sirant
New member
HI everyone....
As a lot of you know, I have been lurking around here and there for some time now. Piping up now and again. I figured everyone else had a journal, heck, why not me too? Why not share a little more about me than just current events. How about a little history? (Don't worry, the ultra condensed version...)
I, as you may or may not know, have a slight problem in that the world arround me has the misguided opinion I am fat. As I do not like to be a troublemaker I decided sometime ago to agree with them and actively try to change that fact. That and all that fitness'y type stuff of course
Anyhow, I am yet another of those miraculous over weight people. I went from been a toothpick up till I was 5 years old, and somehow, someway in the following 6 months before Christmas I gained another entire child worth of weight apparently. I must have really let myself go or something.
Pretty much been that way ever since. I wont go into the long sordid details about how much my life has sucked or how much I know I have missed out on in life, how lonely I was, how i was always sick, etc etc because in all seriousness most of us already know allllll about it. Everyone has their own reasons and stories, but like I said earlier, condensed version. You be creative and make up your own situations for me. Be as creative as you like.
I will skip ahead to the heart attack.....
Boy doesn't that sound nice? But it happened. Luckily for me it was a minor one, but definitely a wake up call. I had been working as a service engineer for one of the big IT companies with very high profile clients. I worked a lot of very very stressful hours for years. Also, rarely being home and single, I lived primarily off of fast food and ate in the car. other than of course stuffing myself with comfort foods in front of my computers at night. Again, details a lot of us already know about.
However, I was motivated. A year before the heart attack I stopped cutting my hair and started training to be a professional wrestler. Yes, like WWE on tv. Not only did I train like mad, but I had a blast and felt great. I dropped from 285 to 250 in no time. I felt like a million bucks. A lot of those 250 were muscle. When I wasn't working, which was getting fewer and further between. I used to think having a pager, a cell phone, a laptop and a company car was cool, till I lost my personal life altogether. My family thought I ran away, I had no friends (dating?? come on) and was not healthy at all.
Bang!
Stopped in my tracks by what my doctor called a "minor heart attack" I was literally paralyzed by pain , then the inability to move for several long minutes. Long story short, I didnt die (ya think?) but my doctor told me something very important. At 34 years old, if I did not make a DRASTIC change in my life, I would not live to 40.
Niiiice! Not! So I obviously decided to change my life, though I doubt anyone back home were expecting how drastically. I went out (since I was on sick leave for the heart attack for a couple months) and took a week long little Teach English Overseas course. Upon coming back to work a couple weeks later I gave my 2 weeks notice to my rather surprised boss and the day after my last day of work I was on the longest plane ride of my life to the other side of the world. Been here ever since.
Now China has its ups and downs of course. On the downside, it is hard as hell to guesstimate calories here, especially when eating in restaurants. And even most products in the supermarket have no nutritional info yet. it is super duper hot and humid here in the summer, which lasts 6+months in general. The humidity is a killer, especially to a big guy. You get used to sweating. Ain't enough antiperspirant in the world.... And of course the language thing, which isn't much problem for me anymore thankfully. But the biggest downside of all is cheapness. Everything here is CHEAP! 650ml bottles of VERY yummy Chinese beer, 30 cents, chocolate bars, ice creams, potato chips, coca cola, fancy yummy big dishes in the restaurant, etc etc etc..... All much too affordable. And China is a banquet country where eating is a big part of their culture. the bigger you are here the better, and they will feed you accordingly. You really must learn to say no I am full in Chinese first.
Now, aside from all that, China is a very cool place too. Whereas food is cheap it is also very fresh. the Chinese way is to buy your meat and veggies daily and consume everything very fresh. Wilted anything is rarely seen. And cooking, if oily, is relatively simple and hardy. Also the place I live in is literally a wonderland of gorgeous parks where the flowers bloom all year, beautiful beaches, jungle mountains and fresh tasty fruit and veggies all year. The people I have met here are among the nicest I have known my whole life. My work, though sadly a little sedentary is not stressful and allows for a nice life for me and my family. What more could a person want?
Well, now I want the rest. I want the fit body. I want the sexy clothes. I want to not be tired all the time. I want to be the man on the outside I have been all my life on the inside. It will happen too.
My most recent pitfalls have been the steady state aerobics addiction. I got hooked into an easy aerobics video that I did literally 5-7 times a week for a year or more. I couldn't understand why I wasn't losing weight. I was fitter and could move easier, but I was steadily growing. The food was good, work was good, I learned Chinese so life became comfortable. Then in December I decided to buy a scale and see what it said. I never knew before because most chinese scales only go up to 125 kg. And I of course was more. I bought a special scale and it said 297 pounds...... A far cry from the 250 3 years ago. Life had been too good apparently. The lesson of the heart attack fogotten.
Well, that 2, followed by the 9 and 7 was a wake up call. I started reading, going online and most of all, exercising. I stopped doing that same old video and started shaking things up. First i started walking. 15 minutes from the train station instead of a cab at first. Then one stop early, and 20 minutes walking. Slowly progressing to now, where I walk 3km+ at lunch for half of my lunch break, then walk 6km in 45 minutes home after work. The aches and pains that plagued my lower back during that initial period is gone and I now look forward to my walks everyday as a time to reflect and laugh at all the people in traffic jams, squashed into buses that aren't even moving like sardines! Hah! I will walk any day. I also started using some equipment in the gym at the sauna.... Oh the sauna.... A story for another day... But soon i got tired of using machines, though it did put a little bulk on which made me very happy since it was the right kind of bulk in the right places. So I started doing a little mixed up combo of pilates, yoga and some awesome little body weight weight training which so far I have been very happy with. I cant get to the gym as much as I work all day and my wife goes to school at night, so I am often babysitting. So I do what I can here, but i am happy with it. I also did the Biggest Loser tv shows 6 week workout program DVD and found it very good and challenging. Now that tha program is finished I have started tae bo as my next alternating cardio steady state workout. I also use my spin bike sometimes randomly when I want to watch a movie or tv show, as it is perched happily in front of the tv. I figure if I can sit and watch a movie for an hour and a half, 30 minutes could be spent mindlessly pedaling away. Now most recently I have started some in earnest HIIT spin bike routines. Killer, but good.
Now that is just the regular type workout stuff. I also hike with my daughter and wife every weekend. I do exercises on the free government equipment downstairs and soon hope the pool will be open again to start swimming in the mornings.
So all of that, since about mid December, lost me 30 pounds. I dipped down to 267 like a flash! Felt great, looked better, but that was it. A wall. I am at a plateau that has gone on for some time this month, and I am not happy about it, but I am also not losing focus. I went to Thailand twice and had visitors in from Canada, so my schedule and eating has been erratic of course, not that I am making excuses. Thats just real life. No excuses necessary. I know now my exercise is fine, it is the food that needs work.
Anywho, with a heck of a lot of determination and a hell of a lot of help from the awesome people here in this group, I am confident I am going to body slam this weight problem and pin it for the 3 count (Sorry bout the wrestling lingo, couldn't help it) . My time is now, I am not going to wait any more. I already see myself in the mirror thin. Oddly enough I only see me in a fat suit now, something temporary, not really a part of me. I can do things now I never dreamed possible (Like 100 push ups in a day! 50 in a row!!!) I can jog and not hurt myself. I do still complain about how my clothes fit, but now because they are too baggy and bunched up. I am stronger and feel better and healthier than I did at any time in my 20's.
And even before I finally get there, I want to thank all of you in advance for everything I know you are going to do for me, whether you know it or not. A wise suggestion or a kind word in the right place at the right time could save a life, literally. I think you are all just swell people...
sirant
As a lot of you know, I have been lurking around here and there for some time now. Piping up now and again. I figured everyone else had a journal, heck, why not me too? Why not share a little more about me than just current events. How about a little history? (Don't worry, the ultra condensed version...)
I, as you may or may not know, have a slight problem in that the world arround me has the misguided opinion I am fat. As I do not like to be a troublemaker I decided sometime ago to agree with them and actively try to change that fact. That and all that fitness'y type stuff of course
Anyhow, I am yet another of those miraculous over weight people. I went from been a toothpick up till I was 5 years old, and somehow, someway in the following 6 months before Christmas I gained another entire child worth of weight apparently. I must have really let myself go or something.
Pretty much been that way ever since. I wont go into the long sordid details about how much my life has sucked or how much I know I have missed out on in life, how lonely I was, how i was always sick, etc etc because in all seriousness most of us already know allllll about it. Everyone has their own reasons and stories, but like I said earlier, condensed version. You be creative and make up your own situations for me. Be as creative as you like.
I will skip ahead to the heart attack.....
Boy doesn't that sound nice? But it happened. Luckily for me it was a minor one, but definitely a wake up call. I had been working as a service engineer for one of the big IT companies with very high profile clients. I worked a lot of very very stressful hours for years. Also, rarely being home and single, I lived primarily off of fast food and ate in the car. other than of course stuffing myself with comfort foods in front of my computers at night. Again, details a lot of us already know about.
However, I was motivated. A year before the heart attack I stopped cutting my hair and started training to be a professional wrestler. Yes, like WWE on tv. Not only did I train like mad, but I had a blast and felt great. I dropped from 285 to 250 in no time. I felt like a million bucks. A lot of those 250 were muscle. When I wasn't working, which was getting fewer and further between. I used to think having a pager, a cell phone, a laptop and a company car was cool, till I lost my personal life altogether. My family thought I ran away, I had no friends (dating?? come on) and was not healthy at all.
Bang!
Stopped in my tracks by what my doctor called a "minor heart attack" I was literally paralyzed by pain , then the inability to move for several long minutes. Long story short, I didnt die (ya think?) but my doctor told me something very important. At 34 years old, if I did not make a DRASTIC change in my life, I would not live to 40.
Niiiice! Not! So I obviously decided to change my life, though I doubt anyone back home were expecting how drastically. I went out (since I was on sick leave for the heart attack for a couple months) and took a week long little Teach English Overseas course. Upon coming back to work a couple weeks later I gave my 2 weeks notice to my rather surprised boss and the day after my last day of work I was on the longest plane ride of my life to the other side of the world. Been here ever since.
Now China has its ups and downs of course. On the downside, it is hard as hell to guesstimate calories here, especially when eating in restaurants. And even most products in the supermarket have no nutritional info yet. it is super duper hot and humid here in the summer, which lasts 6+months in general. The humidity is a killer, especially to a big guy. You get used to sweating. Ain't enough antiperspirant in the world.... And of course the language thing, which isn't much problem for me anymore thankfully. But the biggest downside of all is cheapness. Everything here is CHEAP! 650ml bottles of VERY yummy Chinese beer, 30 cents, chocolate bars, ice creams, potato chips, coca cola, fancy yummy big dishes in the restaurant, etc etc etc..... All much too affordable. And China is a banquet country where eating is a big part of their culture. the bigger you are here the better, and they will feed you accordingly. You really must learn to say no I am full in Chinese first.
Now, aside from all that, China is a very cool place too. Whereas food is cheap it is also very fresh. the Chinese way is to buy your meat and veggies daily and consume everything very fresh. Wilted anything is rarely seen. And cooking, if oily, is relatively simple and hardy. Also the place I live in is literally a wonderland of gorgeous parks where the flowers bloom all year, beautiful beaches, jungle mountains and fresh tasty fruit and veggies all year. The people I have met here are among the nicest I have known my whole life. My work, though sadly a little sedentary is not stressful and allows for a nice life for me and my family. What more could a person want?
Well, now I want the rest. I want the fit body. I want the sexy clothes. I want to not be tired all the time. I want to be the man on the outside I have been all my life on the inside. It will happen too.
My most recent pitfalls have been the steady state aerobics addiction. I got hooked into an easy aerobics video that I did literally 5-7 times a week for a year or more. I couldn't understand why I wasn't losing weight. I was fitter and could move easier, but I was steadily growing. The food was good, work was good, I learned Chinese so life became comfortable. Then in December I decided to buy a scale and see what it said. I never knew before because most chinese scales only go up to 125 kg. And I of course was more. I bought a special scale and it said 297 pounds...... A far cry from the 250 3 years ago. Life had been too good apparently. The lesson of the heart attack fogotten.
Well, that 2, followed by the 9 and 7 was a wake up call. I started reading, going online and most of all, exercising. I stopped doing that same old video and started shaking things up. First i started walking. 15 minutes from the train station instead of a cab at first. Then one stop early, and 20 minutes walking. Slowly progressing to now, where I walk 3km+ at lunch for half of my lunch break, then walk 6km in 45 minutes home after work. The aches and pains that plagued my lower back during that initial period is gone and I now look forward to my walks everyday as a time to reflect and laugh at all the people in traffic jams, squashed into buses that aren't even moving like sardines! Hah! I will walk any day. I also started using some equipment in the gym at the sauna.... Oh the sauna.... A story for another day... But soon i got tired of using machines, though it did put a little bulk on which made me very happy since it was the right kind of bulk in the right places. So I started doing a little mixed up combo of pilates, yoga and some awesome little body weight weight training which so far I have been very happy with. I cant get to the gym as much as I work all day and my wife goes to school at night, so I am often babysitting. So I do what I can here, but i am happy with it. I also did the Biggest Loser tv shows 6 week workout program DVD and found it very good and challenging. Now that tha program is finished I have started tae bo as my next alternating cardio steady state workout. I also use my spin bike sometimes randomly when I want to watch a movie or tv show, as it is perched happily in front of the tv. I figure if I can sit and watch a movie for an hour and a half, 30 minutes could be spent mindlessly pedaling away. Now most recently I have started some in earnest HIIT spin bike routines. Killer, but good.
Now that is just the regular type workout stuff. I also hike with my daughter and wife every weekend. I do exercises on the free government equipment downstairs and soon hope the pool will be open again to start swimming in the mornings.
So all of that, since about mid December, lost me 30 pounds. I dipped down to 267 like a flash! Felt great, looked better, but that was it. A wall. I am at a plateau that has gone on for some time this month, and I am not happy about it, but I am also not losing focus. I went to Thailand twice and had visitors in from Canada, so my schedule and eating has been erratic of course, not that I am making excuses. Thats just real life. No excuses necessary. I know now my exercise is fine, it is the food that needs work.
Anywho, with a heck of a lot of determination and a hell of a lot of help from the awesome people here in this group, I am confident I am going to body slam this weight problem and pin it for the 3 count (Sorry bout the wrestling lingo, couldn't help it) . My time is now, I am not going to wait any more. I already see myself in the mirror thin. Oddly enough I only see me in a fat suit now, something temporary, not really a part of me. I can do things now I never dreamed possible (Like 100 push ups in a day! 50 in a row!!!) I can jog and not hurt myself. I do still complain about how my clothes fit, but now because they are too baggy and bunched up. I am stronger and feel better and healthier than I did at any time in my 20's.
And even before I finally get there, I want to thank all of you in advance for everything I know you are going to do for me, whether you know it or not. A wise suggestion or a kind word in the right place at the right time could save a life, literally. I think you are all just swell people...
sirant
