November 27, 2006

• Well, I’ve gained a couple of pounds over the course of the past couple of weeks, what with all this tasty and unhealthy eating. Even though I’m not a big guy at all, I’m very aware of my weight. See, let me give you a little background into it. I have never been a big guy, currently, I’m 5’6 137lbs. Throughout high school and even for a few years after that, I was a twig. Then, I got laid off from my job. Fun complacency and laziness set in. I loved it. Unfortunately, so did the fat cells, they had a field day. Or a field couple of years, as it was. I ballooned all the way up to 356lbs. Or maybe it was more like 167lbs, I really can’t remember. All I know is that I seemed to gain all the weight in my stomach. I looked pregnant and used that as a constant source of humor. But, enough about my pregnancy gut. Anywho, let me tell you about a day that changed my life forever.

  Flash forward to when I was working at AAA in February of 2002.We decided to play a full court game of basketball. I just assumed that I would be able to play my crappy level of basketball at the same frantic, speed addicted way that I was used to. Hello reality check! Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, I swear, I went up and down that court for not even 2 minutes before I started gasping for breath. Shortly thereafter (and I do mean shortly, probably within about 30 seconds) my lungs were burning and I could not keep up at all. At one point, I thought I was going to pass out. I was in dire need of a rest before my heart exploded out of my chest. I struggled off the court asking for a sub. In went Danel’s equally out of shape boyfriend. After about 5 minutes, he was begging out to, but I still had not caught my breath and was struggling to stop breathing heavy. I didn’t catch my breath fully until about 10 minutes ago. It was clear to me that I was not only in awful shape, but in such bad shape, I didn’t even know if I could play again that night. I did go back out there for a little bit, but by the end of the night, I was exhausted. And I mean EXHAUSTED. We talked about playing on a semi regular basis, and since I love to play, I knew that I had to do something. Plus, this was a complete and total wake up call. Up to that point, I was eating VERY UNHEALTHY, with no regard for my body or consequences later in life. And, I did not exercise at all. I knew this had to change, for many reasons. For starters, I wanted to play basketball and not drop dead while doing it. I also was concerned about my health. And, I wanted a better body, I knew that I would not want to date somebody with a body like mine. This meant major changes. For the first time in my life, I was going to have to diet. I knew this would be hard, especially since I loved to eat.

  The next day, I woke up still sore from playing basketball. I also started a diet. And, I rode my sister’s exercise bike for the first time. I was in such sorry shape, that I was only able to ride it for about 2 minutes before getting tired. I stopped and my legs were burning and sore. I know, thats pretty damn pathetic. But, soon, I was up to 10 minutes. Then, 15. After a while, I was able to ride for 30 minutes with no problems. In that time, I have owned a elliptical machine for about a year and then another exercise bike. I also started running. And athough I no longer run due to some knee pain, I still ride the exercise bike. Everyday, inlcuding weekends and holidays.

  If starting to exercise was tough, it was not nearly as bad as dieting. Before the basketball game, I was eating fast food sometimes 2 times a day. I was drinking 2 or 3 cans of pop a day as well. And, if I can give you more info than you wanted, I was in the bathroom at least twice a day at the minimum. I frequently had a stomach ache and a bloated feeling. Once I started eating better, all of that went away. Its true what they say, you really start to physically feel good. I was amazed at the difference. Within a couple of months, I lost 15lbs! But, because I loved to eat, I started eating poorly again, but this time, I was exercising. However, I did not gain back any of the weight. Of course, I was also a lot more knowledgeable about what I was putting into my body. I was careful with what I ate. I would avoid over doing things and set limits.

  Flash forward to Oct 2004. I had recently been laid off from my job at AAA. We had a surprise birthday party for Kelli (you can read all about this on my xanga) and I had the mixed blessing and curse of getting the stomach flu. Curse because it was the worst night of my life. Blessing because I lost 3lbs and used that as a springboard to diet again and recommit myself to exercising more. Within 2 months, I dropped another 18lbs and was down to 135. I have kept off the weight too, mainly because I have a stop gap, when I gain back 3lbs, I go back on a diet and lose it.

  Now, I don’t want to come off as bragging. I am, however, proud of losing the weight and keeping it off. I mainly tell the story to help, for lack of a better and corny term, inspire people. Yes, it is very hard to lose weight. But, I firmly believe that with hard work and determination, it can be done. I share this story with everybody. So much, that I even told an insurance agent that I talk to on the phone at work. One day he called and told me that I had inspired him and he had started exercising and dieting. Last I heard, he was down 10lbs! See, if you want to get serious about it, its a total lifestyle change. You have to be committed. For example, I realize that everything I do physically, can help me stay in shape. Now, I work close to the mall and have a 45 minute lunch. So, I have taken to walking to the mall for lunch several times a week. I know eating from the mall sounds unhealthy, but I eat  things Subway, Panda Express and soup from Panera. I even went as far as to print out the nutritional info from those places so I know exactly how many calories and fat I’m eating. This helps greatly. And cooking healthy can taste better than it sounds. It starts with healthy cookbooks. Plus, you can really add a lot of taste if you like onions or garlic. I had an advantage because I started this lifestyle change well before I turned 30, but really anybody can do it. Stay strong and get a support team, and remain committed.

  • 10:28 pm
  • 3 Comments