“The important thing is to be conscious of what you can do by changing your habits.”
.
Josh is a 27-year old who works at SparkPeople in the Technology Department. When Josh got married a few years ago, he started thinking about the future and about spending time with his wife and children and wanted to make sure he would be around to enjoy time with them. So Josh started to do something about the shape he was in.
When Josh started working at SparkPeople, around two years ago, his weight was around 245 pounds. This alone was a reduction from the 270 pounds he weighed when he got married. Even though he hit a plateau around 245, he wanted to lose more. He started working out regularly, 4 to 5 times a week, but this did little to help reduce his weight. It was just the beginning though to a new, healthy lifestyle.
Then last summer, Josh and his wife Julie went to their doctor to find out their cholesterol levels. The results were not good for Josh; his level was super high. His doctor told him with cholesterol that high, it was probably genetic and there would not be much he could do about it. But Josh wanted to anyway.
He changed his diet for the next 3 months or so. Now Josh did not have a terrible diet before hand. It’s not like he ate nothing but junk food; he did healthy food sometimes. His major problem was he just ate too much. He would frequently eat snacks throughout the day. Also, he would skip breakfast often, or if he did eat he would just grab a breakfast bar.
Basically he made two changes in his diet after seeing the doctor – cutting out saturated fats and eating more fiber. This helped his cholesterol a little, not much, but was another step for him, another instance where he proved he can make a change in his life. So Josh went back to his doctor for advice. His doctor suggested taking medication, but Josh did not want to do this, mainly because he was only 27 and the thought of long-term effects did not appeal to him.
Josh had heard some information about a diet called the Atkins Plan, which emphasized little to no carbohydrates and reduced amounts of fruit. He asked his doctor about this and the doc told him to go for it, he had heard success stories from individuals who had used the plan. So Josh decided to give it a shot.
It’s been about three months into the diet and Josh is achieving some butt-kicking success. So far he has lost 30 pounds, his weight is down to 215. He has found a way to change his diet, but do it in a healthy way and with healthy substitutions. He now realizes and wants emphasize to others that you can make a positive change about yourself if you are committed.
Here is an example of the change in his diet. A typical dinner in the past for him and his wife would have consisted of pasta or grilled sandwiches. Now, they will eat chicken or pork tenderloins and salad. Josh then will have some veggies and Julie will have a roll or some rice.
The other key to Josh’s success besides his actual diet was the tracking of his diet. Using the nutrition tracker on GoalPilot, SparkPeople’s goal-tracking program, he tracked the number of carbohydrates he ate every day. He also used the nutrition tracker to look up different foods to see how many carbs they have, even before he ate them. This way he would make different dishes and still stay within the range he wanted to.
His usage of GoalPilot has not stopped there either. He also tracks his workouts, which have stayed consistent for the most part during the past couple of years. And more importantly, he also tracks his weight, which has been a huge motivating factor for him. He says it’s not so much the tracking that is important for him, but actually seeing a graph that shows the progress he has already made has a dramatic appeal to him.
While there are differences in Josh’s diet compared to the SparkPeople diet, he credits SP for instilling in him the thought that he can do something about his lifestyle and make changes to live a healthier life. In the past, he says he might have taken drugs for his cholesterol if his doctor offered, but instead he knew he could do something about it on his own.
Josh is still looking to lose more weight and is definitely still working on lowering his cholesterol. The last time he checked it was at 280; he wants to get it to less than 200. His motivation – to be around as long as possible for Julie and his new baby girl Joellen – will always be there. Thanks to SparkPeople, he now knows he can make the changes to make his goals come true. Hopefully Josh keeps finding success and keeps that weight and cholesterol going down.
Recent Blog Posts
