So I discovered I’m kind of fat
This is no recent discovery. I found this out maybe in 9th or 10th grade. It’s no surprise, really — bigger people run in my family. I was about 6 feet tall when I was 13, so I was bound to only get bigger.
Sadly, I only grew two inches up and about 10 inches out. Awesome.
The good news is that cute girls have always liked me. Somehow. And I still made friends. So this is not completely a vanity-based issue. But I did encounter people throughout high school and college who obviously didn’t want me to be part of their clique because I wasn’t a Beautiful Person. And that’s fine. They were obviously worthless people, and I’m obviously totally rad.
That being said, it still hurt sometimes to know I was the biggest person in our group. I wasn’t the most out of shape. In college, I could always keep up in pick-up basketball and football games. But as I got older and older, it became harder and harder to find clothes that fit. Or clothes that fit in my I’ve-never-really-had-much-money-of-my-own budget.
I was about 250 when I graduated high school in 2004. I graduated college 310. Now I’m at 295, which shows what happens when $4.25 pitchers of beer aren’t within walkin distance of your apartment. But still, I’m huge compared to what I once was and I don’t like it. I want to look good in a suit, goddammit.
The last time I went to Macy’s to try and find some dress shirts, the super-skinny store clerk looked me up and down, making a disgusted face before commenting, “Um, you’re going to have to go to J.C. Penney’s. We are not a store that sells size 20 necks.” The 50-year-old, balding man’s comments would have hurt if I didn’t realize he was a 50-year-old balding man who is a Macy’s sales clerk.
J.C. Penney’s only had two dress shirts that fit me. In the entire big and tall section.
That was sort of a wake-up call that maybe I should do something. I’m about 6’2”, 295 pounds, according to the scale. Back in April I trained and ran a 5K. I dropped down to about 283 in a few months of running. I can do it again.
And I have to do it again, and then some. I’m too big. I’m always out of breath. I sweat a lot. This is embarrassing when you’re covering some event and your shirt looks like someone dumped water on you. It’s become a professional issue, I think. I’m too fat to kick as much ass at my profession as I could. I must remedy this.
So here’s my goal. It’s the end of August. By the end of October I want to have lost 10 pounds. I think that’s doable.
Here’s what I plan to do: I won’t eat out so goddamn much and I will get back into good enough shape to run longer distances. No more daily Chipotle after work. No more gobs and gobs of ranch. More fruits and vegetables (bought a bunch today). Drink tons more water. And then I will run three times a week and bike ride twice. Since I get off work about four hours before most people do, I think I can do this.
This is doable. It has to be. I mean, I only get one life. I might as well look damn good in a suit when I die someday.
Addendum: I went running today. A sort of run/walk. I started at week 3 of my Couch to 5K program I did awhile back. Felt alright and doable. Just can’t stop. Won’t stop. Must not stop.
6 Responses to “So I discovered I’m kind of fat”
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Eric Mellow on August 29th, 2010
Because I like to help and I know about this stuff:
1. Don’t drink your calories. You’ll be amazed at how fast you can lose 10 pounds if you stop drinking soda, because it’s empty calories. Same goes for sports drinks; unless you’re working out for more than an hour, drink water.
2. The fruits and vegetables is a good idea. Throw in lean meats and whole grains and you’re on your way. Try to avoid packaged stuff with a lot of ingredients that look like a list of chemicals you’re going to need for your lab experiment. Cutting down on the fast food will also help.
3. If you have a gym membership, lifting weights a couple times a week would be beneficial. Muscles burn more calories than fat, even at rest. If you add muscle, your basal metabolic rate will increase so you’ll be using more calories just being alive. Also, strength is just a good balance to the endurance.
4. Most people don’t work hard enough on the bike. You’re going to have to work a lot harder on the bike to get the same quality of workout that you do from running, so don’t just go farting around the neighborhood – try to get out and go! You’re also going to have to go about 3 times as long as well, so if you’re running 30 minutes, your rides should be about 90 minutes.
5. That being said, working up to longer runs is also a good idea. You burn a lot of fat in the third 30 minutes, so if you can slowly work one of your weekly runs up to 90 minutes, it will make you a force to be reckoned with! Move up slowly though. Starting with a walk/run like you are is actually the best way to start out – you less likely to get injured if you ease into it, and you won’t have to take the next 3 days off because your body won’t be as sore.
If you have any questions, hit me up. If I don’t know the answers, I have a ton of friends that are athletes and quite a few that work in the fitness field, so I can always find out. Take care, buddy.
Arleen on August 29th, 2010
You got this!
mp on August 30th, 2010
Fiber! Replace one meal a day with a high fiber cereal liike shredded wheat or – even better – Kashi and some fresh fruit. Slimfast is actually very good for a breakfast replacement as well. Eat breakfast. Everyday. Even if it’s just a bowl of cereal or a protein bar. It’ll kickstart your metabolism. Everything Eric said is great advice, too. I know it’s not really your style, but have yoga time with T. Kirk. Stretching and muscle control will make your other workouts so much easier. It’s amazing how much more smoothly a bike ride goes with a toned core and increased flexibility.
I’m working on toning and losing some excess right now, too. We can chat about how much we love leafy greens and grilled chicken breasts whenever you want. There’s strength in numbers.
Arleen on August 30th, 2010
In response to Eric’s comment, AGREED. I lost forty pounds in high school and the first 20 came off in a couple months, when I stopped drinking soda.
dawnyawn on September 26th, 2010
Looks like youre motivated now! Keep it up. Do anything you can possibly think of to continue striving for better health. Time flies. Id like to see your time fly in the direction of health. Distressing issues come up for all of us but dont let lifes ditches take you off the path for long. No one else will do it for you, so take care of *you frst*
Get a physical but dont go to a GP for it. If you can afford it, get to to a heart doctor.
Best of luck.
Anthony on December 13th, 2010
One thing that has always helped me lose or maintain weight is to know how many calories I’m taking in. I recently started using MyFitnessPal on my phone and log all my meals. I hadn’t tracked my calories for a while, but after adding about 10 pounds in the last year I decided to start up again. Having an app on my phone made the process way easier than it was when I used a web site.
The thing about doing this is that you quickly realize how easy it is to consume most of a day’s calories on bad food if you’re not careful. It also starts to train you to avoid certain foods that add a lot of calories but not a lot of nutrition.