FLASHBACK ARTICLE FROM AUGUST 2010
Well, not fat, really, but morbidly obese. Yep. I’m 5’10” and I weigh 210 lbs. Because I wear a 44 jacket and have a 36” waist, I can carry it off. So, by outward appearance I look ok, but what is happening inside? I can tell you that my blood pressure is on the high side, but not so high that I need medication, but it is still a concern. I’ll have to check my cholesterol soon because my eating habits aren’t that great either.
How many times have you had a gig and after you’ve packed up and hit the road you’ve come across the golden arches, or a Denny’s? Stopped in dincha? I know I’ve made many stops like that. IT’S NOT A GOOD THING! Did you know that you can be morbidly obese and malnourished? Many people in this country are exactly that.
Since I’ve mentioned it so much, here is the definition:
Adjective: morbidly obese: -Possessing a state of obesity deemed to be life-threatening. -Having excessive body fat.
I work at a radio station and hold down the morning drive shift. I get up each day at 2:30 and head into work, right past the Dunkin’ Donuts. Guess where I stop each morning for a coffee and bagel with cream cheese, or a donut? Yep. Guess where I get my lunch everyday? Anywhere other than the place I need to get it: home. I bought shirts that were XL and really did a good job of hiding my ever expanding food baby. Strike that….beer baby. So, I decided to go on a journey and here it is, the most hated word in the world: DIET.
I figured that I would “DIET” before my habits cause me to “DIE”. I changed my ways and here’s what I did. My radio partner Michelle decided that she would accept an offer from a company in Phoenix to try out their weight loss plan. She explained what she was doing each step of the way and MAN, did I have a great time “supporting” her in the diet. I mean, I would just come up with the worst case scenarios whenever she would mention how tough it was to get started, to fight the cravings she was having. I just would snicker and tell her hit the drive thru window on the way home and everything would be all right again. If her eye’s were lazers, I’d be dead a hundred times over. But, she persisted and in the next 30 days, she lost 25 pounds. That’s right….TWENTY FIVE POUNDS. I decided somewhere in that time to lay off the jokes about starvation and such and start supporting her. I did and then something amazing happened: I decided to lose weight also. She got paid to endorse the diet plan. I VOLUNTEERED! Ya, I know. I’m crazy like that.
Something amazing happened: I decided that I wanted to lose weight too! Actually what I really needed to do was reevaluate my relationship with food and alcohol. Now, you may not have these issues, or you may THINK you’d don’t, but if you’re overweight or morbidly obese, you do. So, I volunteered to go on the program.
Right now, you may think I’m nuts, and you’d be right. But I was so impressed by what she did that I figured: “I’m mentally stronger than her, I can do it!!” But then the nagging thoughts of NO ALCOHOL, NO FAST FOODS started flooding my mind. Kinda like if food was my oasis in the desert. Could I do it. Would I be strong enough physically and emotionally? Only one way to tell and that’s to start it.
The unique thing about the plan I was on, for three days before you actually start the weight loss program, you have to EAT NOTHING BUT FATTY FOODS! You know, the stuff that you get when you don’t think about what you’re getting. I ate cheeseburgers and fries, pizzas loaded with meat, bbq, pasta, potato salad (sounds good huh?) . Well I just about barfed. All the stuff I LOVED to eat was now making me sick. So, the weight loss plan began.
In 25 days I lost 24 pounds and around 35 inches of fat. Yep. All gone. During those 25 days I learned about what my body needed to live a healthy lifestyle. I learned to love a navel orange or an apple. I learned to live without fats, sugars and alcolhol. I learned to drink at least a gallon of water a day. So now I weigh a little over 180. I’m happy with that. I’ve dropped two sizes for my pants. I’m now wearing M/L shirts instead of XL. I have an amazing amount of energy and I’ve been off the diet now for 3 weeks and I haven’t gained more than 4 tenths of a pound. Pretty good huh?
If you’re interested in learning how I did this, I’d be happy to share the details with you. It’s your life. You should be healthy and happy. You should relearn about what makes your body happy when it comes to food. If you are overweight, you owe it to yourself and those who love you to get healthy. Today.
