Five Best Weight Loss Tips From an Old Firefighter

As an ex-firefighter (female) with a lot of weight to lose, I decided to apply what I knew best. So far, I’ve lost 34 pounds and am feeling great. Here’s what has made the difference for me:

1. Know Where You’re Headed - I was going to title this “Get Directions from Dispatch,” but it’s more than just defining a goal. It also includes an element of risk management. Set your goal. Then, scrutinize it carefully. Is the goal doable? What is the best route – fastest, easiest, safest? You can design a program to maximize one or two of those, but not all three. Which are most important? That is up to you, and the answer will vary from person to person, but know which you are choosing and why.

Be honest with yourself if choosing fast over safe has led to failure before. I know it has for me. This time, I’ve chosen easy and safe, and am getting much better and more sustainable results.

2. Make It Real, Make It Urgent – I learned this one during drills at fire academy. We were tired, we were hungry, and we were getting lazy in our responses after repeated attacks. Our trainer came up as we were about to head into the burn tower for another go. He screamed, “There are babies dying in there!” Our hearts started pumping and all thoughts of lunchtime vanished.

Vague thoughts of health problems that may happen in 20 years aren’t enough to keep that gooey, sugary dessert off my plate right now. The deterrent must have a real, and timely, emotional impact. I have to think much closer in time to make it feel important enough to change my behavior. What are the short-term consequences, immediate results of this action? How will it keep me from my larger life goals? If that isn’t enough, I pull out the bigger guns – images of what not just once, but repeated instances of the behavior will do to me. We all know that it wasn’t just one piece of pie or one chocolate bar that got us where we are, now don’t we?

3. Plan for Failure and Know Your Weakest Link – On a fire scene that can be equipment, communications, or people breaking down. Or, all three. All hell can cut loose and you still have to get the fire out. No excuses. The only way you can do that is to be ready, to know where the most likely sources of failure will arise and plan ways to work around them. Will you fall off your program? Most assuredly. Will you manage to get back on it is the real question. Some good pre-planning, based on any past failures of your own, or a little study of the vast literature on weight loss, will point out lots of ways you could fail.

Okay. Assume that you will fail, that systems will break down. How can you still reach your ultimate goal? Write it down, visualize it happening and what you could do to make it just a blip on the screen and not an excuse to give up. For me, it helps to do an advance short-circuit of my weakest link – the late evening trip to the refrigerator. I put my scale in front of the refrigerator door, so that every time I start to open the freezer to reach for the Ben and Jerry’s (assuming that I’ve let it into the house in the first place) I have to confront the fact that I am letting habit and short-term indulgence divert me from ultimate health and happiness.

4. Pace Yourself – The effort expended to reach a big goal, like putting out a fire or losing fifty pounds, can be phenomenal. Especially something like weight loss, where it can take months to see really noticeable progress, needs to be broken down into smaller steps. Benchmarks are needed, just like on a fire, so you can know if you are making actual progress or merely slowing it down by squirting water at it. If all you’re doing is slowing the fire down, it will eventually outstrip your resources. Change tactics, fast. Fallback into defensive mode and regroup. Do whatever it takes to get you ahead of it.

Set waypoints, markers that you can use to measure your progress. Two pounds, five pounds, a reduced waist measurement, all of these and more can be used as flagging on the trail to your end goal. I’m a chart geek. I chart my weekly weights or my daily exercise to help me see how I’m doing and I use it to pace my efforts, so I don’t get down on myself for not having lost more, sooner. Small actions consistently performed, as long as they reverse the overall course of weight gain by even a small margin, will get you there.

5. Roll! Get Moving – Move that body! It doesn’t have to be a herculean effort or two hours of aerobics. Just turn off the TV and get your butt out of the recliner (Firefighter/EMTs favorite spot between calls) and move. It works even better when there is an emotional payoff and/or you can see a visible result from your efforts – clean out the shed, mow the grass, dance to your favorite music, shoot hoops with your kid, anything that will get your blood pumping and will leave you feeling better than when you started. The hard part is getting started.

Disclaimer: All of the above comes with the usual caveat. This is just what has worked for me. Don’t use it as a substitute for competent medical consultation or treatment. Always check with a competent medical professional before embarking on a changed or intensified exercise program. Think first, so you can be safe and smart about how you go about any major change in your life. ‘Nuff said.