At my biggest, I was 5'10", 375 pounds. That a LOT of weight. Now I've heard people say that there is a difference between "sloppy" fat and "carries it well" fat, and if I'm either I'm the latter, but 375 pounds is 375 pounds, and there's no avoiding just how large of a number that is. That's HUGE. That's as much as two out-of-shape people. That's 20 pounds more than the heaviest Miami Dolphin. It's less than William "The Refrigerator" Perry weighed during his playing days (about 385), but it's almost twice what a real refrigerator weighs. I'm at least 1 Backstreet Boy heavier than my closest friend in weight. What I'm trying to say is that I'm a very large man.
It's true, we are jolly.
But I'm lucky. I'm VERY lucky. I'm lucky because I am about as healthy as a 375 pound man can be. My blood pressure is normal, my heart-rate is normal, and I can still get up and move around. I can still dance. I can still go outside and toss the football around. I can still reliably shoot 75-80% from the free-throw line. All these things and more are great ways to justify being fat instead of doing something about it. I should know- I've become an expert over the years. You know how much of it is true, though? Like, really true? Almost none of it.
Sure by the grace of God I don't have high blood-pressure or diabetes, but that doesn't mean it can never happen. Yeah I can get up and move around, but I still complain when it's time to go to the supermarket or run errands, or Heaven forbid if my beautiful fiance wants to take a walk with me on a beautiful day. Yeah sure, I "hate Walmart", but isn't what I hate mainly the walking around part? Of course it is. Dancing? Sure- I'm the best dancer in my car, no matter who is with me! I say I can "still go outside and toss the football around", but that's just because I did it once last Thankgiving when a buddy and I went outside for a while with his son. I bet you can guess who was chasing the ball around on an errant throw; or rather who WASN'T. Actually, the part about the free throws is true, but I've only discovered that over the last two weeks!
Dancing Chris Farley was unavoidable in this blog.
The truth is, though, that I really am lucky. I'm lucky that I still have the ability to do something about it. I don't know if it's because I was once an above-average athlete, but somehow being 375 pounds and under 6 feet tall has not been debilitating. Somehow I can still do things around the house. Somehow I can still get up and go for a walk. Somehow I still have the ability to work at a job and provide for myself. Somehow I can still make it from class to class reliably. If I can do all these things, then I can do the things that it takes to lose the weight. If I had gotten serious about it the first time I admitted to myself that I needed to, then I would be at my target weight by now! So I hope you follow along with me and offer your support in this endeavor. I am very excited to take back control of my life, and I am excited to share the experience with whoever is interested.
I am 100% fully committed to seeing this all the way through to the end, which means by the end of it I will have lost 150 pounds. There is no magic formula- change bad habits into good ones, and stay disciplined. I ALREADY KNOW how to do it; I am already an expert. If you are also an expert who needs to put their expertise to use for yourself, then I encourage you to follow my example and get up and get started. Now it is time for this 375 pound weight-loss expert to put his expertise into practice!
Pictured: Expert
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