Sunday, March 21, 2010

Weight Loss

It has been 6 months since I have posted on here and I have decided to rededicate my blog. There are 2 million people blogging about politics and honestly I am weary of politics right now. So I am going to spend the next few months keeping an online journal as I attempt to lose 100 pounds.

Some of the people who read this may have known me for a long time, others only a short time so I wanted to share a little history. I have not always been FAT ( I hope that word doesn't offend anyone, but it is the word that best describes what I had become) Growing up I was always a slender guy, athletic even. I was the 145lb starter on my varsity wrestling team in High School. I ran regularly and pretty much ate whatever I wanted, and never had a problem making weight before a tournament. As I got to college, I discovered beer & pizza delivery. I also quit making time for exercise. I began to slowly pack on some pounds. Four short years after High School I graduated from College weighing somewhere around 230lbs.

I thought at that time 230 was pretty large and I begin exercising and became very active and lost about 20 pounds, before I had another life changing event. I met my wife, we got married and "WE" became pregnant. I was a good husband I ate when she ate, and I shared her cravings. She craved Chili Cheese Burgers. I gained 40 pounds while Reagan was pregnant. Over the next 7 years I kept gaining weight, and never did anything about it.

I would hang on to clothes until I had no choice but to move up, sadly my wardrobe went from loose fitting XL to tight fitting XXL shirts. My dress shirts had gone up to a size 20. For anyone who doesn't wear dress shirts daily the average size is somewhere between 15-17. Worst of all I felt so lethargic all the time. When fat sneaks up on you slowly you don't always realize with one look in the mirror just how much fat you are.

On December 17, 2009 I made a decision. I decided I no longer wanted to be FAT. I got on the scale that day and the scale after screaming in pain informed me I weighed 299 lbs... yes you read that correctly I was one Chili cheese burger away from 3 bills. Yes, I weigh enough to play lineman in the NFL. Do you realize if I weighed myself twice in high school it wouldn't have been 299 pounds. I am 5ft 9, I don't carry 300 pounds very well. I knew then I had to make a change.

So, that's how I got FAT and how I realized I needed to make a change, the next question was HOW?

That's the key. Everyone has a plan and there are somewhere around 4,123,654,987,books on the market each with a different approach on what to eat and on how to exercise. A person could drive themselves crazy trying to figure out where to even begin. If you cope with stress by eating, avoid the stress of trying to figure out what diet to choose or what plan to follow.

I believe there are only 3 truths to losing weight:

1. Set realistic goals and keep yourself accountable.

2. Do not deprive yourself or you will not endure.

3. The only rule rule about eating is to burn more calories that you take in.

These are the only rules I follow. I weigh -in every Wednesday and to this point I have lost 31 pounds. I have a long way to go and I plan to use this blog and my new Facebook site to keep track of my progress. I will go into more details on how I am following my 3 rules and I will update everyone on my weight each Wednesday.

Thanks to everyone who is supporting me. I hope you will all be happy with much less of me around.

5 comments:

  1. BEST O LUCK ERIC!!! AS A FAT BOY INTO A FAT MAN, I KNOW YOUR TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS..... KEEP US INFORMED.... UNK RICK

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a wonderful job, I love the family picture, you all look so happy....Great job proud of you!!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Great job, losing weight is so hard, but gaining is awfully wasy. Sometimes we become so relaxed with yourselves that we don not see the weight creeping on and on..................so congratulations... I myself am trying to drop a few too, so wish me luck

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi there ... got your story through Facebook. Yep, I agree with your 3 points ... exercise and sensible eating works in the long run :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Got your story on facebook also. How good you must feel!

    ReplyDelete