Back Story & Beginning of My Journey

September 29, 2017

The Back Story/ Beginning of My Journey

I’m fat. I’m not “big boned”, I’m not “chubby”, I’m fat. This is ok. I’m a big boy (pun intended) and I can handle hearing this. My friends and brothers don’t let me forget it. So let’s call it for what it is. That’s how I am, or try to be anyway. In March of 2016, I had a routine doctor visit. My health wasn’t all that great. I weighed in at 307 and my asthma was out of control. Not only that, I didn’t sleep all that well. Some of that I can blame on my cat for sleeping on my legs at night but when you wake up 5 or 6 times per night, that’s a problem. You’re going to feel like crap the next morning.

My doctor looks me dead in the eye and she says “What are you doing? Your weight is ballooning, you sound like crap, you’re not sleeping well…you need to make some changes and now”… that’s when I asked if she’d recommend me for the gastric sleeve surgery. I figured “Hey I’m obese, I should be a candidate and this sleeve will help me stick with it”. She said I would be a good candidate but before she’d agree to write up a referral, she wanted me to try natural methods of weight loss. She recommended I enter a weight loss study that Drexel University was doing. They met once a week on campus in Philly somewhere. Pass. I’m too busy and/or lazy to do that…Next! She says “join a gym, read up online or in Men’s Fitness for routines. There are some great routines and tips in there. Also, download the My Fitness Pal app on your phone and literally log everything you eat and drink in there. It will count your calories, track your protein, fat, and carb intake and even count macros if you choose to follow that type of plan”. So I did.

One of the things I read doing research was the benefits of running. My next door neighbor Zack is actually who inspired me. I always saw him coming and going to and from runs. He told me about this app called C25K (Couch to 5K). It’s designed to get a couch potato trained to run a 5k race after 8 weeks. It’s interval training so you start with a warm up walk, run for a period of time, walk for a period of time and so on, ending with a cool down walk. Each session is about 28-35 minutes or so on average. It’s totally doable from a time perspective and you only do 3 sessions per week. This is my health we’re talking here so that’s what I did…I tracked everything I ate and drank in My Fitness Pal and used C25K 3 times per week to get me moving. On my off days, I walked 3.1 miles around my neighborhood to let my legs feel what a 5K was.

By May of 2016 I was down to 280 lbs. (-27 lbs.). By July, I weighed in at 269 lbs. (-38 lbs.). I was able to finish the C25K program in the 8 weeks allotted and didn’t failed (or cheat) any lesson. A 31 year old man, starting weight at 307 pounds literally jogged/walked 38 pounds off his body with discipline in both diet and exercise. When I say “diet” I’m not talking eating “rabbit food” every day. I cut out soda, beer, and fast food. Then I cut out processed junk foods.

On July 4, 2016 I ran my first 5K race. My finish time was 41:02. I was having monthly well visits with my Doctor to keep myself honest and track my progress. She was so happy and proud of me, I was becoming a “model patient”. She felt great because what I was doing was being helped. She was doing her job as a Doctor, and I felt great because I wanted to be a role model for my wife and kids.

At this point, I started to realize that the sleeve, at least for me, wasn’t an option. I didn’t need it. It was the wake-up call I needed though…I almost asked for surgery to not be fat any more. Although I feel this IS an option AND needed for so many, it wasn’t for me. Will power was going to get me to where I needed to be, and this is where my journey begins…

(pictures below are from the time period of weighing 307-269 in 2016)