Over the past 6 months or so, I have worked to lose around 30 pounds.  I did it without the use of any drugs or shots.  Slow and steady.  And while people who see me every day did not notice the change as it was happening (nor did I), those who had not seen me are now taking notice.  Those conversations feel good.  When you work hard at anything, it’s nice to be recognized.

But the one question I am getting all of the time now is, “How did you do it?”

So today I want to break down the specifics of what I have done (so far) to lose the weight.  Then I will try to give you the larger lessons that I am taking into other areas of my life.  Before I get started, I am no personal trainer.  I am not recommending any of these activities for you.  This is simply what I did.

Simple Not Easy

Let’s start with the idea that you already know most of what I did.  As you read these you will nod along and say, “oh yeah.”  Most of us know what to do…but we don’t consistently do it.

Workout Every Day

Nearly every day I get steps in.  I started this practice because I wanted to get the blood flowing to my brain.  Exercise helps you think more clearly and deal with stress better.  So I was more interested in tapping into that than getting fit.  But as is the case with things you do every day, my stamina built up.  I went from walking on the treadmill, to jogging during the commercials, to running outside.  But the key is the consistency at which I showed up.  Even when I did not feel like it, I showed up and did something.  As Jon Acuff said, “Some beats none.”  So I worked out every day…and I tried to push myself to do a bit more as I could.

As a result, I started walking for 20 minutes on the treadmill.  Then I built up to doing 2 miles on the treadmill.  Today I run between 3 and 3.3 miles each morning.

Add Some Strength

In addition to running, I decided that at my age I needed to build up my strength.  So I started doing push-ups most mornings.  At the beginning, I would do sets of 25 and do a total of 50 or 100.  Again, I have built this up over time.  Now my goal is to do 200 push-ups each morning before I run.

Let’s Talk Diet

The diet journey here was gradual too.  But it was vital.  I have always been good with working out.  So for most of my life, I felt like I could outwork my bad diet.  I can’t seem to do that now.  So here are a few simple things I have done to make a big impact.

No Sugar In My Coffee:  I drink coffee each morning.  I usually have two cups.  At the beginning of this year, I had one teaspoon of sugar and some cream with each cup.  In around May, I chose to cut that back to black coffee.  While I don’t enjoy that coffee like I used to, I still get the caffeine kick I want…with 14 teaspoons less of sugar each week.  That is about 225 calories per week with one simple change.

No Beer Sunday – Wednesday:  This has been a big change for me.  My wife and I enjoy eating out.  Our girls are grown, and after a long day of both working, we usually don’t feel like cooking.  And for us, this is one of the main social things we do.  But when we go out, I tend to have a beer or two with dinner.  So I ate larger portions, had a few drinks, and then maybe had one more when I got home.  By simply committing to not drinking on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, I have cut WAY back on empty calories.  Then I give myself permission to do what I want on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

Factor Meals:  One of my real secret weapons on this journey have been Factor Meals.  My daughter, Jade, told me about them and they have been a game changer.  They are ready-to-eat, chef-prepared meals.  No cooking (that was key for us).  And they are fresh and delicious.  Probably most importantly, they are appropriately portioned.  I started ordering these Factor meals and it made it easy to eat at home and manage my caloric intake.

I get no commission or referral bonus on these.  They have just been powerful for me.  Take it or leave it!

Tracking and Measurement

I actually think two of the biggest unlocks for this come here.  We all know that if you want to lose weight you need to eat better and move more.  But the psychology of these two behaviors helped me really change.

Tracking:  I created a very basic Excel sheet that helped me track my activities.  Every day I logged how many miles I walked or ran.  Then I added how many push-ups I did.  This did two BIG things for me.  First, it encouraged me to do the work on days I didn’t want to.  I just didn’t want to be forced to write down 0 miles.  So there were plenty of days that I started to do a walk or a run because of that.  It pushed me toward the behavior I wanted.  And often, once I started, I did more than I thought I would.

Second, it showed me how much I had done.  When I felt like I was slacking I could add up the miles I had run and the push-ups I had done.  Those numbers were almost always higher than I thought they would be.  So it made me feel better about the activity…and pushed me to keep going.

Measurement:  The biggest unlock of all of this journey was probably the simplest.  I got on the scale every morning.  When I got on the scale every day, I was able to make quick adjustments.  This meant that if I was doing the right things, I got a quicker positive feedback loop.  But if I was heading the other way, I could adjust quickly as well.  I have seen some fitness experts say that you should not get on the scale every day.  And I am NOT a fitness expert.  But this has been so powerful for me that I am using this in my business life as well.

If you want to adjust your weight…get on the scale.

Upping My Movement

Once I started eating better and weighing myself every day, I started to lose weight.  And when that positive feedback loop happened, I wanted more of it.  So I started adding a 2nd workout of the day several days a week.  Unsurprisingly, if I worked out more and ate better…I lost weight.  But I tell the story in order because I think I needed to do this sequentially to get results.  If I had tried to do all of this all at once, I would not have been able to maintain it.

So there you have it.  That is how I lost 30 pounds in about 6 months. If you are on a weight loss journey, I hope this provides you with some information and inspiration.  But if you are in business, here are some lessons I have learned along the way.

• You can do more than you think if you build over time.
• Tracking your activity can help you really understand what you are doing.
• Measuring your results is the key to growth in any area.