How I Lost 21 Pounds Last Year + What Im Doing This Year

About a year ago, I wrote a piece about how I'd lost 30 pounds and planned to lose another 25 this year .
So now that 2012's over, how did I do? 
So my progress so far has been:
2011: I went from 265 to 235 pounds --> I lost 30 pounds
2012: I went from 235 to 214 pounds --> lost 21 pounds!
I have not weighed this healthy since I was 32! And that was 20 years ago.
I did not reach my goal but am moving toward it...
This year was tough! I think as we get closer and closer to a healthy ideal weight, losing weight becomes harder and harder.
Each pound of loss takes more eating discipline and calorie and lifestyle awareness. 
I am a 52 year-old male, just 6 feet tall and the numbers say I should weigh between 185 and 205 pounds for ideal health!
Its funny because my girlfriend says that I am now too skinny and bony versus before. That soft shoulder is no longer there. It's funny how life is!
Here's what I did in 2012 to lose 21 pounds: 

• Every day upon awakening I drank water to flush the system. 
• I slept a minimum of 6 to 9 hours. 
• I had a great sleep environment. Sleep can be a third of your life so a great sleep environment is important. Good air, mattress, partner, etc. 
  

I tried to not take in more than 2,500 calories a day!

This number varies for male and female and frame size etc.
I drank as much water as I could!
Breakfast was usually between 7-9am, after 6 to 8 hours sleep!

• Yogurt
• Low sugar Granola mixed with oats, flaxseed, raisins
• Banana & blueberries 
• Sometimes eggs. 
• Tea or coffee. 
• Sometimes just coffee to stretch it out to lunchtime!
  

Lunch was primarily a vegetable, a fruit, a carb, a protein of sorts. Sandwich, medium helpings but filling. 
4pm (low blood sugar time!) I would have either fruit, mixed nuts, yogurt and sometimes a protein bar.
For dinner, I ate a lot of salads, pasta, rice and quinoa with beans.
Always balanced: protein, carb, veggies, fruit afterward.
Salads were primarily:

• spinach and arugula, sometimes romaine also. 
• red pepper
• onions
• celery
• garlic
• low fat cheese
• mixed nuts
• avocado, almost 1 every two days!
• grapes
• jalapeño
• hummus
• a protein
• mustard
• eggplant and red pepper mix which also acts a salad dressing.
• Sometimes with half a bagel!

Alcohol: every second day, on average, over the year! -In the evening between 7-10pm.  I monitored this as drinking may equal higher caloric intake in my experience so it is the enemy to weight loss goals! In my humble opinion. 
Exercised by way of:
Walking down 600 steps of stairs! Skip the elevator down. Daily!
Every other day, taking a yoga class. This burns between 200-500 calories and skips TV!
I also taught over 270 yoga classes to thousands of wonderful students at sacred sounds yoga in NYC and for some beautiful reason I was named....
One of NYC's 20 Most Popular Yoga Teachers! 
Much gratitude to everyone :-)
Walked over two miles a day, 40 city blocks, takes 30-40 minutes!
Probably walked over a 1,000 miles last year!
The last thing at night! I would drink a large glass of water as we are made up of 9/10th's water?
Who knew?
The great thing about this is we all can do this once you set your mind to it!
Step 1: Set your mind to where achievable goals can be reached.
Step 2: Put in place behaviors to achieve what your mind has decided. There were so many times that I had to ask myself "does this behavior serve my goals?"
Step 3: Be patient with yourself. With the right mindset and the behaviors for a healthy lifestyle the end results will take care of themselves.
I made many pitfalls and tried lots of different ice-cream flavors! But I allowed myself one day a week to eat anything I wanted, ice cream and all. That was 52 days. 14% of a year, not too bad? Means the other 86% was having good stuff?
I had a weigh in once a week and it fluctuated! The key here is "the trend is your friend."

Good luck with your lifestyle shifts, add ons, take aways?
My goal for 2013 is to get from 214 to under 200 and stay there!
That's about a pound a month, or a 3,500 calorie deficit a month, 120 calorie deficit per day!
Will check in with you next year and let you know?
Wishing you a wonderful year. 
You can do it! 

Photo Credit: Shutterstock.com

1. Prev:6 Rules To Get Healthy, Lose Weight, And Feel Great
2. Next:3 Types Of Gluten-Free