Start: 300lbs
Goal: Hot(ter) Dad
Age: 43
Height 5’ 9"
Still pushing!
I have been fighting a (mostly losing) battle with my weight, for most of my life. I was an overweight kid, and even though five years in the US Army as an infantryman left me in excellent shape, I quickly lost the battle against fat when my lifestyle changed after I was discharged.
Over the years, I have tried (and failed at) many different things to lose weight. I have started many workout programs, only to stop when finding time became a factor, or the soreness and pain became too much. I tried cutting my food intake, only to have something come up in my life that gave me an excuse to eat more. Sometimes, I would lose 10 or 15 pounds, and consider that a victory, and stop working at it. Eventually, I just accepted that being overweight was just who I was, and I tried to be happy with myself… but I found that I just could not be. I was miserable, and spiraling into a deep depression, with seemingly no way out. In order to be successful, I would need to commit on a deep level to making changes in my life… something I have never been able to do.
At the start of 2015, I was tipping the scales at just over 300 pounds. This was a benchmark I promised myself I would not reach, and yet, here I was. I was constantly tired. My stomach hurt all the time, I had digestive tract issues, my knees, already damaged from my time as a high school football player and soldier, were getting worse. I could barely cover the distance from my office to the parking lot without breaking in to a sweat and being breathless. I couldn’t stop eating. I was utterly miserable, and knew that I had to make a change.
I work at a health resort, so I started taking fitness classes. As an employee, I was allowed to take the classes for free, so it was a good deal. But I always knew, in the back of my head, that it wouldn’t stick this time, any more than the last hundred times. I knew I hadn’t made the deeper commitment, but I had no idea how to do that.
Then, this past April, I was talking to a coworker, and she mentioned that she was doing the Warrior Dash 5k Mud Run in July, and she suggested that I sign up for it, since training for it would be a great way to commit to getting in shape. I laughed, because this was just absurd. I never ran. I hate running. Even when I was in great shape, I hated running. If I had to be somewhere in a hurry, I drove. I’m definitely not one of those people you see running on the side of the road in the morning. Doing an actual 5K was something I’d never seen myself doing, and never wanted to do. It was way outside my comfort zone. The idea was ludicrous.
But the more she talked about it, the more I realized she was right. Doing this would mean that my goal wouldn’t be to drop a few pounds. Instead, I’d be training for something on a set date in the future. The Warrior Dash involves not just running, but getting through, climbing over, and jumping around some pretty tough obstacles. I’d need to not just lose weight… I would need to get my body stronger, and in better shape. Suddenly, signing up for this thing made all the sense in the world. I signed up in mid-April, and was committed.
I started attending classes every day, on my lunch hour. Cardio Circuit, Boxer’s Workout, TRX, Tabata, HIIT… whatever I could find. When I could handle that level of exercise, I started coming in before work, and I hit the weights. The fitness staff here is excellent, and I can’t say enough good things. I told them what I was up to, and they were extremely supportive, and did their best to work with me and give me advice. I talked with a nutritionist on property, and got some tips on my food intake. I worked at it. And I worked. Some days were good, but most of the time, I was in a lot of pain, hungry, and exhausted. My wife worried about me, but kept encouraging me. But the weight started coming off. I started feeling better physically, and mentally. This was working!
At the end of July, I ran the 2015 Warrior Dash at Windham Ski Resort in upstate NY with my coworker. It was tough. The hills were brutal, but the obstacles were fun. I definitely wasn’t the fastest one on the mountain, but I did the whole thing, from start to finish. It was definitely a proud moment. I had trained hard. Worked hard. I was down almost 40 pounds, and I was in much better shape. I felt good, and I was happy. It was a great day, and I was proud of myself.
After the race, I wasn’t willing to call it quits on all the progress. I’ve come this far, and I’m not slowing down now. I’m down almost 50 pounds, and I have a LONG way to go to be the size I want to be, but I’m incredibly happy, and proud of myself. I don’t have a goal in mind for any of this, but I’m going to keep at it as long as I feel good doing it. I’m not trying to be some musclebound meathead, or some thinner version of myself… I’m just shooting for smaller, healthier, and happier.
MotiveWeight http://ift.tt/1KxWjM6
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