The Quest

With motivation comes the need to know. I started browsing the internet and learned about fat tissues and how they work, gathered substantial information on how a diet works and how increased metabolism and physical activities help. I got the big picture but it was not sufficient for me to launch an effective assault. Information was scattered and I was taking too much time browsing the internet, selecting useful facts amongst trash.

One thing’s for sure, ‘crash diet never works’.

But I couldn’t help but wonder about weight management products sold in pharmacies; how they are claimed to be effective and how much would it cost to obtain the desired results. I thought I owe it to myself to check it out and maybe save a lot of time by getting a head start through one of them. As I entered different franchises I discovered many products with different applications. The price varies and some are very expensive. There is no guarantee that they are safe and effective. As for the cheap ones, I wouldn’t bet my health on it. Furthermore, many have lost their lives or become vegetables after undergoing different types of seemingly harmless drugs and procedures.

Because I was scared of the reported cases and didn’t want to spend a fortune on products I was not sure would work, I decided to go old school, and I ended up buying multi vitamin pills and fish oil instead. I figured that since I will be reducing the amount of food intake, I can’t be sure of the nutrients I’ll be lacking. I needed all the vitamins and minerals I could get in a pop. Meanwhile, fish oil would help provide a balanced HDL level in my system.

No diet pills, no surgery and no slimming boutiques, just the good old fashioned way of reducing intake and burning calories. But where could I start? – At the bookstore of course. Oh, but it wasn’t as easy as that.

I felt like Alice spanked all the way to wonderland! There were too many books to choose from. There’s Atkins, Body for life, South Beach and a whole lot more. The choices were dizzying and the longer I stood there searching, the more uncomfortable it became.

There I was, a ‘big boy’ in the ‘Diet’ section, looking for the one book that just might change my life. I could almost hear the snide remarks.
“Hey plus size! Are you lost or something? ”
“Oy, you can’t eat those. The bakery’s that way!”
“Are you sure you’re not stuck in that narrow isle?”

Of course they were words coming from my own mean and nasty side. I was insecure like that. But I figured if I wanted to make it work I should mask them off and choose wisely. Furthermore, it was getting late, the store was near closing and I was not about to leave without a guide in hand. I got anxious and felt hopeless. All the books have different ways of presenting their facts and most were very thick. How was I supposed to start the program the soonest when I’d be busy reading and possibly munching snacks to fuel my concentration? How messed up would that be?

I looked harder, sifting through the racks and returning to some spots for the tenth time. Finally a book caught my attention. It was entitled ‘The No Beach, No Zone, No Nonsense Weight Loss Plan’. I must add ‘No Clever Title’ as well. Or was it the cleverness that caught my attention.

It felt nice in my hands instantly and weighs a mere 120 grams, a lightweight plan for a heavy man. No larger that your ordinary organizer, it claims to be ‘A Pocket Guide to What Works’ and that’s no gimmick. It took me about three days to digest everything, what with work and all. But when I finally put it down I was ready to begin and knew where to start.

Here’s my take on the chapters.

Chapter 1 explains the nature of body fat, how it relates to your health and the indicators that can be used to evaluate your health. - A good set of information.

Chapter 2 explores various reasons that make a solid motivation, the name of the game. - - I got this one all right.

Chapter 3 presents a variety of weight loss strategies and the researches that proved what they really end up being in the end. Research shows that the factor is total daily calorie intake, and exercise helps.

Chapter 4 explores deeper facts about calories and how to calculate your baseline calorie needs. It describes how counting calories takes away the guessing game and facilitates the diet strategy.

Chapter 5 presents ways you can perform daily activities and routines as effective exercises. Your world is your gym. It made me dance, literally.

Chapter 6 explains what people who successfully manage their weight have in common. It’s about keeping the weight off for a long term, long after the plan worked. Habits die hard.

Chapter 7 suggests how to get on target and stay there - the pep talk, final words of encouragement and advice.

That’s it. All seven chapters got me going for my next move.

After reading the book it became clear to me that the two things I had to focus on are my calorie intake and energy consumption. In order to burn the existing stored energy in the form of fat, the energy I use up each day has to be more than my daily calorie intake.

Now that I knew, it was time to put it to work.