Day 7 - End of Week One and Monday's Spotlight

Well that's the end of week one.  Overall pretty good, we'll have to wait for the scale tomorrow, but no matter what it says I know I've started making real change this week.

Lots of people help me with this journey, and every Monday I intend to recognize some of them. Today I want to talk about the guy who has developed the workout program I am following.

Robert Foster, Owner of www.trainersonsite.com , and his wife Michelle are a potent health combination. Robert is an accomplished Personal Trainer, Michelle a Registered Holistic Nutritionist. Between the two of them is a ton of knowledge about the human body and how to get it healthy.

I met Rob through Karate a couple of years ago, and quickly recognized the intense passion he has for physical training.  Rob keeps himself in top shape, working out daily in addition to Karate, and delivering training sessions for clients. He does all this while still finding time for his wonderful family.

Rob and Michelle have been cheering me on as I try to get healthy for the last while now, and their help in this 100 day challenge cannot be understated.

Besides designing my workouts to maximize what I can do, while avoiding exercises that could trigger old injuries I deal with, Rob has given me a program I trust, at a level that provides sufficient challenge for change. He checks with me on a regular basis to see what is working and what isn't, he calls or emails just to let me know he is there to help me achieve my goals.

The passion these two have for fitness, the energy they bring, the belief they show in me being successful is infectious, and I am forever grateful for having them help me start this journey.

Today's Workout

TRX and Strength

Calories Eaten - 2222
Calories Burned - 3240

Day 3 - Planning the Weekend

First an admission.  I had a meeting to go to tonight, had an errand to run after it. Got home late.

Did NOT want to go do my row. No matter how brief the rowing workouts are right now as I build my form and stamina for longer sessions, I just had no desire to do it.

But I did. I went downstairs and did my planned session.

Why?

Because I got myself into this mess partially by taking shortcuts. Taking the easy way. Letting my bad planning become an easy excuse to not workout, or make a good meal choice, or just be lazy as a husband, father, son, friend.

This is about action. This is about seeing things through. So to the rower it was.

Speaking of planning, I'm away this weekend, so there will likely be no update until Sunday. I'll be off with no Internet access.

Does that mean no workouts? Bad meal choices? No accountability?

HELL NO!!

My DW (darling wife) has been hard at work making sure that I will have the right meal choices with me. It's amazing the support I get from her.

I've planned my workout schedule around my weekend. Friday, before I leave I have a strength workout from my friends @trainersonsite.  Then Saturday is a scheduled rest day, and Sunday I'll be back in time to get my rowing workout in again.

It's this planning that's key. When we just react to what is happening we don't always leave ourselves enough time to do the right thing, so we do an easy thing.

I can't do that anymore, it lead me to misery, so I have a plan for how to maximize what I can.  Sure the unpredictable happens, but we pretend it happens way more than it does. We know Sunday traffic is bad coming home from the cottage, but we pretend to be surprised when we get home at 10pm, too late for a workout.  (For the record I am leaving early and expect to be home mid afternoon, lots of time)

Don't set yourself up to fail. Have a plan. Take action. Give yourself your best chance at success for all your goals.

See you Sunday with a recap.

 - by the way, every Monday I will be featuring someone who inspires me to push myself, these are friends and family that I admire for their own stories, efforts or support. Be sure to check in on Mondays to see who is featured each week.

Today's Workout

Rowing 2400m

Calories Eaten - 2163
Calories Burned - 3448

Be well!

100 Days

100 Days.  Little more than 3 months.

How much has changed in your life?

 How much of your life have you changed?

100 days ago I had a huge eating binge. How huge? 14579 calories.

14579. No that's not a typo.  That includes at one point 5536 during a 40 minute car ride home from downtown.

Can't live like that. You cannot go out and eat a weeks worth of food in a day and expect life to be grand.

100 days ago I had my last binge. I'm proud of that. But what can I do with the next 100?

What could I do to change the fat man by November 26th?

I made a commitment 100 days ago not to go on any more crazy binges. I've battled binges all my life, and 100 days later I've been successful so far.

So lets lay down a new challenge.

A good friend of mine Rob Foster is the owner of Trainersonsite.com. Rob is a great guy and he's been trying to help me for a while now. Despite my struggles he has maintained his energy and drive to see me through it all.

So what if I made this commitment. I'm going to follow Rob's program he's given me for the next 100 days.

In the last 100 days I helped myself. Now lets start getting help from experts.  I'm going to take advantage of people who want to help me, like Rob.  I'll  use tools like bodymedia.com and Myfitnesspal.com to track my food for the next 100 days, making sure I finish in the negative at least 6 days out of every 7.

Lets spend 100 days and start reversing this fat man. Lets spend 100 days together and see what happens.

100 days ago I had my last binge. Today starts the next 100 days. Join me, see how it goes.

Check back here frequently, my goal is to update as often as I can, daily whenever possible so that people can see the progression.

The 260lb bounce

For those of you losing weight, do you have a number that gives you trouble?

I do, 260lbs.

I've been over that number for along time now, and every time I approach it I bounce off it like some sort of damned trampoline.

I can't tell you the number of times I've hit it, like some sort of perverse paddle ball I slam into 260, then BOING, 261, 262, 263, refocus, 262, 261, 260, 259.8 (feel the trampoline stretch...) BOING 261 262.

I'm sick of it.

So the question is why? And I hate the answer.

The answer is me.

 I focus for a few weeks, I maintain my discipline, and about the time I get near that milestone, I start to slack off. It happened again over the last couple of weeks. My commitment, particularly to healthy eating, started to slack off a bit and the hard work I had done to get down to 260 goes out the window.

The number actually means nothing. Nada, zilch. It's only in my head because I let that correlation start to convince me that somehow 260lbs is different than 261.

It isn't. It's just a number, one of many I have to work through in order to achieve my goals.

How many of your life's challenges are like that? How often do you say, "oh, that's the one I can't get past"? Are you being honest with yourself? Is it a true milestone? A true obstacle? or just something you let get into your head?

 Is it simply you?

My demonic trampoline isn't 260lbs, its my own inability to maintain the commitment required to punch through it.

I was 261.4 this morning, after being 260.2 earlier last week. When I next write this blog, my goal is to be able to tell you that I maintained my discipline, that I ate healthy, that I exercised, and that I blew a giant hole in that 260lb trampoline, and tossed it in the trash, never to see it again.

Find your obstacle, the one you can't get past, and spend the next couple weeks with me breaking through it. Come back here Feb 6th with your own tale of conquest!

Follow me on twitter @fatfitman

Half measures have availed us nothing

One year ago today I noticed my weight had jumped up to a startling 272.4lbs

I set out two simple goals;

A) lose 53lbs, putting me below 220.

B) run a 5k race

Well, looking back, how did I do?  Not great. Today I weigh 264.4 lbs, so in one year I lost only 8 lbs. I participated in a 5k race, but by no means did I run it.

What happened to my year? I could list some excuses easily, injury, kids, time constraints.

But they are excuses. What's the real truth?

Half measures avail us nothing

That's the cold hard truth. I'm not trying to lose 10lbs to fit into a smaller pair of jeans. I'm trying to reverse years of neglect on my body. And I spent a year doing it half-assed.

Honest appraisal, I have more than 60lbs to lose. That's not to look better, that's simply to be healthy. Say what you want about BMI, but I need to lose 40lbs to not be classified as obese!
These are big numbers, these aren't "I'm going to cut down on my pasta" numbers, these are my life needs an overhaul numbers.

I would eat right, then not
I would log my food, sometimes
I would workout, when I felt like it

Half measures avail us nothing

This cannot continue.  I cannot simply do the few easy things and expect a true change. I cannot simply hope things will get better while eating a cheeseburger. I cannot become more fit by averaging one workout a week.

So lets turn it around. Let's fix it. Now.

Goals for 2012

Goal #1: Get below 205 lbs.  Once I am at that weight I'll take an appraisal of what a reasonable goal weight should be for me

Goal #2: RUN a 5k. Not walk, not half and half. Run. The whole way. This one might be harder than the weight loss.

Half measures avail us nothing

I'm not going to get there without changing how I do things. I can't occasionally log my food. I can't occasionally workout, and I can't occasionally blog about it.

Logging food is how I hold myself accountable for my choices, it has to be a daily thing.

Working out is good for my waistline, my heart, and for easing stress, 6 times a week is not unreasonable.

Blogging is my accountability to friends and family, my way of sharing my struggle, and hoping others are motivated to join me. I need to aim for weekly, but at least every 2 weeks I need to be in here, good or bad.

When I achieved successes during 2011 I did the above. When I stumbled in 2011 I did them occasionally.

Half measures avail us nothing.

No half measures for 2012. This is my year, this is my 40th year, this is the year I meet the fitman again.

@fatfitman

Ho Ho Ho its off to run we go!

Well Ho Ho Ho everyone, the fatfitman stuck by his promise and ran in the Burlington 5k Santa run last weekend

 As you can see from the photos there were a lot of very dedicated people (4000 participants!) out in the morning chill to raise some money and do something healthy this holiday season

 That's me below in the pointy hat, sadly at my current weight I make a pretty good Santa, hopefully at the run next year the outfit will look a little more baggy!

 4000 Santas make a pretty big sea of red as we head out down Lakeshore Blvd.

 The fatfitman, my darling wife (left) our friend LC (right) and our two biggest fans who braved the cold to meet us at the end.

So how was the first 5k? Well, honestly, not as bad as I thought it might be. I finished in 43:03.9, which is not god by any means, but it's a start. More importantly I enjoyed it. I want to do more runs, and the competitive side of me wants to get better at it.

I think that's one of the things I have to key on going forward. I am a competitive person, I love my hockey, karate, and now the idea of running in a competition. I can only get better at each of these as I lose weight, and increase my fitness level. It takes hard work and dedication to to these things and to do them well.

The holidays have been predictably hard, my struggles with eating not helped by a week on the road in Atlanta, but those are just excuses. Self-improvement is hard, and I need to focus on what drives me to get better instead of focusing on what tastes good.

My family drives me, my competitive nature drives me, my desire is fueled by these things. I will improve, I will get healthy, I will lose more weight.

What fuels you, what drives you, what are you looking to change and improve as the year comes to a close?

Next entry will be the one year anniversary of the blog, an update on my status and my goals for the coming year.

Challenges Challenges

What a frustrating week.

My exercise is up, my calorie intake is down, my diet is balanced. My wife is working out with me and as motivated as I am.

Sounds good right?

My weight is the same, my back is so sore I can't run, I'm basically not moving and it's driving me nuts!

I know, I know, stick with it, it's a bump, a bounce, a plateau. I get it. Just frustrating. I hate not seeing results on the scale, so I have to look for them elsewhere.

I found them...The other day doing my P90X routine I was able to do some of the ab workouts that had stymied me before. It's a small thing, but it points to changes in my body, in my core strength. My abdomen is measurably smaller than it was a few months ago. Both good indicators it's working.

But the best news was during a doctor's visit. My blood pressure has come down. Substantially actually. That was VERY encouraging.

We can get so focused on a goal, especially with weight loss, that when the goal is elusive we miss all the things that are also changing for the better. If I was strictly looking at the scale I would be pretty depressed and angry about this week. but I'm not. I'm not jumping for joy either, but I am revelling in the small things this week as I fight through this little weight burp.

It's a challenging journey, and that's ok. It's good to push ourselves, it's good to set lofty goals. And it's also good to appreciate achievements outside those goals, to keep motivation and fire burning inside as we go through some of the hard parts.

Speaking of challenges. On the weekend we had a family party. My cousin is leaving for Scotland, and her mother, my aunt, turned 50.

My Aunt has always enjoyed athletic pursuits, tennis, golf, softball. She was a natural athlete when she was younger, and continues to be even now. When I was a kid, I looked up to her for her athleticism. I went to her softball games at night, loved watching this little spark plug play. She was a very positive role model.

I know she reads this blog, and has enjoyed my writings. So, here is my shoutout to her, and my challenge. In this your 50th year, pick a goal for yourself, tell us what it is, stick to it for the year, enter year 51 better than you entered year 50. turn that competitive fire and energy you have into something hugely positive for you. Whatever it is, health, fitness level, improving your golf handicap, volunteering at something. But pick something, use the 25 year olds energy you have to accomplish something at 50 you can look back at and be proud of, continue being that great role model for your daughters, your nephews and nieces, and add to it being a role model for living young at an age when so many people say it's too late to change.

Good luck

@fatfitman

Checking back in

So 11 days ago I vowed to start working on that 5k run.

I'm happy to say I've been sticking with the Couch to 5K training plan so far. Yesterday I completed run #2 of the second training week. 5 min warmup then 90 seconds of running followed by 2 minutes of walking for 6 cycles (21 minutes) then another 5 min cooldown.

I'm also proud to say that my DW (darling wife) has taken up running with renewed passion. I say renewed because back before I met her she was an avid runner, 10Ks, half-marathons etc. But after she finished law school she stopped. Well, she seems to have the bug again and looks forward to her training days far more than I do!

It felt good to have some success again, its been a solid 6 weeks it seems of going backwards. Sometimes the early success we have can make us complacent. I know it worked that way for me. I stopped logging food, I stopped working out with the same regularity. I lost that first 10lbs easy. I should have known it would get tougher, I should have known it was the discipline I was showing that was leading to my success.

I want to thank @bl11austin for a tweet on Apr 16th. He quoted Jim Rohn "Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment"

Don't ever forget that my friends. Goals are great, goals can drive us, goals make us reach for more. But discipline is required to achieve them. Without discipline goals are just empty promises to ourselves.

Don't go backwards

A very good friend of mine (JL) said something once I have always loved. "Let the bridges I burn light my way"  Though he wasn't exactly making the point I am, the sentiment is the same. Don't go back the way you came, don't even allow yourself the option. Always move forward and create situations where moving forward is the only choice.

I mentioned in my last blog I needed to change my workouts because of an injury (which by the way I will be seeing a specialist about in July). So since one of my goals this year is to run in a 5K race, I figured i would start my training for that.

but how do I get myself out and doing it? Well, the easiest way to stop saying "I'll start tomorrow" was to force myself into a situation where tomorrow wasn't an option. I registered for the 5K race that is held in concert with the Mississauga Marathon. The 5K is held May14th. That's a mere 5 1/2 weeks away. That leaves me about the bare minimum amount of time to go from couch potato to struggling runner. I do not expect to be able to run the course by then, but I do expect to be able to run most of it. If you want to see a handy program for going from couch to run click here.

So last night was my first crack at the distance, finished in 43:59. Mostly a brisk walk, but for the first 20 minutes I alternated running and walking as per the program above. My neighbourhood is very quiet, beautiful and a little spooky in the dark I discovered.

The main thing is i know have a goal, an immediate one, one I can't ignore and delay and say I have lots of time for. I've committed to this run, I've left myself no option to slack off in the training. For the next 6 weeks it's all about getting ready for that day. Moving forward, one step at a time. I have my plan, my route is laid out, all I have to do is execute it.

I'll keep you up to date on the progress.  What's your goal, and what are you doing to get yourself there?

Not all pain is gain

So chaos has reigned around my place recently. We've been battling sick kids, a leaky basement, a collapsing pool liner, and our own illnesses. Quite a 2 weeks.

To top it off I suffered a training injury about a week ago that has just been getting progressively worse. As a result I cannot do most of my strength building exercises, so my P90X routines have come to a crashing halt until my wrist heals. I can still do excerpts from them, but not the full workouts.

To top it all off my treadmill broke and now I need to have a service call on it.

I am in an excuse-rich environment. I could easily just back it in and say "it's not my fault". however, i didn't.

what i did do was pay even closer attention to what I could do. I watched my calories. i watched my choices about portions, types of food, putting myself in vulnerable situations. I reached out to my support network for help a few times.

So this morning, the leak is fixed, the kids are getting better, the service guy is coming for the treadmill soon, and hopefully by the weekend I can start moving and burning more. But, the real question I had was, how did I do through these trials?

So I stepped on the scale.

258.8

WHAT?????

258.8

I broke through that damned 260lb mark. Put it behind me..Forever.... I'm not going back over that number ever again in my life. I haven't been under 260 since probably last summer, and despite all that went on the last few weeks, I managed to find a way to slay the 260lb Guy and now am looking forward.

I feel energized, I feel proud, I feel like I overcame obstacles that would have sent me scurrying for a Burger King Whopper in the past.

Don't let your obstacles lead you to excuses. Find a way around, over or through them. You might be amazed at what you are capable of when you stop believing that you can't do something, or that something is too hard.

The sweetest victories are the ones we are surprised by, fight those tough battles my friends, the rewards are worth it!

NOTE:  I received a note from a follower asking for help. When she makes Kraft Dinner at home she almost always eats the whole box, invariably feeling guilty and a little ill afterwards. She wanted to know how to avoid that.  Well, besides not cooking it (or having it in the house to start with) I would suggest the following. As soon as it's ready, take the pot, walk over to your trash and throw half of it away. Don't wait until you taste it and start to be seduced by the processed cheesy salty goodness. If you must have it, force yourself to limit it by getting rid of half before you even start.

If anyone has any other questions I'll try to answer them in future entries. 

Nothing happens in a straight line

I'm just back from 2 weeks on the road. The first week was for business in Cleveland. More on that later. The second trip was 10 days in Florida with my family. To save on airfare we drove down.

In a straight line it is 1184 miles from Toronto to Fort Myers, FL. By car it is 1520 miles. 340 miles, 20% of the trip is zig zagging your way down the highways, 340 extra miles because it's not a straight line drive. We have to go around obstacles like hills, lakes, valleys.

Weight loss is similar. I'm not just going to go and drop 50 straight pounds...I wish. I'm going to have good days and bad, good weeks and bad. I'll get to my goal, but I'll have travelled a lot further than 50lbs to get there.

On January 30th I announced I had lost that first 10lbs. well, a few weeks on the road has proved to be a detour. I now weigh 263.8.

I could get all depressed here, and quit the process. I could say, well, it's bad, so I'll start tomorrow and have a nice grilled cheese and bacon sandwich for lunch. but just like driving to Florida, i want to get there. I don't want any more detours than I have to make. So the bodymedia armband is back on, I have an exercise date with my wife tonight, and we start pushing deeper into the process.

Some people have been asking me how I managed on the road with food and exercise.  Well, it is HARD!!! Driving along seeing nothing but McDonald's, Cracker barrel, KFC...All poor choices. Subway was my salvation. Turkey subs, light or no mayo, lots of veggies, water to drink. healthy snacks in the car, made before we set out by my wife. Planning a little, waiting until we saw a Subway saved untold calories.

During the business trip it was even worse. At least in Florida we were staying at my parents house allowing us to cook. While in Cleveland I had to really watch what happens in the restaurants. Salad appetizers, dressings on the side, choosing small beef dishes (careful with chicken, many restaurants saute, or sometimes even presoak the chicken in butter!), went out for fish one night.

I was less successful with the exercise, in Cleveland I should have done much more, in Florida lots of walking.

All in all 2lbs or so gained after 17days on the road is not terrible. It's a detour. I didn't go too far out of my way, and I am ready for the next leg of the journey. I have to push hard these next few miles to make up some lost time, but overall...I'm still on course.  How about you? Still on that good track?

How do you fit it in?

Family. Religion. Friendship. These are the three demons you must slay if you wish to succeed in business. - Montgomery Burns

He could just as easily have been talking about fitness it seems.  Probably the number thing I am hearing from friends and family is where do you find the time to work out every day? I won't lie to you, it's tough. Two toddlers, a career, new house. It's a challenge when it's 9pm, all I want to do is sit down on the couch with my wife and watch TV.

But everyone does that, and the latest data shows we're all getting progressively bigger and more out of shape. And I've always done that, sat in front of the TV. And I've gotten progressively bigger and more out of shape. My favourite definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting a different result. How can I expect to get healthier, how can I expect to achieve my goals if I just sit here.

So last night my DW (darling wife) and I went downstairs after the kids were in bed and worked out together. I have to give her special credit here, last night was a resistance workout, she is not a fan of these, but she stuck to it and worked hard. She's also promised to join me tonight for the Yoga DVD. I always look so awkward compared to her doing Yoga, but I'll be doing it nonetheless.

When you have a goal, a dream, a journey, never forget you can't get there by standing still. You can't rise above the masses by simply doing what everyone else is doing. You have to put in that extra effort. you have to do the things others are not. You have to find it within yourself to stand up, get away from the couch, away from the TV, away from your comfort zone and start putting in the work to get to your goal. Unlike what Monty Burns said at the start of this blog you do not have to sacrifice those around you, you can find ways to make them part of it. I challenge all of my readers to do something tonight that moves you a step closer to your goal. If you are serious about your own goals you'll find the time.

It's worth it.

Mind Willing Body Screaming

I'm drenched in sweat, my arms ache, It's 1030 Sunday night and I have just collapsed at the end of my second set of diamond pushups. My basement floor is very comfortable. Nice and cool, lost of space to writhe in agony.

I started P90x last night. There are 3 variations of the program, classic, cardio and doubles. Lets forget doubles. Its for the heavy duty fitness junkies with loads of time. The classic variation is a bit more resistance training oriented than Cardio, although both programs have elements of the other.

The first classic routine is Chest and Back. The best way to work those muscles are push ups and pull ups. Different variations of each, with some weight training mixed in. 12 exercises in all, 2 sets. Push ups and pull ups eh? ok, I did Basic once, how hard could this be?

Did I mention I did basic 17 years ago? And that I haven't done true exercise in a while? I completed the program, perhaps setting new lows in P90X history for reps. Pull ups are a special level of hell. Overhand, under hand, wide, narrow, all the different variations, but ultimately pull ups are about one thing, Strength to Weight ratio. Let's see, I weigh 262lbs, and have the upper body strength of a small child. Total Pull ups - 0.

But here is where I like this program, in every routine is a demonstration of a modified version to be used when you are starting out. Use a chair under your foot and push with one leg to assist you doing pull ups, or do your push ups on your knees. All designed to make this program inclusive.

I had to work hard, It was late when I finished, but I did finish. Heart rate nicely elevated the whole time, and according to my bodymedia device I burned about 590 calories that hour.

One of the catch phrases you hear a lot of on the videos is just press play. Don't worry about how many reps, don't worry if you can't keep up, just be here, show up, try. I think that's a lesson for all of us, no matter what we are doing. We can choose to be intimidated, to believe we can't do something, do shy away when we can't do something well. Or, we can press play, we can try, we can approach with the attitude , its not that I can't do it, it's that I currently struggle with it, but I am here, I am going to try, and I am not going to quit.

Don't quit

Press Play

Go do whats hard if it's going to lead to a better you

Tonight: Plyometrics

Goals, achievements and keeping up the battle

One of the tricks I learned in previous battles with weight is to be constantly setting goals for yourself. Try not to get too bogged down by the big picture of your overall weight loss. It can be so disheartening. Look at the people on The Biggest Loser, how daunting is it for them to think, I have to lose 100, 200, 300 lbs. You lose 5 lbs,  and think, I still have to lose 95, 195, 295? No... You've lost 5lbs! That's an achievement!

5lbs, relate it to something tangible. 5lbs is a bag of oranges. Would you want to carry around a bag of oranges all day? I don't. That gets heavy after a while. Well, you've lost that 5lbs, one less bag of oranges you're carrying. 10lbs? now you aren't carrying around a sack of potatoes. Starts to feel pretty good doesn't it? Before you know it, these 5 and 10 lbs add up, and you're getting closer and closer to your goal.

Since Dec 29th I have lost 6lbs. Not a bad start. Sure I still have a long way to go, but I can't get to my 2011 goal of 50lb without losing that first 6. That 260lb guy in the future is getting closer, can't wait to see the last of him.

Six pounds is a good start, and it wasn't easy. I had some tough days in there. Yesterday was one of them. We're in the middle of moving, and our house is in turmoil as a result. It's hard to plan for healthy options when you are trying to empty the fridge. Days are packed with, well, packing, and suddenly you can find yourself making excuses for a easy snack or meal. Yesterday saw me eating a couple of lindt chocolates, some of my kids french fries, an one or two other indulgences. In the past I would have said forget it, I'll start again tomorrow. But rather than get down on myself over that little lapse, I picked myself up, ate healthy the rest of the day, and planned healthy choices for today.

When you fall down in your journey, whatever that is, don't sit there feeling sorry for yourself, don't kneel there mad that you fell, and ready to quit. Pick yourself up, look forward at your goal, not back at your stumble and keep moving towards that goal. We all fall down, we all take that little side trail off our journey. What separates successful people from those by the wayside is how fast you get back on track. How quickly you can recover from that challenge.

This move will be over in a few more days, then I can start on phase two, which involves dramatically increasing my exercise routine. I hope you'll keep following along.

Feel free to share with me your own journey, your own goals, and your own challenges. And if you can think of people that would benefit from reading this, feel free to share it with them. Let's all move forward toward who we want to be, let's do it together my friends!

Starting my Journey

How the hell did I end up here?

How did a guy who plays hockey, referees, plays tennis, golf, hikes, sees himself as athletic, how does he weigh over 270lbs!

It doesn't happen overnight. It takes a lot of food to get to this stage. It takes a lot of changes in how I act to get here.

I used to identify myself as a fit guy, I used to believe I was fairly athletic...No one would look at me now and see an athlete.

Now I identify myself as the big guy, "Big D"...I'm the guy everyone says, "Here D, take the last piece" and I take it. I relish the moniker, it is who I am.

No more.

This blog is the start of a change. A change I hope you will join me in and help me through. A change in not only how I look and how much I weigh, but a change in who I am, how I am perceived, and how I perceive myself.

I want to look in the mirror and be proud of what I see. I don't want to shop in speciality stores anymore. I don't want to ache when I bend over and pick up my kids. I don't want to be afraid of having a heart attack when I step on the ice to play.

So, how do I do it.

First step, set Goals.

Goal number 1: At the end of 2011 I will weigh less than 220lbs. That's about 1lb per week. Reasonable, achievable, healthy sustainable weight loss. I think I can do even better, but that's my start.

Goal number 2: To run a 5k event. Again, should be very achievable, but I haven't run 5k since I was in the Army Reserves. That's a lot of years between me and the pavement.


Okay, second step, the plan. I love technology, and I love social media. So it only makes sense that this is part of my journey. I will be using the technology from www.bodymedia.com to help me monitor my exercise and my caloric intake. I'll post more about the technology in a future blog.

Second part of the plan, exercise...going to be tough the first couple of weeks as we prepare to move to our new home, but once we're set up I have access to my treadmill, and will be working through the P90x videos.

Third, and I think very important, accountability and support. That's where you come in. I'll be posting here, Facebook and @fatfitman on Twitter. Follow along with me as I share my successes, my temptations, my hard times, and hopefully very few failures. One of the reasons I think WeightWatchers(tm) is so successful is the support system around the people. So I am hoping to use social media to achieve the same things. I look forward to your comments and tweets.

So, this morning I weighed in at 272.4 lbs...the heaviest I have ever been. Its time to say goodbye to the fat guy, and start my journey back to someone I recognize in the mirror.