My Secret to Losing Weight Healthily Through Confidence and Encouragement

If you hear a voice within you say “you cannot paint,” then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced. ~Vincent Van Gogh

Three years ago, I weighed 210 lbs. Today, I weigh 150.

You can see a picture of me over there on the right as a somewhat decent looking guy that looks healthy. I am healthy and very proud to be within a reasonable weight limit, but this hasn’t always been the case.

How I Gained Confidence to Lose 60 lbs of Weight Healthily

A little over three years ago, I was at the lowest point in my life. I topped the scales at 210 lbs and the weight never seemed to end. In reality, I didn’t care. I ate and didn’t exercise. I would step on a scale once every two months and would see a jump. I never was surprised by the findings. At first, it was depressing, but after it awhile, my feelings became worse as they drifted towards apathy and acceptance.

I accepted a fate that told me I will always be overweight.

It was at this time that my life was also going through a whirlwind of drama and I was at my all-time low. I don’t want to get into the details, but I seemed lost and on the losing side of the battle for life. Everywhere I turned, the walls came crashing down on me. The world pushed me back into the mud every time I tried to stand back on my feet.

All of my dreams and hopes began to vanish before my eyes.

Then one day it all crashed.

After months and years of this anxiety and depression growing inside, my life crashed. The idealistic world that I fought to maintain and keep disappeared and vanished into the black hole of irrelevance. The only thing that I was able to carry with me on my travel into a new and uncharted world is the physical weight that I had gained from the previous.

Power to Lose Weight and Gain Confidence

When I first opened my eyes to this new existence and world before me, I did not attempt to stand. What evidence was there to say that this new world would be any better than the last? I knew that I could count on the constant failed attempts in the last world. I trained myself to expect failure.

How could this new world be any different?

It would be nice if I could say that I overcame my depression and lost the weight by myself. The best selling stories are from those who discovered the secret to life on their own and became a self-made man (or woman). These stories inspire us because we want to know the insider secrets and not have to depend on others for success.

That is not my story.

Lack of Self-Confidence is Root Cause of Weight Gain

I remember the day to the details of the smells surrounding me and the random noise that appeared. It was one of those days that you never forget and always sit in the back of your mind as a turning point in life. We all have these days and I have several. The few minutes I was first alone with my newborn oldest son in my arms was another one of those moments.

On this particular day, I sat in my car alone. I had everywhere to be, but nowhere to go. I wanted to return to the home of failure but I knew I wasn’t welcome anymore. It was comfortable and I was afraid of the future and the darkness surrounding its mystery.

So I sat in my car at a Publix supermarket parking lot for 2 hours. I stayed at the outside end of the lot where nobody parks. Why they build such mammoth parking lots when they are never filled is beyond my knowledge, but I remained there without any direction to drive.

I watched as people drove into the lot filled with anticipation and watched as the same people left filled with comfort and security. Many of them were smiling. Others looked annoyed. But they all seemed to have purpose and were going somewhere.

I only had a Big Mac and fries in my lap.

Secret to Healthy and Successful Weight Loss Begins With Honest Prayer

Make the decision, then do something – no matter how small – toward accomplishing what you want.

After I saw a friend drive unknowingly past my car, I began my conversation with God. I didn’t pray for a job. I didn’t pray for a beautiful woman. I didn’t pray to lose weight. All of these consumed my life, but I knew that they were only symptoms of a bigger problem.

I prayed for comfort and a friend.

I Needed God to Restore Confidence to Lose Weight

I sat there alone in my car in a crowded parking lot praying to God for comfort and friendship for 45 minutes. I didn’t expect miracles. I didn’t want God to suddenly poof a cloud of smoke and appear in order to give me a fist pump. While it would’ve been neat and extremely terrifying, but it wouldn’t solve my problems.

After that prayer, I drove to the only place I knew there was a bed. I drove to family. I didn’t end the prayer with an overwhelming sense of hope and optimism. There wasn’t an epiphany that transformed me into a superhero with purpose.

I just drove.

A Strong Friendship Restores Confidence and is a Powerful Secret to Losing Weight

I received a phone call a week after staying with family. It was a familiar and friendly voice that I thought had vanished for eternity. It was an old friend whom was also having similar struggles in life. He told me how his world crashed suddenly. He lost his job and his wife told him that she wasn’t interested anymore. I tried to give him an inspirational message and beautiful words of encouragement, but I couldn’t.

I only could say, “I feel ya man.”

“True friends are those who lift you up when your heart’s wings forget how to fly.”

I met up with this friend one night. We drank and empowered one another as we said, “Screw the world. We don’t need them. We’ll become superheros ourselves and have all the ladies love us.” It was a fun night as I discovered that great friendship never dies. It didn’t change anything once I sobered up.

I was still lost. I was still overweight. I probably even gained 10 lbs overnight because of the calories.

But I rediscovered a friendship that would motivate me to finding purpose and losing weight.

Disclaimer: I do not condone drinking nor superhero powers.

I don’t want the previous story to suggest that I believe drinking is a worthwhile endeavor to solve problems. It doesn’t cure cancer and didn’t change anything once I sobered up. I could’ve had the same conversation with the friend hyped up on caffeine from coffee and red bull. I was depressed and lost so it was the route we chose at the time without any regard to life. My goal is to write this story with authenticity and honesty of events.

Set and Share Goals with a Friend is a Powerful Weight Loss Secret

I continued to regularly meet with my good friend after that night of fun. We talked a lot about sports and music. We were nostalgic about the past and the great memories that once were, but these were only of a secondary importance. We pushed our friendship into one of accountability and encouragement.

We urged each other to set goals and helped one another meet them. My first goal was to lose weight. My weight had maxed at 210. I was dangerously unhealthy with a height of 5’8 (on a good day) at that weight level. I didn’t know how long it would take nor how much work I would endure.

I only desired to feel and look healthy again.

Weight Loss Goals Should Be Personal and Pinpoint

My personal goal was 170 when I first started. It was the weight that I was when I entered college and I assumed it was a worthy goal. It was a total of 40 lbs. I didn’t know if it was outlandish or not. I didn’t care.

I was going to reach it if it took me 2 months or 12.

I told my friend about my goal to become healthy and he encouraged me in my endeavor. Whenever we would regularly meet, he would ask me how I am doing. The days we met over a meal he would check to see what I had ordered and mock me if I ordered anything more than a grilled chicken breast with nothing on it.

I hated him for that.

Want to Lose Weight? Don’t Go to the Lobby to Buy Yourself a Snack

I began changing my diet immediately after declaring my goal. I never was a huge soda drinker but I drank it when it was around. Soda is one of those things that you just drink because its convenient and you’re just bored with water. Sometimes its even more convenient then water.

I successfully cut out soda from my diet because I stopped buying it. It wasn’t a difficult sacrifice as I didn’t think about it once it was gone. I drank water when I was thirsty and that was it. I also enjoyed making some interesting smoothie creations.

Healthy Weight Loss Starts with Adjusting Your Diet

I did the same thing for snacks like potato chips and unhealthy microwave dinners. It takes the same amount of time to put a chicken breast on a Forman Grill as it does to heat up a artificial lasagna meal in the microwave.

I felt amazing immediately after changing my diet. I had energy to actually accomplish things and go hang out with friends. I wasn’t bloated all the time. I knew that food nor the world could force me into a box.

I was a person full of spirit and hope.

But I didn’t know if I was losing weight.

I felt healthy and was energized to start a new life full of passion and purpose, but what if I am still gaining weight? I went to Publix on a sporadic basis to weigh myself, but it always had mixed results. I would jump between 5-7 lbs on a given day. I didn’t trust the Publix scale, but it was my only option at the time.

Until I bought my own high quality scale.

My Personal Secret to Weight Loss is to Visualize Progress on A Daily Basis for Encouragement

I grew more and more frustrated at the Publix supermarket scale. I felt like I couldn’t determine my true weight. I was also afraid of people seeing my results so I became discouraged to go. In order to combat my frustrations, I invested in a premium personal scale.

Looking back, I definitely spent too much on the scale. It had all these neat bells and whistles that told me the BMI, weight range, and overall health. I tried to use all of its calculations a few times, but I couldn’t figure out how to tell it that I am not a female.

Why do you need to get a degree in Electronic Engineering to understand basic household stuff?

A Good Scale to Track Weight Loss Should be Detailed and Consistent

I never used the Body Mass Index feature, but it still was an excellent scale. I enjoyed it because it was consistent and detailed. I stood on the scale and new my exact weight every time. It would say 208.8 when I first step on it.  You know what happened the second time I stepped on it immediately following the first?

It said 208.8

Astonishing!

In all serious, the power of the scale was that I was able to visualize my progress on a daily basis. The first thing I did every morning after I woke up is go and step on the scale (not to get personal, but I also dropped my clothes to make sure they didn’t affect the results).  I kept the scale next to my bedroom door so that I couldn’t forget about it.

The results were encouraging.

Every day I lost weight. I was succeeding at my goal. I wasn’t losing a pound everyday. In fact, I was only losing 2/10 of a pound on average. In the big scheme of things, 2/10 of a pound isn’t huge, but I didn’t care.

I weigh less today than I did yesterday.

Gain Confidence to Lose Weight for Your Own Health not What the World Tells You

I don’t remember how long it took me to reach the goal of 170, but I did it. I reached it with consistency and ease because of friendship, prayer and renewed confidence in life. I found it so comfortable that I decided to keep on losing until I reached 145. This was my new goal because I read that is the perfect number for my height.

I never made it to 145.

I was able to get down to 147.8, but it wasn’t worth it. Better health was my goal. I didn’t desire perfection to some outside standards. I have maintained an average weight of 150 for the past two years. I am still quite strict and aware of my diet, but I am not stressed nor fearful for my health.

The Secret to Powerful and Healthy Weight Loss isn’t some Magazine Fad. Successfully Losing Weight Begins with Restoring Confidence Through Prayer and Friendship

Many people come up to me and ask, ‘What was my secret to losing weight healthily?’ but they become discouraged because I tell them what they already know. The science of weight loss isn’t difficult. Eat less food than you burn. They would rather hear some insider secret because they do not believe they have the willpower to do it themselves.

The secret to my own weight loss was easy. I wish I could bottle it up and sell it for a million dollars but I can’t because of its simplicity. The ultimate power and secret to my weight loss success begins and ends with prayer and friendship. It was through the encouragement and accountability of God and close friends that gave me the confidence to lose weight.

Sure, I can give practical tips such as set reasonable goals, watch your diet and visualize your progress. These are all vital, but only secondary to the root of the problem which is only masked by weight. Once you rediscover the powerful confidence waiting to burst from within your heart like a lion raging to protect its young, then there is no obstacle that you cannot overcome.

It is through confidence gained from prayer and love that gave me strength to lose weight.

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