Weapons of Fat Destruction
Tuesday, January 9th, 2007Bob asked me to share a little about my personal experience with fat loss. I’m 6′-5″ tall, and at one point in my life I weighed somewhere around 465 pounds. I say “somewhere” because I don’t really know for sure. I placed a 2×4 between a scale and a pivot point, stood about half way in the middle, then doubled the weight on the scale. At that time I was suffering from severe depression, was on the borderline of becoming diabetic, had high blood pressure, and had severe obstructive sleep aepnea. I decided it was time for a change.
I used the weapons of fat destruction outlined below and within a year and a half my weight was under 300 pounds. At that point I started to get lazy and over a couple years alowed my weight to creep up again. I originally wrote this article for myself as an exercise to burn the principles into my brain and motivate myself once again to a better lifestyle. Bob thought it was good stuff and I was happy to post it on his site.
I wrote it from a first-person, plural perspective just for fun. Instead of sounding like its from some crazy fat guy (me), it makes it sound like its from a couple of experts on the subject. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
JB
Your search to fill your arsenal with weapons of fat destruction is over. In this article we’re going to cut through the fat, so to speak, and tell you about the key weapons you need to employ in your battle against the bulge. But before we can do that we need to review a little bit of basic high school biology, chemistry and physics. Don’t worry, we’ll keep things as simple as possible.
For the sake of this discussion, think of your body as a biological factory who’s job it is to produce energy. Fuel enters the factory through the digestive system. The fuel is burned to produce energy and the “exhaust” is expelled through the lungs as carbon dioxide and water vapor. Any excess materials exit the digestive system as waste. All extra fuel that enters the factory is stored for later use. As humans, hydrocarbons are used as “fuel” to release the energy necessary to power the factory. If the factory is working at optimum efficiency, then the hydrocarbons in minus the hydrocarbons burned equal zero. When the hydrocarbons in exceed those that are burned, they are stored for later use. When the hydrocarbons burned exceed the hydrocarbons in, then the reserves are burned. This law can be simply illustrated with the following formula:
Hydrocarbons In - Hydrocarbons Burned = Net Stored Hydrocarbons
Another way to think of this is in terms of calories. In order to loose fat you need to burn more calories than you consume. The chemical reaction that occurs in the body to produce energy looks something like this:
C6H12O6 + 6 O2 => 6 CO2 + 6 H2O + energy
Basically, every time you inhale, oxygen is combined with some hydrocarbons (glucose in this example) to produce energy. The by products of this chemical reaction include carbon dioxide and water vapor which exit your body through your lungs every time you exhale. The one thing you need to understand here is that the fuel comes in through the digestive system and exits the body through the lungs, not as waste through the digestive system. The waste coming out of the digestive system is just stuff that came in that isn’t needed by the body. This is key in understanding why the weapons we’ll be discussing are the ONLY weapons that matter in the battle against the bulge.
As the plant manager of your biological factory, you have control over two things, and only two things. You can decide how much energy the factory will produce. And you can choose the quality and quantity of fuel entering the factory. This can be translated into two words that we know you don’t want to hear, diet and exercise. We hate those words as much as you. In fact since there are so many negative emotions tied up in those two words we’d like to strip them from your vocabulary and replace them with some new words. Those words are healthy nutrition and physical activity. In fact, healthy nutrition and physical activity are two of the weapons of fat destruction we’ll be discussing in this article. But before we delve into them and why they’re necessary in your battle of the bulge we’re going to discuss the single most important weapon you need to employ in your arsenal, you’re mind.
Weapon One - Your Mind
You’re fat and it’s all your fault. We know that’s harsh, but lets face it, you’re the one who chose to be lazy, eat poorly, and not exercise enough. You can’t blame the baker when you’re the one who decided to eat the donut. You’re the one who basically made the dumb decisions that lead to your fat self. Get over it. Learn from your mistakes and start making some good decisions. Do you actually want to be fat? If not, then stop making stupid decisions that make you fat. We’re sorry but the harsh fact is that until you decide that you want to loose fat, we mean really decide, you’re fighting a loosing battle.
There are a lot of books out there trying to tell you that being overweight is not your fault. We think they’re a bunch of bunk. Sure, it may be true that your genetic disposition or your environment may contribute to how your body stores fat. But ultimately you’re the ONLY one who is responsible for what you eat and how much physical activity you participate in daily. You can’t place the blame on genetics, the environment, or on your parents. You and you alone have ultimate responsibility for yourself.
To win the battle of the bulge you need to start making better decisions. You need to actively employ your mind. Winning the battle of the bulge starts with the decisions you make on a daily basis. For every decision in life there is an outcome. You’re choice to be lazy and eat poorly are what lead you to where you are now. The only way to reverse course and win the battle of the bulge is to choose a path of healthy nutrition and physical activity. Stop and think about everything that you do and ask yourself if it is something that is helping you win the battle. If it’s not, then don’t do it. You have a choice. CHOOSE TO WIN!
Weapon Two - Healthy Nutrition
Let’s fact it, we all agree that diets stink big time. Nobody likes being on a diet. And nobody likes gaining the weight back after the diet. The media is constantly bombarding us with miracle diets and wonder drugs that claim we can lose 30 pounds in 30 days or lose 10 pounds by this weekend. The companies who peddle these products don’t really care about you. All they are interested in is your money. They are counting on the fact that you’re going to buy their products, loose a little weight, gain it back, and then buy more of their products. Don’t believe us? Have you watched television lately? Have you noticed that the majority of the commercials on television are for fast foods and weight loss products? Stop buying these products and dieting. Instead, start making healthy nutritional choices.
Healthy nutrition starts by employing weapon one, your mind, and making better decisions about what you eat. When you’re at the grocery store hold each item in your hand for a moment, read the label, and decide if it’s healthy. If it’s not, then put it back. Try sticking to the outside perimeter of the store. That’s where all the good foods usually are. You’ll find fresh fruits and vegetables, wholesome dairy products, and eggs and meats. Most of the stuff you’ll find down the middle aisles is “processed” junk anyway and you’re better off without it. Stay away from “refined” and “processed” foods and pick whole natural foods instead.
One of the best choices you can make is to stay away from foods that contain trans fats. Be careful because some foods may say zero trans fat on the package but still contain small amounts of trans fats. That’s because the government says if a “serving” contains less than .5 grams of trans fats companies can round it down to zero on the label. If the label says hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated anything then put it back. Trans fats are hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils. Basically hydrogen is added to vegetable oils that are heated to alter the chemical structure of the oil so that it is solid at room temperature. Margarine is a good example of a trans fat. Natural butter, made from wholesome natural milk, is a way better choice. Trans fats are unnatural and unhealthy. They are a man made substitute for the real thing. We’ll even going to go as far as saying that you’re 98% more likely to develop coronary heart disease if you eat a diet high in trans fats than someone who eats a comparable diet high in natural saturated fats. Stay away from trans fats. They are evil. Choose natural saturated fats like butter or coconut oil instead. For vegetable oils use natural cold pressed oils and avoid anything hydrogenated.
Another good choice to make is to stay away from “processed” grains like white flower and white rice. In the case of white flour, the processing involves separating the shell and germ from the “meat” of a grain of wheat. The shell and germ have wonderful nutritional value, but they’re removed anyway and usually used as feed for livestock. The “meat” is milled into a fine powder, bleached, and then enriched. The bleaching process makes the flower whiter, but also removes most of it’s nutritional value. Then the flour is “enriched” to attempt to add some nutritional value back in. Why do companies go through all this work when simply milling the entire grain of wheat produces a much healthier flour? Two reasons. First, white flour has a longer shelf life and it is less appealing to bugs. Second, companies can make additional profits by selling the germ and shell to the livestock industry as wheat-feed. Stay away from this junk and instead choose whole wheat, whole grain, brown rice, or wild rice products instead. Oh yeah, and let’s not forget pasta. Stay away from pasta unless it’s whole wheat pasta. Better yet, make it yourself. That way you can guarantee you’re getting the best ingredients.
When it comes to meats, stick with the best you can find. Don’t worry, with all the money you’re saving by not buying those useless diet products you’ll be able to afford it. Choose lean cuts of beef, chicken breast, and plenty of fish. Stay away from the prepackaged frozen processed stuff. You can bet it contains stuff that probably isn’t good for you. Nothing beats fresh natural meats. Besides, the fresh stuff tastes better too.
One final thing. Eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. Not only do they provide basic carbohydrates, you’re bodies preferred fuel, but they are also high in vitamins and minerals. There is no substitute for fresh fruits and vegetables.
Weapon Three - Physical Activity
We all dread exercise. Let’s face it, we’re all lazy. If you want six pack abs then you know crunches are the only way to get there. But that ab machine advertised on television promises six pack abs with less work. Do you have one sitting in the corner of a room somewhere? Is it currently being used to hang laundry? Don’t worry we’ve been there and done that ourselves. We are always looking to take the easy way out. The truth is, when it comes to exercise there is no easy way out. Exercise is hard work. Exercise stinks! So how do we go about getting the exercise we need without it stinking so bad? Once again you need to employ weapon number one, your mind, and for starters don’t exercise. That’s right, don’t exercise. Instead start making better decisions that involve increases in physical activity. Choose to become more active in your life.
Walking is a great physical activity that we just don’t get enough of. But there are some very simple things we can choose to do that will result in us walking more. For starters, stop fighting for that premium parking spot in the front row. Park at the back of the parking lot. If you’re going to the mall to shop at Macy’s, park in the back lot at Dillard’s at the opposite side of the mall. The extra distance will work wonders. Do the same thing at work. Park as far away from the door as you possibly can. You’ll get more walking in with the added bonus of protecting your car from dings. If you need to make a quick trip to the corner store and it is within walking distance, then don’t use your car. Think of the benefits to you and the environment. Make the better choice and walk. Your legs are the largest muscles in your body and consume a bunch of fuel to operate. The more you use your legs the more calories your body burns.
Believe it or not, walking is all the physical activity you need IF you’re willing to decrease the amount of calories you consume. But reducing calories feels like dieting and dieting stinks. So you need to find other ways to increase your physical activity. The best way to do that is to do things that are fun and do them with a friend. Find yourself a “workout” buddy. Do things you enjoy together. Ride bikes, lift weights, go dancing, swim, or play racquetball together. Anything fun that you both enjoy. Anything that increases the amount of physical activity is acceptable. You need to do things every day to burn those calories. Don’t think of it as dreaded exercise. Instead find fun things to do and do them with a friend.
Parting Thoughts
Let’s look back at our original hydrocarbon equation and change the terminology a little so it looks like this:
Calories In - Calories Burned = Net Stored Fat
You need to employ the three weapons above to achieve balance. Making a conscious effort to decrease the calories you consume and increase your physical activity are the only things that will result in victory over the battle of the bulge. Smart choices in what you eat and what you do every day will lead to success. Stupid choices will lead to failure. You don’t have to be perfect. It’s okay to mess up once in a while and make a stupid decision. Your goal should be for progress, not perfection.
If your goal is to shed those unwanted pounds and go down a couple sizes then simply increasing your physical activity and watching what you eat will lead to success. It doesn’t have to be elaborate or complicated. Just eat smarter and be more active in your life. You’ll get there. If you’re looking to do it by tomorrow, then forget it. The laws of nature simply won’t allow it. Unfortunately it’s a slow process. After all, it took time for the pounds to creep up on you, and it’s going to take time for them to come off. Use weapon number one and decide what your goals are and choose to do things that will help you achieve those goals. But be careful. Don’t go and choose unrealistic goals and set yourself up for failure. Take baby steps. Start by employing weapon two and cutting the junk out of your diet and eat smart. Employ weapon number three and walk more. Add in some regular fun physical activity with a friend. By using these three weapons of fat destruction you’ll certainly achieve victory over the battle of the bulge.
There are no wonder drugs or miracle diets that can fake out the formula above. There are no substitutes for physical activity and eating healthy. They say knowledge is power. You now have the knowledge of what it takes to win the battle of the bulge and you’re fully armed with all the powerful weapons you’ll ever need for victory. It’s up to you how you choose to use this knowledge and power.
Good luck and God bless,
JB
January 9th, 2007 at 2:28 pm
Thanks for the article Jeff. I am glad to have input from someone that has fought this battle and had much success. Since I personally have stayed fit since youth I can only imagine how hard it is to face this situation. Your feelings regarding exercise and such are certainly more negative than mine. But I have found that you opinions are closer to the feeling of the average person. I have to give you praise in this area. You have done more to transform yourself than any other person I know. And you did it in this way.
For the reader: I do recomend that you read and start learning how to strengthen your weapons. Use the concepts to boost your mental, emotional and spiritual focus. Meet your basic nutrient needs. Learn to detox the body and keep it low in toxins. I hope to have all the information that I use posted here eventually. So hang in there.
I hope you all know,
God Loves you and so do I
Bob
October 6th, 2007 at 5:09 am
Thank you for sharing!