A Change of Attitude--and Size
At my heaviest, I weighed 205 pounds. I lost 40 pounds, and I have kept it off for more than three years now.
I tell people that my success is based on one thing and that was making a real decision. That resulted in changing my eating habits, to get the pounds off and to keep them off. I have learned a lot about losing weight, which has resulted in me being extremely antidiet and extremely in favor of changing a lifestyle of very bad eating habits.
I believe it is a mistake to want to lose too much weight too quickly. When I told my wife, Firouzeh, that I wanted to start eating healthy, she was so happy that I knew, as with most other things, her support was going to help make this task relatively easy.
I immediately cut out as much red meat, fat, salt, sugar, French fries and sodas as I could. I started eating fruits and vegetables (something I had not done for nearly 30 years) and a lot of fish. I drank only water, eight to 10 cups a day. Instead of starving myself, I was actually eating more, including breakfast, which I learned was essential to get the metabolism working first thing in the morning.
Along with changing what I ate, I also changed the way I ate. In the past I could polish off a meal in five minutes flat, washed down with a lot of soda. Only after stopping this unhealthy way of eating did I realize how bad it was making me feel: sluggish, and it overloaded my ability to digest.
I now eat only when I am hungry and not out of boredom, and I stop eating when I am full.
In order to burn more fat than muscle, I started a light weight-lifting program. A little bonus: Not carrying around 40 pounds of fat has eliminated a 15-year back problem.
I believe part of making a real decision is to make it with yourself and just do it. Your own desires are all the motivation you need. Eventually when the nice comments do start coming your way, they’re just icing on the cake (not to be consumed!).
My point is clear: Success is 95% attitude. This new attitude will result in wanting to know what is good fuel for the body, and pursuing these higher goals will not only help you lose weight but will become a way of life that will allow you never to put it back on. This is something dieting cannot achieve. Good luck!
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Vital Statistics
Name: Jeffrey Maitles
Age: 43
Occupation: Sales
Height: 5 feet, 10 inches
Old Weight: 205
New Weight: 165
Time Maintained: Three years plus
Want to Share Your Success Story?
Losing weight is as individual as gaining weight. Do you have a story on how you got in shape and stayed there? If so, we’d like to hear from you with a 500-word essay listing what worked in terms of diet, exercise, encouragement / support as well as your emotional and physical changes.
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Send essay and photos to “How I Did It,” Health, Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, CA 90053, and include daytime and evening phone numbers. No phone calls, please. Submissions cannot be returned.
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