Schizophrenic’s Guide: How I Tried to Lose Weight…

I, Daniel Trump, weighed 309 or so pounds a couple short years ago. I sat there, in my room, eating delivery food in the evenings. I ate too much food and didn’t work out enough.

Then some things changed. My doctor prescribed me some medications to make me less hungry. She wanted me to eat lean meats and fruits and vegetables and exercise regularly and cut out sweets.

“Cut out the fourth meal,” my mom said. She sat in her room, in her chair. “You don’t need a fourth meal in the evenings. Try to eat a healthy snack instead. Something moderate.”

“Like a banana with peanut butter?” I asked.

“Yes,” she said.

“Or what?” I asked.

“Multigrain crackers? A few nuts?” she said. “That would be fine. I can find you some veggie chips. They aren’t bad for you.”

I cut out the fourth meal. I started to eat three meals. I ate a banana or grain/wheat bread with butter or nuts in the evening.

The next problem was eating out — I was eating meals from restaurants every day. That was too many calories. I would go out many days and eat fattening foods at restaurants. Restaurants use lots of sugar and meals with huge portions and many, many calories. I started to eat most meals at home. I started eating peanut butter toast for most breakfasts and started to use a meal-kit service for lunch. I get ingredients for a meal and the recipe for making them. I then make myself lunches most days. Then the family has dinner as a family most nights. I eat real food every day.

Then sleep. I used to wake up at bizarre hours and sleep at bizarre hours. I changed that around. I take my meds at midnight and wake up whenever in the morning — sometime between eight and ten in the morning. I can wake up in the morning if I have a responsibility. I don’t have a bizarre and inconsistent schedule. I grew up. I’m more of an adult now.

Then movie food. I stopped eating movie food — for the most part. I just get a diet soda at the movie theaters — admittedly, diet soda is bad for you, but it is better than diet soda and popcorn with buttery topping and candy. I used to eat popcorn and candy three times a week or so and needed to stop that. I did. I don’t eat foods very often at the movies. (I started eating hot dogs at movie theaters until they turned out to be just as bad for you. So that was that.)

Then working out. I started to take walks and picked up an exercise bike. I walked to the forest preserve and walked through said forest preserve regularly. I walked through the savannah near my home — really just some elevated grass in the middle of Illinois. Still it’s a nice exercise to go there and think.

I walked for forty-five minutes a day three to five days a week. I used the exercise bike during the winter months while watching sports. I worked out regularly.

It’s been a couple years.

I now weigh 268.2 pounds as of this morning. I lost 40 pounds. It may take me a few more years but I am trying to lose the rest of the weight. If you make sensible choices you can lose the weight.

Thanks, and take care, friends.