Weight and Management

LeonardArmstrong.net is not my first blog. In 2010 I went on a major weight loss effort and blogged about it at the now-defunct www.lensweightloss.com. (Don't bother trying. You're not going to get anything from that URL any more.) I went very public with my weight management effort. I wrote about it, I posted pictures, I even had my scale automatically publish my weight onto my blog each time I stepped on the scale. (More on that next week.) I was completely transparent with my efforts. I think it may have been part of my success… that time around.

You see this was the third time in my life I lost a significant amount of weight - 80 lbs. or more. While I am proud of the achievement, I am also frustrated that weight management was and continues to be a source of struggle and frustration for me. In 2010 I lost just over 100 lbs. Since then I’ve gained 50 back. That’s not an easy thing to say, but it is true.

Some people battle alcohol demons. Some tobacco. Others narcotics. With me it has always been food. I make no excuses for my love of food. I love cooking. I love baking. I love eating. I’ve taken lessons at The Culinary Institute of America, Johnson and Wales University, Sur La Table, and others. I think of well-prepared food as the one art that can simultaneously touch all five senses. In 2010 I learned that love of food and weight loss are not mutually exclusive. I did a lot of cooking that year and learned to make some very tasty and varied healthy dishes. Over time I lost the way of success and now need to readdress the problem.

I’m trying again. It's not easy. It’s never easy. But each time around I find something new, something different about the process that betters my overall understanding of life. Sound heavy? (Pun intended.) Well, having taken a new career position recently I’ve been thinking about the similarities between weight loss and business success.

1. There needs to be a clear measurable metric of success that is directly tied to our goal. Sometimes the metric is simple to evaluate. (Weight loss: pounds; Business: revenue). Other times it is more complex or subjective (Weight loss: body image; Business: customer or employee satisfaction).


2. Roadblocks are everywhere so we must learn to plan for risks from the start and with each passing day. In weight loss we need to prepare for how to handle food intake when we go to parties, restaurants, etc. In business we develop contingent plans to ensure business continuity and project success.


3. Mistakes can happen, but the causes, not just the symptoms, of those mistakes have to be addressed and corrected.


4. Investment is required to achieve success. That might not be obvious for weight loss, but it is true. Investment in the right kinds of food. Investment in education and/or weight loss programs. And, if we’re lucky, investment in new clothes as we have success.


5. Success requires constant diligence and ownership of the problem and its solution. Asking questions like “what is the minimum expected of me to achieve success” won’t cut it.


6. Achieving the goal is the start, not the end. Success comes both from achieving the goal but also in proving sustainability of the goal over time. Quick fixes in business or fad diets in weight loss often achieve a result in the short term, but are not sustainable in the long-term.

We are all in control of our own destiny. Weight loss, like any worthy goal, takes time, effort, ownership and most importantly, constant diligence. Weight loss is easy. There are plenty of techniques to achieve it. But long-term weight control, that is a much more difficult goal to achieve. I won’t stop trying.

Next: Back to the Technology Influences Top 10 with Influence #8: Quantified-self Technology. (Something closely related to the topic of this post.)

Image credit: swalwellj / 123RF Stock Photo