See, I knew that title would get you to take a second look.
So, who is the fatso? 
Me.
For several years I’ve been overweight. Not grossly, mind you…but gross enough. Blubber isn’t pretty, nor is it healthy. And it’s hard to believe that an oft-winded muffin-top was God’s intended design.
Due to God’s awesome grace, I’ve made several weight-altering changes recently. I am pleased to report that I am now down about 40 pounds from whence I began. I still have about 30 more to go to get back down to optimum levels but solid progress has been made. Rejoice with me.
I’m blogging about this for a few reasons:
- Content -- Because if I did this a couple years ago there wouldn’t be much to say after the title.
- Accountability – I’m in a difficult phase of it. Throughout this journey it has been beneficial for me to share with others my goals and strategies. I am now expanding the scope. The temptation for me is to be content with being less overweight than I was, but overweight nonetheless. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. I will not order Pizza Hut.
- Relationship -- If my journey is a help or inspiration to some then that will be well worth the light affliction of saying “no” to Ferroro Rocher.
The Beginning Of This Journey
Early last year (2010) I was in pain. I was misdiagnosed with gout, then misdiagnosed again with pseudogout, until finally a rheumatologist determined I have a degenerative condition called spondyloarthropathy. The condition itself is far less exciting than trying to pronounce it. For me, the condition basically means there are times when I have crippling pain in my knees, ankles, and feet.
This was a real wake-up call for me. And over the past several months since the diagnosis I believe God has helped order my steps to make small yet progressively impactful decisions that have helped me to gain some momentum toward health. For the first time in my life since being overweight I feel like I’m seeing some consistent and quantifiable victory in the area of weight and overall health.
Unsalted Words
Before, I would think about my weight every day and resolutely make non-resolutions. I would feel better about eating large or greasy because I would determine in my mind to go running the next day or that coming weekend. But “more important” things almost always distracted me. Sometimes the more important thing was going out to dinner with friends or family.
I felt guilty. A few skinny people inspired me. Most skinny people annoyed me. (I forgive you, though.)
I felt extremely frustrated. My lovely wife has the metabolism of a hummingbird. I once had a similar metabolism. I longed for the days when I could eat and drink gargantuan portions of whatever I wanted and still remain in shape. But those days ended when I hit about 23.
I spent money during bursts of inspiration. I bought stuff specially designed to help one lose weight. But seriously, the pills and drinks might account for 2-3% of what a person needs to lose weight. I’m not going to say that they’re not helpful but they are not worth the very, very, very, *small* help that they are. Buying those things are like building a house and spending money on a diamond-plated nail gun instead of good concrete for the foundation. I mean…the nail gun will help but come on. You don’t need it. Just grab a $2.99 hammer and get the job done. What matters much more than the tool is the effort and determination behind the tool.
I burned through quite a bit of cash a few years ago in the L.A. Weight Loss program. From that experience I took away some humorous stories, a few lessons of what doesn’t work for me, and pretty much all my blubber.
I am wired to direct all my energies toward fixing something. But weight loss requires lifestyle change not quick bursts of well-intended activity. Those kind of bursts can’t last. I always fizzled.
Several times, I bought into the idea that I didn’t have to change in order to lose weight. The products that advertise that you can eat all you want and do no exercise do their job the moment you buy them…and then cease entirely to be effective from that point onward.
So, as you can see, I’m fully human.
What Is Working For Me (may not work for you)
I have not followed any specific diet or exercise plans. But what I am doing is working for me. I think some of the points that I purport below are more-or-less common denominators for weight loss.
These little changes have not been an overnight thing. It has been largely trial and error for me for years. I feel a bit like the guy that said “it took me 3 long years to make a million bucks overnight.” It has taken me many years of struggling to start understanding and/or believing the stuff that really does matter in regards to losing weight.
Here is the foundation for the success I’ve enjoyed thus far: Making healthy choices that I can actually *live with*, daily.
Most everything else has flowed out from this foundation.
I gave up trying to do the “big” things and determined to start doing small things that I could do daily. Instead of rushing down for a new gym membership, instead of eating air and warm water for a few days, instead of flaming up and flaming out I decided to try the slow burn strategy: small, daily, yet permanently acceptable.
So, here’s my healthy list:
- GOD. I brought my goals before God. I discussed them with Him. I asked God for help. I asked Him to put the things/people/stuff in my life that I needed to experience change.
- ME. I had to be the one to make the decision for health. I could not ultimately look to my wife, my parents, or my friends to fix my issue. I had to take responsibility. My wife was not at fault because she fried up some bacon. My parents were not at fault even though my mom took me to McDonalds often as a child. God was not to blame for withholding from me the gift of a hyper-metabolism, either. This was my issue and I needed to grab ahold of both handles and own up to it!
- FOOD EDUCATION. I went to the internet and got educated about food. What is a calorie? What is a carb? What is protein? Why is fiber important? Please note, if you pay for information about this issue then you deserve to lose the money. Good data is all over the net you just have to make some effort to look for it and read. I learned and am learning. I have spent a good amount of time educating myself about food, online.
- THE LIST. I found several foods that are universally agreed upon as being healthy foods that enhance weight loss. And then I began to determine THE LIST. “THE LIST” is a compilation of all the healthy foods that I can live with having to eat every day. This has been somewhat enjoyable and I’ve even tried some new foods. Today, I tried some China Kumquats and they were…interesting.
- WHOLE FOOD. Whole food has really seemed to help. I’ve been eating stuff like hard-boiled eggs, raw almonds, asparagus, apples, and blueberries.
- PILL-LESSNESS. I stopped looking for the secret pill or ultra-effective diet. Deep down I think I already knew what works and I just had to believe it. I think that’s an important distinction, too. Note I didn’t say “do it” I said I had to “believe it.”
- ANTICARBONATION. This was a huge step that I don’t think I could have made at first. But it has proven to be very effective in my case. I gave up Pepsi, Coke, and the like. Also, I gave up fruit juices and sport drinks because they are high in calories and sugar. So, what I drink nowadays is…
- WATER AND GREEN TEA. Sugarless, of course. And a lot of it.
- EAT MORE FREQUENTLY. Snack throughout the day on healthy things. Today at my desk I’ve eaten some raw strawberries and three little EDO almond pastries. Eating less food more frequently inspires your metabolism.
- FLAVOR. When we eat at home nowadays we try to make the food extra flavorful through the use of herbs and spices such as chili peppers. Since I’m eating less food I want the food that I do eat to be flavorful and there are many healthy and creative ways to achieve this. My wife has been a great help in this area!
- LESS SALT. Too much salt is really bad for people looking to lose weight. When I do use salt I use small amounts of sea salt.
- NO DESSERTS. Any questions?
- WRONG THINKING. I imagine some will find this erroneous thinking humorous. But for years I thought that if the food doesn’t feel physically heavy then it shouldn’t make me gain weight. I mean, bacon doesn’t feel heavy on the plate. A one-pound bag of potato chips could at max make me gain only one pound, right? I had to stop thinking like this. This is really bad thinking. I had to stop thinking in terms of the weight/quantity of food and begin to think in terms of the quality of food.
- LIFESTYLE. Sarah and I have had a lifestyle change beginning in Autumn 2010. Coming to Hong Kong has really helped us to be more physically active. We walk about 20 minutes to school in the morning and then walk 20 minutes back home. That’s an automatic 40 minutes of daily exercise. We’re not going to a gym to do it…it is just part and parcel with our daily lives. We could use the taxi or the rail system but we have made the decision to walk because it is more healthy. So once again it has been figuring out the small things that we can do and actually abide!
- MOMENTUM. When I could tighten my belt another notch it was great encouragement! And then when I could tighten it another two notches it really got me jazzed. As I have seen little steps of progress it has been highly motivational for me to continue making the small daily decisions that I can accept permanently.
- FRIENDS. Rob and Julie Gillen were largely inspirational to me because of the success they achieved in their own lives. I needed to find someone that has “been there, done that” and Rob was that guy. I spoke candidly with him about my goals and his own journey of getting physically fit. I treated his words of wisdom as a buffet (I am good at buffet style) and discerned those things that could work for me. He was the guy that really unlocked things for me with the concept of “making little changes that I could actually maintain.”
- KNOW YOURSELF. After so many years of failing in this area I had to adopt an Edison-like attitude. In failing was an education. I knew the things that didn’t work for me. Oh, I knew. Rob encouraged me to “reward myself” at some intervals. But I know myself. I know that rewarding myself could easily turn into a week’s worth of rewards. Know how you are wired. Know thyself! I can’t reward myself.
- DAILY DAILY DAILY. There are no breaks when one is on the battlefield. I am at war with my blubber and the attitudes within me (that still exist) that yielded the blubber in the first place!
- TALK TO YOURSELF. Talking to myself and yelling at myself has been helpful. Yeah, I know you think this is weird and that I’m a little crazy. That’s okay. It’s working for me.
- IMAGINATION. I have mentally blocked out certain foods by focusing wholly upon THE LIST. Today I was in the Circle K and I found myself surprised when I actually noticed some of the bad kinds of food (baked goodies, cookies, chocolate, etc). Surprised not because I noticed them, but because I hadn’t noticed them sooner. In my mind I had blocked those foods because of concentrating so intently on the foods that were on THE LIST. They’re there but they’re not. Spooky.
- ACCOUNTABILITY. I have shared my journey and my goals with others. I think that accountability can serve as sort of a crutch when we are weak or just limping along. Again, I’ve posted this publicly in hopes that doing so will further exhort me to accomplishing my goal of 215.
I hope this is helpful to others, it has been helpful for me to organize these thoughts. I have not arrived. In fact, I feel like I am at the most difficult phase of this process and this post has been written in part to help recharge my “self-discipline batteries” (there are only two and they are triple A).
Peace without grease.