It came as no surprise to me last November, when I took my biometric fit test at work, that the overweight nurse told ME that I needed to make some changes. It was the worst I had ever felt in my life, both physically and mentally, and was my proverbial wake-up call. 1-800-YOU R FAT.
As a rolled out of the room at 184 pounds, with a 40-inch waistline, I was embarrassed and pissed off. How had I got to this point? I had let myself go, there was no denying that, and I looked like crap.
Even though I have always been physically active, and consider myself somewhat athletic, my weight has been a constant issue over my lifetime since about the age of 8. My brother claims it all started after I had my tonsils removed. All I know is that my body started gaining weight. Of course, it might have been my love of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and mom's chocolate chip cookies. Who knows?
As an adult, I fell into a familiar cycle of gain and lose. I'd get fit, stop exercising, gain a bunch of weight, lose it all, gain it all back plus a few more pounds, lose it again, gain back more. The classic weight struggle story.
You know how you can remember specific times in your life by the music of the era; well, I can tell you if I was fat or thin, depending on the year. 1979-1984: despite drinking a lot of beer in college, I managed to maintain a weight of around 135 pounds; 1984-1987: moved to Yuma, AZ., gained 23 pounds, started running, dropped 30 pounds. 1987-1991: pretty good stretch for me... maintained weight around 145; 1992-1994: gained 15 pounds. 1994-2000: dropped 20 pounds and maintained weight with the help of noon basketball regime. 2000-2003: stopped exercising again, gained back 25 pounds. 2003-2006: started running again, went on Atkins diet, dropped the weight, felt amazing! 2006- 2009: took management position in company, sitting at desk all day, gained 35 pounds.
Packing 35 pounds onto a barely 5'7 inch frame is kind of hard to ignore. My pant size creaped from 32 to 36 inches (and was pushing 38 at a freightening rate), my shirt size expanded from medium to XL, and my chin from 1 to 2. I had also grown some awesome man-boobs (I know, gross!).
So, that brings me back to last November. As was the normal routine, I made a goal to lose the weight by a specific date. I started on December 1 and managed to drop 4 pounds despite the Holiday season.
Realizing that I needed more help, I turned to a rather non-traditional source for men - WeightWatchers. Their sensible approach to eating, combined with a leader who makes attending the meetings enjoyable, jump started my road back to a healthy life. I entered that first meeting with a lot of apprehension, and the fear of being the only guy in the room. After a few weeks though, I knew I had found a place of solace.
Since Janaury 4, 2010, I have been running 3-4 times a weeks, sticking to the WW point system, and walking almost everday after work with Julie. Speaking of Julie, she has lost 15+ pounds. The long walks have been great for our health, but also great for the relationship. We are a team. At our April 6 meeting I weighed in at 154.8 pounds - 25 pounds lost in 14 weeks! As I received my 25-pound award, all I could think about was that day in November. That nurse did me a favor, as much as I felt ashamed to be hearing it from her.
