge on you. Are you ready? Losing weight is all in your head.

By that I mean that I have to decide to lose weight. Otherwise, I'll fail. I know. I've done it. I'm doing it now. I wrote my last post more than a month ago. At the time, I was in a serious eating and exercising slump. Weeks went by before I heard I was a finalist for That's Fit's new blogger position -- and the editors requested a photo and some more information from me. By then I was in a full-blown nose dive.

Even then I didn't take this seriously. They want my picture? Ha! That oughta put me out of the running quick. I make Wilford Brimley look good.

But they picked me anyway. And while I'm excited to be writing this blog, it's nerve-wracking. It's been a few months, and now I'm writing my first new post. And I'm still on that slippery slope. I'm doing better, but it's even harder to build back those good habits.

So now I'm back to deciding to lose weight. Deciding to eat healthy. Deciding to exercise. That's why I say that this is all in your head. I know what I should be eating, but I don't want to eat it. Making that decision is the hardest thing I have to do. It never gets easy trying to find those tricks that keep you going.

What worked for you may not necessarily work for someone else. Like, if smearing bacon grease under your nose makes you so sick of bacon that you never want to eat it again, that's awesome for you! It wouldn't work for me because bacon is an incredible and beautiful thing. But everybody has his thing, and you gotta find what works for you.

That's part of why I wanted to write this blog, to keep this decision fresh on my mind. The other part is that there's not much out there on the Internet about weight loss for men. Well, there is, but it's all "do this exercise and get gigantic pecs!" or "six minutes a day for six-pack abs!" or that other stuff that gets bounced by your spam filter. I'm trying to provide a humorous but realistic look at weight loss for guys. If you're wanting to know how to choose the perfect sports bra or why you feel bloated at 3 a.m., I'm afraid I can't help you.

So writing this is my new motivation -- now that I know people are actually reading it. The people at my gym asked if they could post my entries on their bulletin board, which makes this even more real. Also, our work wellness program has asked for volunteers to be wellness ambassadors. I signed up, since ambassadors get to wear sashes, top hats and monocles, and get to drive in limos with the little flags on them. I'll let you know if I get chosen.

With this added motivation, I'm setting some goals for the next two weeks. Exercise every day (I already slept in today, so that one's shot). No more late-night eating. Drink more water. Rub some bacon grease under my nose.

Because who wouldn't want to be able to smell bacon all day long?

Lee isn't the only one struggling; find out why Ashley is having trouble embracing running.