"If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter." George Washington
Welcome to the Slaughterhouse, America!!
By Nicholas Meyeres
What better way to celebrate Tax Day than by there being less of me to tax! After all, if the government is going to tax everything in my life including the food I eat, why not make sure I am beholden to them for as little as possible!? Take that, Big Government!
Well, okay, so it isn't THAT simple, and neither was my weight loss for the last 10 weeks.
I have never struggled with my weight. In fact, most people who knew me when I was younger said I was 'too skinny', or needed to 'gain more weight'. Then, something strange happened- I turned 30 years old, and it was all downhill from there! Now, at the ripe old age of 34 years old, I have gained over 50 lbs. in 4 short years.
I became complacent, I was sedentary and had virtually no motivation to exercise at all, plus I really liked food!!! The worse for me, the better. A large Cheese Lover's, stuffed crust pizza with a 32 oz soda and a fistful of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups twice a week? Bring it on! Like I said, I have never struggled with weight loss until now, and I have ate virtually the very same thing for years. I am a vegetarian, and I always thought it strange whenever I would see an overweight person with my same eating habits standing front of me. I just didn't know how it was possible to be "that" vegetarian! Imagine my surprise when I became one of them, and saw my double chin staring back at me in the mirror one day.
I have been a vegetarian for more than half of my life, and I simply took it for granted that I was healthy. But, make no mistake about it, just because you don't eat meat doesn't mean you are in shape. Take my diet for example:
Lots of processed food-stuffs: check!
Hardly any fiber in those foods: check!
Virtually zero whole fruits or vegetables in my vegetarian diet: check!
Tons of sugary drinks and desserts all day long: check!
More candy than an entire pint-sized army could get on a busy Halloween night: DOUBLE, AND TRIPLE CHECK!!!
Add all of that together in a big ol' ball flabby flesh, mixed with old age and hardly any exercise, and you have a very unhealthy me.
But one day it all changed.
I remember going to a motivational speaker with family members when I was about 12 or 13 years old, who spoke at great length about addiction-- including food addiction. He said something that always stuck with me: "If you don't like something about yourself- change it! It's really that simple, no matter what other people tell you."
Nearly 20 years later, I pulled that little kernel of advice out of my proverbial closet, and tried it on for size.
I looked in the mirror, and simply didn't like what was staring back at me- so, I changed it. After all, I have always had the lion's share of willpower. I don't consume alcohol, I don't smoke, I have never done a recreational drug in my life, I don't even drink anything with caffeine and like I already said, I am a vegetarian of most of my life. But somehow that didn't stop me from one day gaining an unhealthy amount of weight in a very short period of time. So, I changed it.
I said one day that it was time for a change, I made those changes, I stuck to my guns, I saw it through, and I am a much better 'me' than I have been in a very, very long time. In fact, I feel that I am a better man today for so many reasons, and I am just getting better daily. Sure, I make mistakes (sometimes I still make some very BIG mistakes), but I am the best 'me' that I have ever been in my whole life. I like me today, and I can't wait to be an even better me tomorrow. After all, I am not the man I am because of the mistakes I have made, or because of the times I turned right when I should have turned left. I am the man I am because it is who I choose to be, not who I have become.
But how did I do it aside from merely deciding to do it one day? I had help and support from my amazing and loving wife, Celeste. She was my support system, and my cheerleader every day through all of this. I am so thankful for her help to make the journey so much easier, and I couldn’t have done it without her.
But that wasn't it. I also made it a point to exercise every day. Not hardcore exercise, mind you because that would surely back fire on me, but light cardio for 20-30 minutes a day. The kind that Richard Simmons would endorse! The fun kind, that keeps you motivated each and every day.
Plus, I simply ate less food, and less high calorie foods. Actually, I ate healthier in general, consumed a lot more fiber-rich foods, drank much more water daily, ate whole fruits and fresh vegetables, less processed junk food, hardly any sodium went on my plate, and virtually no sugar to speak of whatsoever entered my body. Plus, my own willpower and the support from others to make it all happen in the day's end.
However, there was one more thing (I won't lie) that motivated me to lose the weight which a lot of people will find off-putting, and I am sorry in advance, but it gave me the strength to be the better 'me' I already spoke of. And it is my ego. I just didn't want to be 'that person' anymore. I wanted to wear nice clothes that fit me comfortably. I didn't want to suck in my stomach every day of my life for fear of someone making fun of my waistline. The bottom line is, I was embarrassed. And that was all the motivation I really needed when it was all said and done.
Now, I know what a lot of you will say at this point. "Be happy with who you are." "No one can make you feel bad, but you." "You have a handsome face." And while those words have power, it wasn't good enough for me. The fact is, I was not happy with who I was, not just esthetically, but physically. I was short of breath just walking down the street. I napped long naps every day. I had the first signs of diabetes creeping into my world, and I simply didn't want to shorten my life because it was just starting to get good! After all, the hard truth is that the majority of overweight people not only have a multitude of health problems as they age and gain even more weight over time, but they die much sooner than physically healthy individuals who eat right and exercise daily. And I'm not ready to go quite yet!!!
But, now for the hard part. This is a life style choice- not just a temporary one- but a forever one. I know I am capable of weight gain now- and I never want it back again- so, I need to make this my life from here on out. And so, I have. Perhaps not as strict as when I was trying to lose the weight in the first place, but a life style change, nonetheless. That is what I choose. That is who I choose to be. And that's a good enough 'me' to be.
First day of diet: Feb. 1st, 2011
Current day of diet: April 15th, 2011
Beginning weight: 211.6 lbs
Current weight: 170 lbs (UPDATE! As of May, 9th I am officially 160 lbs!!!)
Beginning shirt size: XXL (Tight)
Current shirt size: M (Comfy!)
Beginning pant size: 36 (Tight)
Current pant size: 29 (Extra roomy!)
Awesome!
ReplyDelete