On Losing Weight and Diet Pills.

[Ray]

My Darlin' and me tried Keto, and it worked!     Then, months went by, and the weight returned.   We saw and monitored it coming back, so I don't want to imply that life impose the weight upon us.  We both consider all that happens to us, or has ever happened to us, to be our responsibility.  

That was four years ago.   While we were both under a fair degree of stress, we elected to try a self-created program of Stress minimalization, Living our best lives, Easy and healthy eating, Physical activity wherever possible, Cutting down on sugars and processed foods, Obsessing about sleep quality, Loving, always.   Our mantra, SLEPCOL.     We are both in our mid-60's.   The acronym above was just a thing we played with.    

Sleep matters a hell of a lot.   If your sleep quality is bad, that will reflect in your general health.   What does this have to do with weight loss?   It's the whole system that is involved.   I'm not trying to say this is THE WAY.   This is what has worked for us.   

We both started meditating.   We do it together, side by side, looking at the sea.   Initially, it seemed like a waste of time, and we now both see it as time well spent.   After that we stretch a bit.   I do some Tai Chi motions after that; my Darlin' doesn't care about that.   Yet.  

We feel very blessed to live in the Caribbean.   Life isn't easy here, but then nobody is shooting at us.  Anything can kill you, and without warning.   I think it is important for people to consider that.    Young people especially, think that nothing can hurt them, and they have plenty of time.   I was like that once.  You don't have all the time you think.   It can end in an instant, unplanned.    Live your best life right now, as though you only have a year left.   Feel it and love your life.  

I used to walk six miles twice a week.   Then I got injured, and couldn't do it.   My shame was not pushing for that six miles again.   If you stop doing something, you give up the ability to do it.   Read that again, because it is important.   So now, we are in the place where we seek every opportunity to use our bodies.  We always park far away from where we are going.   We walk.  We swim.  Good Lord, the waters are there for us to use and to fish and swim in.   Please use them.  

We have started eating completely healthy.   Not to say we never have commercial pizza.  Nope.  Love it.   We chose avocado oil over canola oil.   I make coconut oil, and we eat it every day as a tonic.  We mostly wait until we are old to begin taking care of ourselves, because we feel that what we feel will go on forever.   It won't.   Start doing the right thing for yourselves right now.  

I was once 290 lbs.  Now sitting comfortably at 252, and continually declining.   Same goes for my Darlin'.  My weight in college football was 235.   That seems like a lofty, but attainable goal.   

The bottom line?   Weight loss is in the head, and the heart.   You have to decide what you want, and feel it, and choose your life.   Eat less carbs.   Eat less processed foods and sugars.   Move more.  Live your best life.   Feel good and wake up with joy.   

If you want to wake up with joy, you should probably avoid the "news".   It's not really news anymore, it's an editorial.   They will show you something and then tell you what you just saw, as though you are just that stupid that you don't know.   

I blow my nose with one finger at the "news".

Stress was my issue when it came to weight loss too.

Keto worked really well in the past for me but the thing that really shed weight was stress management. I can't claim to know the chemistry well but there's a link between cortisol and cholesterol and if those are elevated losing weight is going to be more difficult. I lost 2-3 stone when I was focusing on stress.

Before all that I had high cholesterol, diet wasn't working and it got to the point Dr's threw chemicals at it which managed things slightly but I was still stressed and wasn't losing weight, what really worked was the likes of meditation and working on feeling comfortable.

I'm naturally stressed when I haven't had much sleep so that ties into things too, a good sleep has a lot of other benefits too, what I'd add to that is don't eat too late either. 

I've always preferred eating larger meals, sometimes only eating once a day. I found actually having a diet and eating more often helped too. We're all different though but I would definitely ask people to consider stress when they're wanting to lose weight. It's the one thing I never accounted for with myself in the past.