Introduction #2 - Where I am

It felt good to get started exercising & eating better, but I didn’t feel good about my game plan. I had done this twice before, saw results, and then had it all go bad. Both times I ended up more fat than when I started. So doing the same thing again seemed crazy to me, but I didn’t want to sit around and do nothing. I started checking around trying to learn everything that I could about fitness/nutrition. During one of these searches I came across Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle by Tom Venuto. This book has been a real eye opener for me, and it is the piece of the puzzle that was missing. I have answered why I have failed in the past, and know what I need to do to achieve my dream of being a role model for my children, and being around for them for a long time to come.

When I have exercised in the past my cardio of choice has been running. Well jogging is probably a better description of it J I don’t fit what you might consider a runner build, not even close. But when I run I feel like I really did something. I feel like I worked hard, and it gives me a sense of accomplishment. I did a few things wrong though. I pushed it way too hard too fast, which led me to being injured. Nothing major, but shin splints are not pleasant. I also had some knee problems in high school from a football injury, so running 5 times a week did not work for me. Both times when I stopped exercising because of these issues, I went right back to old eating habits. I found that I have an all or nothing mentality. If I’m not exercising then I can’t be perfect. If I can’t be perfect then why bother? Both times after I stopped exercising it took a single act of lost control to send me in a downward spiral. One time it was a bag of BBQ chips, the other was 2 mint brownies. I let a few hundred calories completely derail my progress. The first thing I realized is the all or nothing mentality had to be the first thing to work on. Nobody is perfect and I had to be able to overcome obstacles like injury or an unplanned cheat meal.

So, what do I need to do differently this time? First of all I still run, but I only run 2 times per week. I gradually increase my distances, and I run on a treadmill to take some of the impact. The other days I do lower impact cardio on the elliptical or the cycle. I also eat more this time around. Seems weird at first, but I know I am not going to screw up my metabolism, and it helps with the emotional eating. I’m still working on the all or nothing attitude; it is a work in progress. I have problems with emotional eating, so this piece is really important to me. If I eat something I did not plan, I try to get right back on track ASAP. I am relieved to say that I am not perfect. I have had a bad day or two, and even a bad week recently. The difference is that this time I REFUSE TO FAIL, I refuse to not be successful. I keep working at it and learning from my setbacks. Each time I have a setback, I really do learn something from it and then move on. I’ve lived with my head in the sand for too long, and I won’t do that anymore. I will analyze what is going on in my life, make adjustments, and move forward. Have you lost weight in the past but have gained it back? There is a reason why it did not work for you. Find out what it is, make your adjustments, and try again.

At my most recent weigh in I was at 266 lbs with around 34.8% body fat. So far I have lost 45.5 lbs and around 6% of my body fat. I have been implementing BFFM slowly over the past 4 months. I started by trying to eat more frequent meals while eating cleaner foods. Now I eat 6 meals a day and plan my meals ahead of time almost without thinking about it. I’ve progressed from not being able to run at all to running 4 miles in just over 40 minutes. I can now do 35 pushups. I wear size 40 pants (down from 46) and XL shirts (from XXXL). So that is where I am currently at, but I am excited for where I am going!

Introduction - Where I was

I think I am a pretty average guy in most ways. I'm 32, been married for almost 9 years, I have a job, a mortage, etc. OK, so I do have 5 kids, so I guess I'm not average there...
My wife and I thought we couldn't have our own kids, and we wanted a big family, so we adopted 4 kids (age range now 2 years - 17) and then a month later she was preggers :) So we were blessed with 5 children in 10 months.

I haven't been average as far as my weight either, not since I was 19. December 6th, 2005 I weighed in at 311.5 lbs. At 5'9" that was morbidly obese, and I felt like it. I decided it was time to do something about it. At first I did what I have done in the past to lose weight, I started exercising and cutting calories. I had done that successfully two times in the past (2000 & 2002) and lost around 40 - 50 lbs. However, I did some thinking about this and it didn't seem like I was so successful after all, I mean I gained the weight back plus more! I really wanted a lifestyle change so I could be healthy for the rest of my life. I wanted to live life, not let it pass me by. So this time around I set out to educate myself and determine what had gone wrong in the past.

When I started exercising I could do 7 pushups. I couldn't run at all. When I carried my son upstairs to put him in bed I would be gasping for air hoping that no one could hear me over the monitor. It is so discouraging when you are in this state. You think, "How can I possibly do this?". I had no idea what to do for exercise. In the past I would jog, but no way I could do that. I thought about walking but it was December, and cold, and well walking is just boring for me. I decided to jump rope. Why? Well I had a jump rope already, it didn't require that I join a gym, and I had done it in High School. I had to rest a lot, but I got started by jumping rope 3-4 times a week for 15 - 20 mins.

The key is to find something that works for you. Don't be discouraged because of where you are starting out. There are some great advantages when you start out really out of shape. First of all, you are going to see some vast improvements pretty quickly, both weight loss and performance wise. Also, it won't take 60 mins of cardio in order for you to see these results. If you have been inactive for a long time, just doing 15 mins of some activity is a huge change for your body. And a huge change for your mind. When you see those changes happening, you can't help but to feel better about yourself and to have more confidence. The key is to just get started and let the momentum carry you forward.

As far as eating, I think most of us know pretty much what is good for us and what isn't. Should you drink soda? No. Should you eat fried food? No. Will cookies help you be lean? Nope. Is an apple good for you? Yes. Veggies. Yes. Whole grains? Yes. I think most people understand this. Forget about your macronutrient ratios & how many grams of protein do you need, those are the details. Start out by doing something for exercise and eating better. Last December that is exactly what I did. By eating better I mean when I went to Burger King & got a grilled chicken sandwich, and either a salad or chili, with a diet drink. Is this perfect eating? No. Is it a million miles better than eating a whole medium pizza & 24 oz of soda? You bet it is. It got me moving in the right direction. Even taking Christmas week off I lost over 10 lbs that first month. I didn’t know what HIIT was, I didn’t know what a superset was, I doubt I could have even told you what a yam was. It didn’t matter because I was so much better off than where I was. I got results anyway. You can too just by getting started.