How did February work out for you? #dontbreakthechain

by Volker Weber

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Daniel was the first to finish the month (and tell me so on Twitter). If you need any further motivation to not break the chain, look at these two photos. They show the same man.

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I am always at awe when I look at them. Conveniently they show up as the first two hits on Google Image Search.

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Myself, I am ending the month on a high note. So, are you with us?

Comments

OK. I've finally given in and got myself an Apple Watch two weeks ago. I've started with a low goal but at least I've reached that every day so far (no full month yet of course). If that continues to work, you really changed my life.
Bought a Sonos system last year and listened to more music than I did in years.
Even got a Dyson a few months ago (ok, not such a big life changer, but nice).
And now the Watch. You're really getting on my nerves. Thanks for that :-)
And by the way, you're at awe looking at the pictures? Did you look into the mirror recently? I remember meeting you at Entwicklercamp, probably some 10 years ago. A big part of you has vanished since then, hasn't it?

Thomas Gamradt, 2017-02-28

Yes, it has. https://instagram.com/p/BMmM1MtgDEO/

Volker Weber, 2017-02-28

Thanks a lot Volker for the kind words - it's a tip of the hat off to you for making people act and showing that perseverance is key.

And to those struggling or thinking about to start: Go for it! If you're similarly to me carried around more than 80kg of excess weight you would not believe how much more enjoyable live can be when you're down that kilos. I had missed out on lots of things those years.... Go for it, NOW.

Daniel Kirstenpfad, 2017-02-28

@Daniel: Congratulations, that looks like a great achievement!

Would you let us know the time you took to come to this "result"? Discussed quite a lot with some of my colleagues that are eager to lose weight fast and they were kind of angry at me when I responded that most probably weight will go down as fast as it went up...

All the best - don't break the chain!

Matthias

Matthias Lorz, 2017-02-28

@Matthias: Sure! It took end-to-end 8 months with the lifestyle change on day 1 of the journey.

I did it together with my wife and afterwards we wrote down parts of the journey here: http://www.kirstenpfad.de/gemeinsam-abnehmen/

Daniel Kirstenpfad, 2017-02-28

@Daniel - thanks a mill! Great to see some recipes and (especially!) alternatives to sugar and wheat, that's my main addiction. I'll take some time to browse through and I agree - it's about the change on day 1. Set myself a 6.000 step daily target, so far, seems to work.

All the best for your wife and yourself - Matthias

Matthias Lorz, 2017-02-28

No, sorry, not with you. I just exercise without a too specific number of steps or distance or time to achieve, simply because I enjoy the exercise and want to do it. (I currently monitor it a little bit in order not to overdo some of my exercise while recovering from heart surgery)

Having said that, if I had a chain it would be uninterrupted since I was discharged from hospital in mid October. Restarting the imaginary chains from the last 3 decades, one of which quite likely stretched over a year or even two.

Armin Grewe, 2017-02-28

@Matthias, to add to @Daniel, the only way to lose weight as far as I'm concerned is slow and long term. While my weight loss wasn't as drastic as Daniel's I lost about 10-15kg (can't remember exactly) over a decade ago simply by eating and drinking less. Instead of 4 biscuits just had 2. Instead of 2 glasses of OJ only had 1 (just think of all the sugar in there, I think a 200ml glass is about 100 calories. You need to exercise surprisingly long to work that off). Didn't really change my diet much (only thing I can remember is stopping to sweeten my tea), I just ate less. I don't know how long it took, but it was certainly several months. That meant it was gradual, so people didn't really notice. Except for some who after several months suddenly looked at me and said, "wait a minute, have you lost weight?".

The exercise part didn't really apply to me, as I've been active daily for decades. Couldn't really up that much.

Armin Grewe, 2017-02-28

Armin, we are turning couch potatos into active people. If you were always active, brilliant.

If you go to an AA meeting, telling everybody you never really were a drinker, you are not helping.

Volker Weber, 2017-02-28

Volker, at the same time you are creating the impression that the only way to get active is an expensive gadget and setting artificial targets which in some cases might not even be the right thing for people.

My point is that you don't necessarily a gadget, you need to take the time to find a real compelling reason to be active, don't try to be active just for activities sake because everyone says you should be active. My initial reason all those decades ago was that I wanted to become fitter to be able to compete better in sailing races. Now after my heart operation my first goal was to start some light running again to get that feeling of joy of movement again (achieved in January). Now my next goal is to complete some long and in some cases strenuous walks during the Islay walking week in April.

I believe by setting indirect long term targets (which compel you to do something because you won't be able to achieve them otherwise) you can actually achieve excellent results. That can be "I want to run around in the garden with my grandchildren, something I can't do now", "I want to fit into the dress/suit I wore when I met my husband/wife for the first time again" or "I want to see Sandwood Bay with my own eyes, not just through other people's pictures".

I find those things far more motivating than counting circles and I think I'm not alone with that. Is that helping?

Armin Grewe, 2017-02-28

No, it isn't.

Volker Weber, 2017-02-28

@Armin I think the point is that you seem to be creating dissent when there is really no need. This is not a contentious. Whether you are fit and active using a gadget or not, great. Why crow on this post? We are all just happy for those who have turned things around, surely?

Ben Poole, 2017-03-01

@Daniel, Armin, Ben, Volker - we all know, many ways lead to Rome. It's good to hear from a lot of people the way they have chosen, now it's to each of us to make a decision. We all have different points to start from, different situations (travelling, kids, stress, whatever). So a big THANKS to everyone who contributes to this discussion.

BTW - there was an interview on german radio this morning about what happens, if only you avoid the obvious sugar and reduce carb for four weeks (sweets, potatoes, noodles) - quite an eye opener, too.

Okay, so back to work, enjoy the mid of the week - Matthias

Matthias Lorz, 2017-03-01

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