Many people have noticed that I have lost a lot of weight (almost 90 lbs. as of this writing) and I am frequently asked: “How did you do it?” Unfortunately, there is no simple answer to this question. There is no single “just do this.” No magic bullet. The weight loss that I have experienced is the culmination of multiple small changes made based on a long process of trial-and-error. It is my intention to catalog the steps that I have taken, via multiple blog posts over the next few months, in the off chance that it might be useful (or at least entertaining) to someone. Here’s a sneak preview of topics I intend to cover:
- Dan’s Weight History – Everyone has their own reasons for their health, be it good health, or bad health. Every person is a complex combination of body, soul, and spirit, and these pieces affect each other in interesting ways. In order to understand my journey to health, I think it will be helpful to understand the thoughts and feelings that led me to gain weight in the first place, and what motivated me to lose it.
- Noom Weight Loss App – The spark that started me on this journey, and one of my main sources of inspiration during the majority of it, was an application that I downloaded for my smartphone.
- Calorie Counting – Yes, I count calories. But just counting is not enough. You need to have a plan. Budget your food consumption. Know what you’re eating, and when you eat it. I’ll let you know how I go about it.
- Volumetrics – The decisions that I have made in changing my diet have been based mostly around the simple concept of “volumetrics”. I intend to give a brief overview of what volumetrics means, and how I follow it. Hopefully this will illuminate some of the decisions I have made.
- Dan’s Eating Habits – Up until this point, it’s all been background information: history and theory. This is the nuts-and-bolts. What specific changes have I made to achieve the results that I got? This section might get a bit long (winded) and may take up several posts. We’ll see how motivated I am.
- Other Weight Loss Changes – Researchers seem pretty unanimous in their recommendation that lasting weight loss must come from changing eating habits. Just Google “diet vs exercise” and you will come up with a whole host of articles from various sources that mostly back up this claim. However, I don’t think that diet should be the sole component of an overall weight loss strategy. In my final entry, I will outline some other changes that I have made that I believe have had a beneficial effect on my health.
So if you’re curious, stick around. Who knows. Perhaps some piece of my ramblings could spark something in your own life that starts you on a similar journey to better health. That is my hope, and prayer. I have discovered something that has been elusive to me for years. It would be selfish of me to not at least attempt to share that discovery with others.
– danBhentschel
Looking forward to it!
Looking forward to hearing how you processes all this!
You look wonderful Dan! I am sure your sharing with others will be very helpful.
Noom helped me when I lost 15 lbs last year. I don’t use it now so I’m back up a few. 🙁 Still, a good lesson. Thanks for the recommendation!
Excellent! Good work Dan. What a wonderful investment in your health and for your family!
And here I thought life with 6 kids was just so busy, Marlene stopped feeding you. I’ve been meaning to talk to her about that. SO glad to hear it’s a conscious choice 🙂 Lol. Looking forward to reading your blog.
awesome brother keep it up.