I wasn’t always 260 pounds. In my 20s and 30s, I was a Green Beret in fighting shape. But somewhere between building a business career and living a full life, the weight started creeping on. Serving in the National Guard meant that I needed to maintain a high level of fitness; I had to meet the US Army’s height/weight standards and pass Physical Training tests a couple of times a year. Our training was rigorous, and I was the team leader of a high-altitude military freefall team (HALO). But after retiring from the military in 2004, I began to pack a few pounds on every year as my civilian responsibilities as a Chief Financial Officer of international companies grew.
I am sure that many of you feel the same pressure that I did. Work never stops, family life gets busier and the number on the scale edges higher and higher. As my lifestyle changed, I spent more time on the road, eating out in restaurants and reaching for convenient (read: unhealthy) snacks between meals. At some point, my after-dinner ice cream “treat” became an evening ritual. I take responsibility for my own weight gain, but it became apparent to me as I packed on the pounds that much of the food I consumed was highly processed and full of sugar, salt and fat.
My breaking point came soon after I moved to Colorado in 2017 and was getting ready for a job interview. To my dismay, I could not fit into any of my dress pants. After muddling through that interview, I stopped on the way home and bought a scale. 260 pounds, it read. That was 100 pounds heavier than my college weight! That day I made two very important decisions. First, I told myself that those 100 lbs. did not appear overnight and they wouldn’t disappear overnight, either. This mission — losing weight and regaining my health — was going to take some time. I would do the research and design a plan that would not only be sustainable during the Weight Loss Phase but would be something I could live with for the rest of my life. Second, I decided to consciously frame my weight loss as a positive change to my way of doing life. In other words, I wouldn’t beat myself up over past lifestyle choices. No looking back, except as a cautionary tale.