I recently lost some weight and everyone is noticing and asking “How did you do it?” With a combination of a low calorie, high protein diet and extreme exercise I was able to lose a lot of weight and completely change the way my body looks. It was hard, but I had a goal in mind and set my mind to it. The house was messy, the kids watched more TV then usual as I tracked calories, did more then 1 hour of extreme exercise a day (and sometimes up to 3). Do I think the plan was realistic? For me, yes. Will I be able to sustain it? No way. Is the weight starting to creep back on since I reached my goal? Hell yes.

The question I have to ask myself is, NOW WHAT?

I have always wanted a “balanced” life. These are MY requirements for a “balanced” life when it comes to eating, drinking and exercise:

• Eat healthy without depriving myself (i.e. no binging)
• Exercise regularly (3-6 days a week)
• Drink alcohol in moderate amounts

Looks easy, right? The problem is that my personality is far from “balanced”. I love the extremes. I have lived my life going from one extreme to the other.

Extreme 1 (reward mode): Eat everything and anything in sight, whenever I want, even when I’m not hungry. Eat mostly sugar, starches and fat. And of course, do little exercise. And do not even think about calories. They don’t matter in this extreme. Usually have quite an active social life when living in this manner.

Extreme 2 (deprivation mode): Track all calories. Eat little. Feel hungry and deprived. Do extreme exercise. Stay home and hide from all temptations.

So, how do I live a balanced life? Can it be done? Or can I live my life embracing my extreme personality? This is what I am going to explore in this blog.