How a Fatty lost 20 pounds in a month

July 2007 (Xlarge shirt est 270lbs)

It's been a week since my last post, I can't believe it! So after todays weigh-in I am officially 337. 20 pounds in a month! I don't feel like it's been a hard month and I don't feel like I've denied myself that much, in fact it's quite the opposite, I feel great, better than I've felt in years. I was shooting for 10 pounds this week when it started but I am not disappointed in the least. This week got a bit crazy, I left last minute on Wednesday and drove a van to McAllen, Texas for a band. 1,350 miles driven solo in 28 hours. After getting to McAllen on Thursday night I crashed out in the hotel and found myself awake at 4:30am, so I went running. My right knee has been really acting up a lot lately and I've been spending more time on the elliptical than the streets so that was a tough run but it felt great to be out there. I am totally in love with my Nike Free TR's, they are a great light shoe that make me float like a butterfly (and STING LIKE A BEE!). Definitely happy with their purchase. After that I rode with the band to Dallas and then got a hotel near the airport and left early on Saturday to fly to Denver for a connection back to Phoenix.
Airports are terrible for fatties. There was nothing semi-healthy in the whole place. I made the mistake of ordering a "breakfast plate" at one of the local places that had a spot in the terminal. They handed me a plate with 3 pieces of bacon, a sausage patty, a biscuit with gravy, scrambled eggs, and grits. I did some quick addition with the help of the MyFitnessPal app and it was easily in the 1500 calorie range for food that wasn't very good. I probably would have been better off with starbucks and a bagel. After landing in Phoenix, a friend picked me up and we went to Chompies, a NY style deli restaurant that I had seen on Travel Channel's Man v Food. I ordered the Jewish Sliders and they were incredible. I didn't realize until half an hour or so later that I hadn't considered the caloric intake on those bad boys, that thought was quickly followed by "I don't care. They were delicious and I will order them again!"

July 2007 (X-Large shirt)

I keep thinking back to the summer of 2007 when I was lifeguarding in Guam. When I had arrived there I was a svelte 290, I think. Everyone I worked with was stereotypical bronze god(dess) and for the first time in my life, I felt self conscious about my size. Over the course of my 2 months there I lost 30 pounds. It probably had more to do with pneumonia, PTSD(long story) and all the tuna sandwiches(the best thing in the employee buffet line) but when I see pictures of myself at that weight, I can't help but get excited to be there again. This time I am going to do it the right way, through a lifestyle change and not disease, so I can maintain it. I didn't realize then how nice it was to be 260 and it would've been a lot easier if I had started from that weight but now I at least have some not so old pictures to keep me focused on my goals.

September 2010 (XXXL Shirt)

How was your week?

How to properly reward a Fatty

Around noon I left the house to find some new shoes and then head to the gym. I went looking for some minimalist footwear that has a bit more padding than the Five Fingers to give my sore foot a bit of love during the transition. I ended up with a pair of Nike Free TR's, they are super comfy and really fun to run in (I did a quick loop of the store parking lot). I also grabbed some Under Armour boxers and a pair of nice Nike workout pants that were on sale. When I was checking out I spontaneously boasted to the cashier that I had lost 20 pounds this month and her response was "Oh what a nice way to reward yourself!"

It struck me as complete truth, it is a really great reward! A lot of fatties reward themselves by allowing themselves a cheat meal or a cheat day or a cheat week. This seems like the wrong kind of reinforcement. I don't want to cheat because there is nothing to cheat on! I am not denying myself sweets because of some strict dietary plan, I made a decision to live a healthy life. I don't want to "cheat" on that. The word "cheat" implies negativity on whatever you are cheating on, doesn't it? I don't want to cheat on my health because I am really enjoying being healthy. I am happier, getting fitter everyday, I have WAY more energy, I am eating healthier and feeling all the positive rewards of that. It's great.

So in summary reward a fatty with awesome new running shoes and super sexy new workout pants and chaff-free boxers. It builds positive reinforcement and damn I look good.

How a Fatty learned he loves the gym

Today's weigh-in: 340
So just 3 pounds last week. Just. I guess 3 is good, it's better than none and I didn't get the gym membership until late Friday so 3 is good, I'll take it. This weeks goal is 10 though! I think I can do it or come really close.

Woke up this morning and headed straight to the gym and spent 2 hours there! It was fantastic! I did almost an hour of strength training and then 50 minutes of cardio until I thought I was going to pass out. Stumbling up to the smoothie counter at the entrance I asked for whatever would keep me from falling down. It was the most delicious Strawberry Pina Colada protein smoothie ever crafted at that moment. :p I've fallen in love with working out and pushing myself harder and harder each day. I am still looking forward to this TOFP (top of foot pain) going away so I can get back to barefoot but at this moment I think the gym is a solid part of my future fitness goals. I've been doing high rep, low weights to build lean muscle and a lot of leg raises to work on that future six pack! I recently read this article on Newsweek that talks about why you should Stop Doing Sit-Ups and it makes a lot of sense to me. I've dealt with lower back pain for years and I don't want to add any extra stress than I need to and leg raises are apparently way more effective at hitting all of your ab muscles, especially your lower ones which situps and crunches neglect. I'll take it!

Today was one of the first days I've worked out at the start of my day instead of the end of it and I have to tell you, it was amazing. It really made the whole day feel so much better. I felt healthy and happy and strong and now at the end of the day, I am tired and don't have to worry about going for a run or working out, I can just hit the pillow and dream sweet dreams.

Bonus Story about dreams:
Last week I had a dream that I was dating Taylor Swift and I was sitting in the audience of a small venue and she was singing a song she had written for me. All the paparazzi were asking me questions but I was too busy listening to the song and I distinctly remember tears on my face in the dream. It was magical. The weird thing is that I've never watched a Taylor Swift music video nor do I listen to country music. In fact I think the only time I've ever seen Taylor Swift was when she hosted SNL last season. Super weird dream. Anyway there's your bonus story.