I get a lot of questions in regard to my weight loss on how I did it. It’s a legitimate question and I understand how people who find out that I lost 130 pounds are curious to know how. But, at the risk of sounding a little, I don’t know, ignorant; losing it was the easy part. Like myself, I know many people who have lost a lot of weight, only to put it back on and then some. In my opinion, the more interesting question is how do you sustain it so that you stop the yo-yo effect.
Sitting there thinking about this question led me to creating what I call the Goal Achievement Pyramid pictured here. I challenged myself to reflect not only on my journey, but on the journey of the people that I have profiled to try and capture the formula to achieving goals and sustaining the gains. I’ll discuss this in the framework of weight loss, but I think that it applies to achieving almost any goal.
Head/Heart
This is the foundation and the most important aspect of starting a journey of sustainable change. The reason that people make gains only to lose them is because they haven’t addressed this part of the pyramid. You can start a routine or diet, but if you haven’t done the mental work here, you will most likely fall back to your old ways and lose all of the gains that you have made. So, what does this mean? Well, in regard to weight, there are often reasons beyond “I like food.” That are the root cause for someone being overweight.
Most of the people that I have interviewed, including myself, have used food as a substitute for something that was missing in their life. Maybe they had unstable home lives and found comfort in food or maybe they were simply exposed to really bad habits around nutrition. The point is, that you need to spend time addressing these issues and do the work to prepare yourself to make changes. That means really being ready and prepared to let go of some things and maybe even lose some friends. As I have said in my story, I had to be prepared to let go of the “Fat Joe” to become “Joe the Runner”. That meant less time at the bar and more time on the trails. So, it was out with the “bar friends” and in with the “running buddies”.
Doing this work may require going to a psychologist, talking with a partner or close friend, self-reflection, or a mixture of all of the above. For me it was a lot of self-reflection and then a moment of clarity. But once I made up my mind and the “switch” flipped, I was on my way and there was no turning back. I knew in my head and in my heart that this was going to be a sustainable change.
Nutrition
Once the “switch” flipped, this became very obvious. I wasn’t going to be able to walk, let alone run, if I was eating the same crap and drinking alcohol every day. So, I started to educate myself on nutrition by reading books. Here is my absolute favorite due to its simplicity, “The New Rules of Marathon and Half-Marathon Nutrition” by Matt Fitzgerald. Spoiler alert, it’s as simple as don’t eat processed foods with refined sugars, and do eat lots of vegetables and fruits. Honestly, I was amazed at how good these long-lost friends tasted! It really wasn’t that hard of a transition once I realized how much better I felt and how it helped my body recover after a workout or run. I feel AMAZING. Also, if I freeze sliced mangoes and bananas and blend them in my Ninja blender (Love my Ninja!), it makes an ice cream that tastes better than anything I’ve bought in the grocery store, and it’s 100% healthy.
But you won’t feel this way and it won’t stick unless you have truly done the work on your mind and heart. If you feel like eating good foods is a chore and that you have really “lost” something, you still have work to do and need to revisit the base of the pyramid. If your mind has changed, this phase will feel awesome because you will be exploring new foods and purging foods that are not good for you and your body will thank you for it. Do not underestimate step 1!!!
In part two I will dive in to the three remaining parts of the pyramid.
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Thanks for another great blog Joe! Can’t wait for part 2!
Ron, your welcome! Part two will be out shortly!
This could not have come at a better time for me and the challenges in my life. Thank you Joe!
Rosemary, you are very welcome. As I reflected on this topic, it was so glaringly obvious to me, that I had to get my head right before anything else positive would happen. In so many ways the “head” game is a lot harder than the physical work.
Hi Joe, I think what you have written here is of utmost importance.
People should read this first before reading anything else in your blog. The pyramid speaks true for me on every level.
In a simple version of this, I told myself I will never achieve my goals if I don’t change my mindset first.
I think the mind in those early days when you first start running is in major need of overhauling and if not dealt with proactively, failure is almost guaranteed. I can tell you, for me this was certainly the biggest hill to climb when i started out,, I agree the moment the mind gets “fit” other things start to fall in place a lot easier and with a lot less effort.
Taking and implementing the good advice dispensed by those who have “been there and done that” is of utmost importance. (be like a sponge at all times)
Running requires structure, there is no way around it. ( goals / plans, ext )
Great stuff Joe as always.
Kind regards
Herman
Herman, I couldn’t have said this any better myself! You have been one of my first readers, and I am so glad that I have been able to provide you support and it has been such a pleasure to watch you grow as a runner! From day 1 where you thought that you may never be able to run very far without stopping, to a guy who is running half marathon distances almost every week! YOU my friend are an inspiration. Thank you for letting me be a part of your journey!