Who's the biggest loser? I am.
It's finally happened. I have turned the corner and the journey has begun.
As of Monday September 21, 2009...I have begun the diet.
It's weird for me. I wasn't ALWAYS a fat man. I wasn't ALWAYS a tubby...I was a VERY skinny kid...to the point where I (along with my sister) used to be able to convince our Grandmother to make us pancakes cause she thought we weren't eating enough. (I loved her pancakes...). Even in High School I was a little guy...started getting a BIT of a gutt my senior year...but for the most part wasn't big.
Then I hit college. The Freshman Fifteen became the Freshman Forty. I made a great friend in Samuel Adams and the rest as they say is history.
Thing about it is though...that never bothered me.
I didn't care. I was HAPPY the way I was. I still got dates, I still had fun, my family loved me...I made friends...I was productive. So I was a little heavy. Big Deal. That mindset carried me 14 years...then I married Deb and I added the "now I'm married...it matters less...don't gotta impress "the Ladies". I held onto that notion for 7 years. Through all the sprained ankles, through being carried out of the woods by my Young Life guys during a paintball game where I sprained BOTH ankles, through making my wife miss her 30th surprise party because I sprained an ankle...through ALL of that...I didn't care how big I was.
I was a moron.
Till about 3 weeks ago when my Syatic nerve flipped me the bird.
Backpain is one of those indescribable pains. I've heard about it. My Dad had it...friends have had it...and ya know I've had a pinch here and there. However you don't know how it feels till you have it. How crippling it can be. I was pulling my car door shut on a Saturday when "PING" and I'm in AGONY...for an entire week and a half.
It was during that time where I realized this was the start of something. I tweeted about it and a buddy of mine who is RIPPED emails me on the ol' Facebook and starts giving me a plan. So last week...I started working out. I went Wednesday and Friday...30 minutes of cardio. Pretty easy...unless you happen to be close to 300 lbs. 30 minutes felt like 30 hours. It was AWFUL to say the least. Plus nursing a bad back...didn't help, but I've gone three times this week already and I feel it getting a little easier. I'm up to 40 minutes now...20 on the bike, 20 on the mill (till my back is better, and my ankle heals (I sprained it again) and I can go on the Elliptical for 20 and the mill for 20).
My buddy Tim gave me the diet...it consists of 5 meals a day, 9, 12, 3, 6, and a snack at 9. All protein and veggies. No carbs, no sodium. No soda, beer etc. It's pretty intense. I'll admit I've cheated a bit...had some cereal (a few pieces of Frosted Mini Wheats), throw a light amount of sea salt on the hard boiled egg whites (I like the taste of taste) etc.
It's this stuff that's gotten me. I was sitting this morning getting my 9 o clock ready and realized we were out of hard-boiled eggs. Tim says eat on the clock...so what do I do? I've got two pieces of chicken but I hope to make those go through lunches today...then I spot a Jimmy Dean Breakfast sandwich we have in the freezer. It's not ideal...but it has protein. I take the Sausage and Egg part off the bread, cheese etc frozen (to avoid the grease/sauce) and cook those up. Now I'm SURE there's some fat in there...cholesterol...and no doubt sodium...BUT...it's also protein. It was then though I started feeling a little guilty till I realized...
I'm not on the Biggest Loser.
There's no contest here. I'm not trying to win a race or anything. I'm trying to CHANGE my life...and the fact I'm CONSIDERING those choices...means that I'm on the right track.
My weight will ebb and flow. I don't EVER want to be this big again. However I'm resolute in my desire NOT to cheat. I'm not gonna use hydroxycut or any fat burners. I'm not going to use diet pills etc (I need to eat every 3 hours) and I refuse to take one of those poop shakes they advertise on TV that help you drop 10 lbs in a weekend (the trick is...they make you poop for like 2 days STRAIGHT). I'm not trying to look good...I'm trying to FEEL good. That's not going to come with a magic pill, or any sort of shortcut. It comes from eating better, avoiding fast food (I'll miss you most of all Taco Bell), working out regularly and changing my LIFESTYLE and not just trying to hit some mystic goal weight by this time.
So...while I say I'd like to lose 50-75 lbs to get to 250/225...we'll see. I'm not gonna set a goal time or anything. I want to lose the weight...but I want to be sure it sticks. The thing with goals and races is...once you win...you stop running. I'm making a CHANGE in my life and not making a gesture. Look at some of the contestents on the "Biggest Loser". I saw an Oprah once that had a few on there...and a lot of the ones they showed were pretty beefy. Smaller than they were when they started...but still big. Talk about how they fell off the plan etc. Well...that's not going to happen to me. I'll make a plan my lifestyle allows me to keep. It's a priority...but it's not THE priority...and I need to make sure it sticks.
Thanks so much for the encouragement. I'm trying to put together a video blog...we'll see how it goes. You can follow me on Twitter (wrbenson) if you want to see how I'm doing. I'm sure I'll post.
Thanks for reading;
As of Monday September 21, 2009...I have begun the diet.
It's weird for me. I wasn't ALWAYS a fat man. I wasn't ALWAYS a tubby...I was a VERY skinny kid...to the point where I (along with my sister) used to be able to convince our Grandmother to make us pancakes cause she thought we weren't eating enough. (I loved her pancakes...). Even in High School I was a little guy...started getting a BIT of a gutt my senior year...but for the most part wasn't big.
Then I hit college. The Freshman Fifteen became the Freshman Forty. I made a great friend in Samuel Adams and the rest as they say is history.
Thing about it is though...that never bothered me.
I didn't care. I was HAPPY the way I was. I still got dates, I still had fun, my family loved me...I made friends...I was productive. So I was a little heavy. Big Deal. That mindset carried me 14 years...then I married Deb and I added the "now I'm married...it matters less...don't gotta impress "the Ladies". I held onto that notion for 7 years. Through all the sprained ankles, through being carried out of the woods by my Young Life guys during a paintball game where I sprained BOTH ankles, through making my wife miss her 30th surprise party because I sprained an ankle...through ALL of that...I didn't care how big I was.
I was a moron.
Till about 3 weeks ago when my Syatic nerve flipped me the bird.
Backpain is one of those indescribable pains. I've heard about it. My Dad had it...friends have had it...and ya know I've had a pinch here and there. However you don't know how it feels till you have it. How crippling it can be. I was pulling my car door shut on a Saturday when "PING" and I'm in AGONY...for an entire week and a half.
It was during that time where I realized this was the start of something. I tweeted about it and a buddy of mine who is RIPPED emails me on the ol' Facebook and starts giving me a plan. So last week...I started working out. I went Wednesday and Friday...30 minutes of cardio. Pretty easy...unless you happen to be close to 300 lbs. 30 minutes felt like 30 hours. It was AWFUL to say the least. Plus nursing a bad back...didn't help, but I've gone three times this week already and I feel it getting a little easier. I'm up to 40 minutes now...20 on the bike, 20 on the mill (till my back is better, and my ankle heals (I sprained it again) and I can go on the Elliptical for 20 and the mill for 20).
My buddy Tim gave me the diet...it consists of 5 meals a day, 9, 12, 3, 6, and a snack at 9. All protein and veggies. No carbs, no sodium. No soda, beer etc. It's pretty intense. I'll admit I've cheated a bit...had some cereal (a few pieces of Frosted Mini Wheats), throw a light amount of sea salt on the hard boiled egg whites (I like the taste of taste) etc.
It's this stuff that's gotten me. I was sitting this morning getting my 9 o clock ready and realized we were out of hard-boiled eggs. Tim says eat on the clock...so what do I do? I've got two pieces of chicken but I hope to make those go through lunches today...then I spot a Jimmy Dean Breakfast sandwich we have in the freezer. It's not ideal...but it has protein. I take the Sausage and Egg part off the bread, cheese etc frozen (to avoid the grease/sauce) and cook those up. Now I'm SURE there's some fat in there...cholesterol...and no doubt sodium...BUT...it's also protein. It was then though I started feeling a little guilty till I realized...
I'm not on the Biggest Loser.
There's no contest here. I'm not trying to win a race or anything. I'm trying to CHANGE my life...and the fact I'm CONSIDERING those choices...means that I'm on the right track.
My weight will ebb and flow. I don't EVER want to be this big again. However I'm resolute in my desire NOT to cheat. I'm not gonna use hydroxycut or any fat burners. I'm not going to use diet pills etc (I need to eat every 3 hours) and I refuse to take one of those poop shakes they advertise on TV that help you drop 10 lbs in a weekend (the trick is...they make you poop for like 2 days STRAIGHT). I'm not trying to look good...I'm trying to FEEL good. That's not going to come with a magic pill, or any sort of shortcut. It comes from eating better, avoiding fast food (I'll miss you most of all Taco Bell), working out regularly and changing my LIFESTYLE and not just trying to hit some mystic goal weight by this time.
So...while I say I'd like to lose 50-75 lbs to get to 250/225...we'll see. I'm not gonna set a goal time or anything. I want to lose the weight...but I want to be sure it sticks. The thing with goals and races is...once you win...you stop running. I'm making a CHANGE in my life and not making a gesture. Look at some of the contestents on the "Biggest Loser". I saw an Oprah once that had a few on there...and a lot of the ones they showed were pretty beefy. Smaller than they were when they started...but still big. Talk about how they fell off the plan etc. Well...that's not going to happen to me. I'll make a plan my lifestyle allows me to keep. It's a priority...but it's not THE priority...and I need to make sure it sticks.
Thanks so much for the encouragement. I'm trying to put together a video blog...we'll see how it goes. You can follow me on Twitter (wrbenson) if you want to see how I'm doing. I'm sure I'll post.
Thanks for reading;
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