Who Needs Money Anyway?

I was always considered an old sole. My thought process was always from an older angle. I was taught to save half of whatever money I earned. Thinking, if saving half was good than I would always try to save more than half. But here's the thing, you have to work to earn money and earn money to save money. My parents helped me as much as they could but I would never take advantage of their generosity.

Most of my working life I was surrounded by an older generation. The older generation of people would follow the same theory I did then and I still follow now, “Work first, play later!” Whatever job I had and even ‘til this day I focused on completing the task before I just sat around. Now, I am not saying this is the correct way of doing things just stating this is my work ethic. As evolution continues I do not think many people have heard of this theory. It seems that the some workers follow the "Coast now" mentality. I am not knocking these work habits, I am just stating that I do not live by the “I get paid by the hour no matter how hard I work” theory nor do I take the path of least resistance. I focus on the job I have to perform at work and do not pay attention to the way others perform their duties. I prefer not to work next to someone who gets paid more than me and does less than me and I certainly do not like picking up their slack but sometimes you only have so much control.

Today I notice that the younger generation of employees, no matter what field, act as if they do not need money. They act as if they work just to keep themselves out of trouble. When asked to work overtime they respond, “Oh sorry I have plans.” When I was younger I took every overtime shift offered to me because I knew one day I would not be able to put in the long hours. I certainly did not want to regret capitalizing on extra income when I had the opportunity. Plus I had to pay my own way through most of my early adult life. Maybe I am just venting about today’s society and how people coast with their hand out doing as little as possible. I ask "Who is the fool?"Not me because at the end of the day I sleep at night knowing that I do not owe anybody anything.

"One Pork Chop!!"

The title of this blog is a quote from the movie Saturday Night Fever. One of my all time favorite scenes is when the family is sitting at the dinner table and John Travolta is sitting there with a sheet wrapped around him because he did not want to get dirty before a big night of dancing. As he reaches for a second pork chop his father quickly grabs it from his plate and shouts “One pork chop!!!!” Classic!!!! Well, just read the blog and you will understand the correlation of the title and meaning of the blog (hint - portion control).

I am no Jenny Craig but I do know a thing or two about dieting and losing weight. I lost forty pounds three times in my life following the same guidelines all three time and not by following the Atkins or South Beach diets. I always felt I would gain the weight back once I started eating the foods I avoided during a restricting diet. Plus I avoid digesting excessive amounts of fatty meats as possible. That is just not healthy. I always believed in portion controlled moderation dieting. Using my own formula of maintaining a balance of the two E’s: portion control Eating and Exercising, I was able to reach my goal weight. I will discuss dieting in this blog and exercising in a future blog. This blog is a short description to guide people in following an effective and inexpensive diet plan. If you know anyone who would help me write a book about my diet plan I can go into more detail.

Maintaining a stringent diet is not easy. It takes discipline and determination to achieve your goal weight. I believe everyone has the ability to achieve any goal desired. Staying focused on a daily routine and not looking ahead should be the approach taken following any diet. One thing to remember is that not all diets work for everyone. Everyone is different and their body responds differently to dieting and exercise. You can see results by following a strict diet but you will see more positive results if you put the two, dieting and exercising, together. Aerobic and anaerobic exercising helps making a weight loss program more effective. You may not notice the weight coming off after aerobic and anaerobic exercising but you will notice your clothing fitting better. The reason for this is muscle weighs more than fat and your weight shifts throughout your body. I call this “The Shift”. You burn fat and gain muscle tone. I have noticed that when I dieted and started exercising my mid section became flat and the muscle tone in my body increased, making my body feel tight and toned. It is seeing results that drives you to maintain the focus needed to continue in obtaining your goal.

I always followed the same formula of items when dieting:
Ø Getting started
Ø Set realistic goals
Ø Take one day at a time
Ø Portion control
Ø Do not eliminate foods you enjoy
Ø Stay satisfied, not hungry
Ø Stay out of the kitchen
Ø Weigh in everyday
Ø Believe in yourself

Getting Started
It is a challenge to start a diet. I always treated the start of my diet as a detox program. I would slowly wean myself off of certain foods during the first week of my diet program. These were the foods that I really enjoyed and knew that I would be limiting but not eliminating during my diet. This may help some people who have a hard time cutting out foods cold turkey.

Set Realistic Goals
When starting a diet you should set realistic goals. Setting the bar too high eventually leads to burnout and disgust. I never set my goal weight to be achieved in a certain amount of time. For example I never set my goal to lose forty pounds in six months. I set my goal of a certain weight to lose and then started the program. I focused on a one day at a time plan that eventually led me to achieve my goal. I also knew that I would't run into the challenge of trying to fit into that dress by a certain date.

Take One Day at a Time
I would always ramp up my diet during the first two weeks of the program. Take one day at a time, concentrated on the next pound and the current day’s diet plan. I never focused on the fortieth pound. You will notice that you may not lose anything in the first week but just remember you are preparing your body for good things to come. I always believe that the “one day at a time theory” leads you to positive results.

Portion Control / Do Not Eliminate Foods You Enjoy / Stay Satisfied not Hungry
I do not believe in depriving yourself of the foods you enjoy. Remember eliminating the foods you enjoy can eventually lead to a binge. I do believe, however, in depriving yourself of the portions you enjoy. Make a list of all the foods you know are your weakness then a list of all the foods you enjoy and know should be more consistent in your diet. You are not going to completely eliminate the foods that are you weakness just space them out and limit them. Now evaluate you daily routine. Do you work crazy hours? How can you set up your meals? Do you need to cook all or just some foods in the plan? If you work at a place that does not have the conveniences of a refrigerator or microwave then pack dry protein snacks. Protein holds you over longer and helps you get through to your next meal. Now set up a balanced diet plan of five small meals a day. Breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner. You want to stay satisfied during the day, not hungry and not too full. Set up a portion controlled meal plan around your routine. The snack between the three meals holds you over to your next meal. This is the most effective way in keeping your metabolism going. It allows your body to maintain digestion and for you to function after a meal; it also conditions your stomach in getting used to small meals. Do not overload your stomach with a big meal where you feel like a nap is needed. Your stomach eventually shrinks and will feel satisfied with the five small meals. This is more effective than three big meals. Do not starve yourself. It is also very important to continuously drink water throughout the day. This helps flush your system and keeps you hydrated. It also keeps your metabolism going.

For breakfast you can have a small bowl of fruit or just a piece of fruit, bowl of cereal, bacon and eggs or whatever you enjoy but just remember, portions!! Don’t have that second bowl of cereal and only have two eggs and a couple of strips of bacon or sausage. Remember you have the snack in a couple of hours to help hold you over. The snack falls between the previous meal and the next meal. The snack can be a piece of fruit, hard boiled egg, cheese stick, a small container of veggies, handful of peanuts or something real small and preferably healthy. I always ate a piece of fruit or an egg white. I stay away from yokes to aid in maintaining low cholesterol. For lunch it could be anything you want but that word keeps sneaking up, portions!! Okay not just anything, and certainly not a sleeve of cookies, maybe a sandwich, grilled chicken, fish or a hot dog (but one) accompanied by a small portion of veggies or fruit. Only you know what you enjoy and should be eating. Just stay focused on a one-portion meal. Then comes the second snack, again something small to hold you over to dinner. Now it’s dinnertime, the last meal of the day. This is the challenge. This is where your mental toughness and discipline comes in. Can you do it? Can you make this the last meal of the day? Of course you can. You have to want to do it. Follow the same procedure as the other two, breakfast and lunch, a small-portioned dinner followed by a snack that you love right after the meal. Some people need something sweet after their meal, me too. What I used to do was have three cookies directly after the meal. I ate a small portion controlled dinner followed by three of my favorite cookies. Why three? The first cookie satisfied my sweet craving, the second cookie was the catalyst that sealed my satisfaction and carried me into, what I call “One for the road”, the third cookie. The third and last cookie was the one I would remember until my next cookie, which was the next day. That’s it, only three. A small bowl of ice cream is okay too in place of the cookies. Now your craving may be fruit, well that’s even better. Have a small bowl of fruit for dessert but have it directly after your dinner.

Now that you are done with you fifth meal of the day, clean up your mess and stay out of the kitchen. Do not set one foot back in there. Going back into the kitchen can possibly lead to you regretting something. It may lead to you ruining your full day’s efforts and hard work. You will be so proud of yourself if you just say “No!” to entering the kitchen and will see results quickly. You will start to notice your mid section flatten and you will lose that bloated feeling. This is tough but essential to dieting. If you need to ingest something, drink water.

Weigh in Everyday
Weighing in everyday keeps you honest. It keeps you focused and maintains the drive to lose weight. If you know you have to weigh in the next day you will think twice about reaching for that extra cookie.

Believe in Yourself
I believe that the mind is a powerful force. You have to believe that you can do anything. You have to have the confidence that you can obtain whatever goals you set out to achieve. Dieting isn’t easy, you have to maintain focus and discipline using any diet plan, Atkins, South Beach, Weight Watchers or even my diet program. You have to want to do it and want to see results. This is something that only you can do for yourself.

Conclusion
Maintaining a diet is very challenging. People work crazy hours and find following a stringent diet difficult. I understand this, but it is important to figure out a way of consuming five small portioned meals throughout your day. I found success following, what I believe to be, an effective diet plan. Remember set realistic goals and take one day at a time. Once you achieved your goal weight then it’s up to you to continue this diet to maintain your ideal weight. With this program you don’t have to worry about adding back the foods you eliminated because you have been eating them all along through portion control. After you obtained your ideal weight then this diet turns itself into a "way of life" program. I always believed, “everything in moderation”, are important words to live by. You can do it. I will be writing about aerobic and anaerobic exercising in a future blog. Keep an eye out for it.

Good luck.