December 2008 : 225 pants size 40
January 2018 164 30-31
I was the kind of person that would have 2 hot dogs for breakfast, 2 for dinner and then a jack’s pizza for supper. To top it off, in the afternoon I would eat a big plate of nacho chips with cheese and salsa. Not because I was starving but just because. Fast forward to Christmas 2008. Up until that point, I knew I was gaining weight, I just didn’t care. Then I saw this very unflattering Christmas photo taken of me at my parents house.
It was there and then that I decided I had to make a change. I figured the first thing that had to go was my eating habits.
I told myself, I can have something to eat for breakfast (After all breakfast is good for you) and something for dinner. I saw no reason for eating anything between dinner and supper (Yet still eating 3 meals a day). The day I implemented those guidelines, to say I was hungry in the afternoon was an understatement. I remember thinking OMG, I’m craving a big plate of something right now, OMG I’m so hungry! If you think that feeling goes away after only a few days it doesn’t. It goes on for a week or more.
Eventually our body catches on and you become less hungry, to the point where you really aren’t hungry at all (not like you use to be).
At the same time (the day after I saw the photos) I bought an exercise bike from Wal-Mart. I remember calling my parents after I got the bike assembled. Their exact words were “So you bought a bike” I think that was code for “I see that collecting dust after a very short period of time”. I ended up riding the bike for 2 years 20 mins a day.
The only way I could see this exercise bike being a success is if I could use it while watching TV (To this day it still lives against my living room wall).
I asked myself “How long should I use it?”. To this day I despise riding the thing. The only thing I look forward to is finishing it. I figured 10 mins sounds too short and 30 sounds a bit much, so how about 20 minutes. I figure that way I’ll a work out and won’t burn out in the process.
So I started. What’s really depressing is after 2 or 3 weeks of use you see ABSOLUTELY no difference in the way you look. You may see a pound disappear here or there, but over all you feel and look the same.
You basically want to say “**** it”. Oddly enough after you keep on keeping on, the day comes when you wake up, look in the mirror and step on the scale and say “Oh my gosh, I actually see a difference.”
Then in 2011, I walked 3.6 miles every day for 362 days. I took 1 day off for the flu, one for ice and one for Xmas. So for 362 days in rain, sleet, snow, ice, heat and below zero temps. When it was all said and done I had walked 1,303.2 miles. During that time I also went on low carb. My Goal when I started was 179 (from starting at 125) but from biking and walking I had only achieved 182. Once I added low carb in the mix I was down to 181 and soon after 179.
9 years later i'm still monitoring my weight, keeping it under control. I'm no longer low carb, but lower carb.
I guess the moral of this boring story is, don’t give up. It can be very discouraging at first. In fact, going back to the old way of life usually sounds much more fun and less tiring. In the end you will prevail, and look and feel better in the process.
Before photos.
After
My Halloween costume last year (2017)
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