"I gave up on my goal"…a success story…no really (w/ pic)
sklarbodds
Posts: 608 Member
My Background
I grew up a crazy skinny little kid. Sports was most of my life. When I wasn’t playing for a team I was playing with friends around the house. I lived about 3 miles outside my hometown and I would ride my bike back and forth, often a couple times a day. I could sit down and eat an entire large pizza and I wouldn’t gain a pound. I graduated H.S. at 135lbs. I was an athlete.
Where I Began
Fast forward 16 years later. I had sat at a desk job for almost all of my adult life. It all started when I was ‘out-growing’ my 38”-waist pants and knocking on the door at 40” (205lbs). I wasn’t “huge” by some standards, but I was definitely by mine. I would be out of breath walking up stairs. I couldn’t run around with my kids too much. That picture on the left was taking my then 8-year old to the daddy-daughter dance where I would get worn out after dancing to just a song or two. It was affecting my life in every way. I went to my doctor and for the first time in my life my blood pressure was high. My doctor suggested nicely that maybe a few pounds would help and if I didn’t it could lead to health problems later in life.
The Journey
A few months later I got fed up. I hated being that out of shape and overweight. I refused to buy a larger size of pants and I wanted to be an athlete again. Honestly one day it just hit me like a ton of bricks. I CHOSE TO BE THIS FAT. There was only ONE THING standing in my way from being the me that I could faintly remember. CHOICE. All I had to do was CHOOSE better. That’s it. I had tons of reasons why I was fat. I work at a desk all day, I’m a dad I don’t have time, I don’t want to get up early and workout, it’s too hard, etc. etc. When it came down to it, I just realized that I could do it, I was just choosing not to.
So, I started small. I would walk up the stairs at work once per day (I worked on the 9th floor). I would go to the gym and I could only run ¼ mile on the treadmill, but then I’d walk another ¼ and then run another ¼.
I did that for about a month and saw some progress. I could tell I was a little more fit, but I had only lost about 3 lbs. I had grown up believing that you could ‘out-work’ your eating habits (and when I was young I could). I realized if I was really going to do this, I needed to do more than work out a few times a week.
It’s important to explain that my diet was a typical Midwest diet. Pizza, wings, burgers, fries, everything with tons of cheese, etc. I HATED vegetables besides corn. I had about as bad of a diet as imaginable. I didn't track it at the time, but I am pretty certain I was pulling down 4,000 calories a day.
I found MyFitnessPal and it changed everything for me. Suddenly I was aware that an order of fries was 400 more calories. It really sunk in when I did what I thought was a good workout where I walk/ran 1.5 miles and burned a measly 150. You mean all that work and I didn't even burn off an order of fries??? It wanted me to set my goal at 1800 calories and since I was determined to do this, I set it at 1700.
I started ordering grilled chicken instead of fried. I ate salads, fruit…still not vegetables though. I counted everything and sometimes my daughters gave me a hard time for it, but I didn’t care. I was starting to see PROGRESS. I never took a day off my new eating habits. I know some people build in a cheat day every week, but I wasn’t going to do that because I would backslide. I knew I would. I just know myself. I tried to never take a day off. Not because I thought you had to workout and eat perfectly 7 days a week, but because I know that I’d turn one day into 2 and then I’d forget about it for a few days and so on. I WAS DETERMINED. I would NOT fall back.
I went from 2-3 Mt Dew bottles a day to almost ZERO soda. I drank tons of water. Frankly, that was one of the best decisions I've made. You don't need caffeine (I know, that's a tough sell in this day and age). Coffee doesn't GIVE you energy. It just causes your body to burn for energy faster. When you're done 'burning' you actually have less reserves than if you hadn't had caffeine in the first place, so you have to re-dose! I haven't had Mt. Dew since and I have only had about 1/2 dozen sodas since then. It takes about a month to break the habit, but once you do it's amazing how awake you feel all the time!
Anyhow, I still remember the first time (in a long time anyway) I actually RAN for a mile. It wasn’t fast. I think it took me about 9:30, but I didn’t stop to walk. FOR. A. MILE. I started to challenge myself, maybe I can get 1.25 miles…GOT IT. 1.5? Yep. 2?? No way I could run for 2 miles, right? It took quite a few tries, but I got there.
My weight got below 200 and thought, “Maybe I can get below 190”. Sure enough, 189 on the scale. Even then I was still thinking, “I don’t know if I can get under 180”. Not too much later I was in the 170s. I had originally set my goal at 170 (really just because I didn’t know what I wanted to be at). In the 170s I felt WAY better, but I felt maybe I could do better so I adjusted it down to 160.
One of my daughters was in a club after school called "Girls on the Run". They worked all spring and finished with a 5k race. The winning 10 year old girl ran the race in about 23 minutes. I kept saying to myself, "Aren't you faster than a 10 year old girl??" After a few months, I finally was. I ran a 5k in 22:47 (I think that's the right time, but it was faster than 23:00). I was faster than a 10-year old girl!
“Halfway” there
I got all the way down to about 165lbs. Frankly I was pretty darn happy with my results. I had SO much more energy. I was running 5-6 miles regularly. I was doing it 5-6 times per week in addition to riding my bike 40-50 miles. I was FINALLY an athlete again.
But…I still had the gut. It wasn’t anywhere near where it was in the beginning, but it was clearly still there. And it was…soft. I was around 18-20% body fat still. I could either continue what I was doing or hope it would take care of itself or I could do something different.
I read a lot of the success stories on MyFitnessPal and I started to realize that getting to my goal wasn't really that important, especially when I read about some people doing lifting. I had always seen lifting as the ‘meatheads’ that were buff as the day is long, but they couldn't out sprint me or play a sport for hours on end, they could just lift something heavy . I didn't ever lift growing up and when I tried on my own, it was a pretty pathetic effort (I would do 3 or 4 machines for a few minutes and call it a day).
I signed up for a weight lifting class at work and started doing some basic ‘resistance’ training in addition to my running. I did my lifting class on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I would do a resistance cardio class (with hand weights and ropes). So I gave up on my goal of 160lbs (I was 165 about 6 months ago and I’m 163.2 this afternoon) and increased my calorie goal to 2200 (on the advice of my trainer). I still ran, usually after my classes, but I was starting to change my body type. The gut was finally reducing…and actually not quite as soft.
A few months later and here I am. The gut is almost all gone (still just a bit to go). I can feel something I believe are called ‘abs’. I’m still working at it, still finding new ways to be healthy, but I’m stronger and leaner than ever. I am down to about 12% body fat and I have ENERGY! I can run with my kids. We do fitness classes in the living room together and they love it. We go to the gym together and eat good food together (they even help cook).
My food is 180 degrees from where I was now. I eat all kinds of vegetables now. I never liked fish much, but now I eat it quite often (even sushi). A few months ago, I applied the same logic to vegetables that I had to the weight lost. I’m CHOOSING this. If I want to change, I have to CHOOSE to eat vegetables. The crazy thing is, I enjoy food even more now! When you make a healthy meal that tastes great (and that's not as hard as some would believe) it's AMAZING!
I still have the occasional ‘old meal’ where I eat wings or pizza, but it’s rare. As I already said, I don’t build in a ‘cheat day’ because I’ll use it too much. Some might be able to, I can’t.
I’m not done. I won’t ever be because this is a new lifestyle. It’s not a diet. It’s not a destination. It’s my new life. I still may hit my goal weight one day, but it’s going to be a COMPLETE fitness picture. I’m going to be strong and toned instead of just skinnier. I’m going to be able to run AND lift. I’m going to be an athlete. It’s who I've always been on the inside, I've just ignored it for too long. Not anymore.
I grew up a crazy skinny little kid. Sports was most of my life. When I wasn’t playing for a team I was playing with friends around the house. I lived about 3 miles outside my hometown and I would ride my bike back and forth, often a couple times a day. I could sit down and eat an entire large pizza and I wouldn’t gain a pound. I graduated H.S. at 135lbs. I was an athlete.
Where I Began
Fast forward 16 years later. I had sat at a desk job for almost all of my adult life. It all started when I was ‘out-growing’ my 38”-waist pants and knocking on the door at 40” (205lbs). I wasn’t “huge” by some standards, but I was definitely by mine. I would be out of breath walking up stairs. I couldn’t run around with my kids too much. That picture on the left was taking my then 8-year old to the daddy-daughter dance where I would get worn out after dancing to just a song or two. It was affecting my life in every way. I went to my doctor and for the first time in my life my blood pressure was high. My doctor suggested nicely that maybe a few pounds would help and if I didn’t it could lead to health problems later in life.
The Journey
A few months later I got fed up. I hated being that out of shape and overweight. I refused to buy a larger size of pants and I wanted to be an athlete again. Honestly one day it just hit me like a ton of bricks. I CHOSE TO BE THIS FAT. There was only ONE THING standing in my way from being the me that I could faintly remember. CHOICE. All I had to do was CHOOSE better. That’s it. I had tons of reasons why I was fat. I work at a desk all day, I’m a dad I don’t have time, I don’t want to get up early and workout, it’s too hard, etc. etc. When it came down to it, I just realized that I could do it, I was just choosing not to.
So, I started small. I would walk up the stairs at work once per day (I worked on the 9th floor). I would go to the gym and I could only run ¼ mile on the treadmill, but then I’d walk another ¼ and then run another ¼.
I did that for about a month and saw some progress. I could tell I was a little more fit, but I had only lost about 3 lbs. I had grown up believing that you could ‘out-work’ your eating habits (and when I was young I could). I realized if I was really going to do this, I needed to do more than work out a few times a week.
It’s important to explain that my diet was a typical Midwest diet. Pizza, wings, burgers, fries, everything with tons of cheese, etc. I HATED vegetables besides corn. I had about as bad of a diet as imaginable. I didn't track it at the time, but I am pretty certain I was pulling down 4,000 calories a day.
I found MyFitnessPal and it changed everything for me. Suddenly I was aware that an order of fries was 400 more calories. It really sunk in when I did what I thought was a good workout where I walk/ran 1.5 miles and burned a measly 150. You mean all that work and I didn't even burn off an order of fries??? It wanted me to set my goal at 1800 calories and since I was determined to do this, I set it at 1700.
I started ordering grilled chicken instead of fried. I ate salads, fruit…still not vegetables though. I counted everything and sometimes my daughters gave me a hard time for it, but I didn’t care. I was starting to see PROGRESS. I never took a day off my new eating habits. I know some people build in a cheat day every week, but I wasn’t going to do that because I would backslide. I knew I would. I just know myself. I tried to never take a day off. Not because I thought you had to workout and eat perfectly 7 days a week, but because I know that I’d turn one day into 2 and then I’d forget about it for a few days and so on. I WAS DETERMINED. I would NOT fall back.
I went from 2-3 Mt Dew bottles a day to almost ZERO soda. I drank tons of water. Frankly, that was one of the best decisions I've made. You don't need caffeine (I know, that's a tough sell in this day and age). Coffee doesn't GIVE you energy. It just causes your body to burn for energy faster. When you're done 'burning' you actually have less reserves than if you hadn't had caffeine in the first place, so you have to re-dose! I haven't had Mt. Dew since and I have only had about 1/2 dozen sodas since then. It takes about a month to break the habit, but once you do it's amazing how awake you feel all the time!
Anyhow, I still remember the first time (in a long time anyway) I actually RAN for a mile. It wasn’t fast. I think it took me about 9:30, but I didn’t stop to walk. FOR. A. MILE. I started to challenge myself, maybe I can get 1.25 miles…GOT IT. 1.5? Yep. 2?? No way I could run for 2 miles, right? It took quite a few tries, but I got there.
My weight got below 200 and thought, “Maybe I can get below 190”. Sure enough, 189 on the scale. Even then I was still thinking, “I don’t know if I can get under 180”. Not too much later I was in the 170s. I had originally set my goal at 170 (really just because I didn’t know what I wanted to be at). In the 170s I felt WAY better, but I felt maybe I could do better so I adjusted it down to 160.
One of my daughters was in a club after school called "Girls on the Run". They worked all spring and finished with a 5k race. The winning 10 year old girl ran the race in about 23 minutes. I kept saying to myself, "Aren't you faster than a 10 year old girl??" After a few months, I finally was. I ran a 5k in 22:47 (I think that's the right time, but it was faster than 23:00). I was faster than a 10-year old girl!
“Halfway” there
I got all the way down to about 165lbs. Frankly I was pretty darn happy with my results. I had SO much more energy. I was running 5-6 miles regularly. I was doing it 5-6 times per week in addition to riding my bike 40-50 miles. I was FINALLY an athlete again.
But…I still had the gut. It wasn’t anywhere near where it was in the beginning, but it was clearly still there. And it was…soft. I was around 18-20% body fat still. I could either continue what I was doing or hope it would take care of itself or I could do something different.
I read a lot of the success stories on MyFitnessPal and I started to realize that getting to my goal wasn't really that important, especially when I read about some people doing lifting. I had always seen lifting as the ‘meatheads’ that were buff as the day is long, but they couldn't out sprint me or play a sport for hours on end, they could just lift something heavy . I didn't ever lift growing up and when I tried on my own, it was a pretty pathetic effort (I would do 3 or 4 machines for a few minutes and call it a day).
I signed up for a weight lifting class at work and started doing some basic ‘resistance’ training in addition to my running. I did my lifting class on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I would do a resistance cardio class (with hand weights and ropes). So I gave up on my goal of 160lbs (I was 165 about 6 months ago and I’m 163.2 this afternoon) and increased my calorie goal to 2200 (on the advice of my trainer). I still ran, usually after my classes, but I was starting to change my body type. The gut was finally reducing…and actually not quite as soft.
A few months later and here I am. The gut is almost all gone (still just a bit to go). I can feel something I believe are called ‘abs’. I’m still working at it, still finding new ways to be healthy, but I’m stronger and leaner than ever. I am down to about 12% body fat and I have ENERGY! I can run with my kids. We do fitness classes in the living room together and they love it. We go to the gym together and eat good food together (they even help cook).
My food is 180 degrees from where I was now. I eat all kinds of vegetables now. I never liked fish much, but now I eat it quite often (even sushi). A few months ago, I applied the same logic to vegetables that I had to the weight lost. I’m CHOOSING this. If I want to change, I have to CHOOSE to eat vegetables. The crazy thing is, I enjoy food even more now! When you make a healthy meal that tastes great (and that's not as hard as some would believe) it's AMAZING!
I still have the occasional ‘old meal’ where I eat wings or pizza, but it’s rare. As I already said, I don’t build in a ‘cheat day’ because I’ll use it too much. Some might be able to, I can’t.
I’m not done. I won’t ever be because this is a new lifestyle. It’s not a diet. It’s not a destination. It’s my new life. I still may hit my goal weight one day, but it’s going to be a COMPLETE fitness picture. I’m going to be strong and toned instead of just skinnier. I’m going to be able to run AND lift. I’m going to be an athlete. It’s who I've always been on the inside, I've just ignored it for too long. Not anymore.
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Replies
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You look totally AMAZING! Congrats :drinker:0
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Incredible! You have done an amazing job, a very very BIG congratulations :happy: :drinker:0
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Wonderful story! You look great! ... and your daughter is adorable, too. Tell her I'd love to have a dress just like hers. :-)
Curious ... what fish did you start eating and how do you order or prepare it? I can't stand cooked fish. I will eat sushi, provided it's draped nicely over some sweet rice and soaked in soy sauce. But I know it's healthy and I wish I could develop a taste for it.0 -
Fantastic, plus your jumper is AMAZING
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you have done amazing, i hope to do just as good, lost 11 pounds in 4 weeks but losing more each week, its hard at times but it is very satisfying aswell :smokin:0
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Amazing story. Well done for where you are now. Great inspiration. :-)0
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Thanks! She's a cutie, no questionWonderful story! You look great! ... and your daughter is adorable, too. Tell her I'd love to have a dress just like hers. :-)
Curious ... what fish did you start eating and how do you order or prepare it? I can't stand cooked fish. I will eat sushi, provided it's draped nicely over some sweet rice and soaked in soy sauce. But I know it's healthy and I wish I could develop a taste for it.
As for the fish, I started with grilled Tilapia (it's very 'chicken' like) and just added some lemon juice and lemon pepper. It's simple and tastes pretty good.
As for sushi, I couldn't even stand the thought of eating it at first. But in my world of trying new things I just decided to dive in I found a few different rolls I liked (especially the spicy ones) and now I love it! 0 -
Nicely written and well constructed piece showing that you've finally got your head into the right place to succeed in the long term. In never having an end goal you'll never get there - you'll continually readjust what you are aiming for as you reach each short term achievement. 'Reaching target can often be self defeating because people then 'stop dieting' and go back to old habits and start putting weight back on. It's why so many people regain the weight and get into 'diet/binge cycles'. However, if you set your ultimate goal to be healthy and be all you can be in your life, then you'll spend the rest of your life striving for it. Therefore you'll never 'reach target' and stop. It took me a long long time to learn that and I'm very happy for you that you have achieved it too. Congratulations. You look great!0
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Great story - and you look so much younger now!0
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INCREDIBLE!! you changed into a straight DILF! great work!!!
ETA: This has inspired me so much!!!
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That was an amazing read! Your daughter probably appreciates the extra energy.
Congratulations and glad you are becoming comfortable in your own skin, must feel superb.0 -
you look great! well done.0
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Great story and amazing job. Very motivational0
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Great story - and you look so much younger now!
Yes you do! Great job!0 -
Super, well written story, which I'm sure a lot of people will be able to relate to. Thank you for posting, and big congratulations on your journey.:happy:0
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I really liked reading this!! I am the same, I cannot do cheat days because I'll abuse them! And YES healthy foods tastes really good!!
Congrats on the amazing progress and transformation!!! Great inspiration 0 -
Well done you!0
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I can't see pics, but well done, great example set!0
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I can't see pics, but well done, great example set!
Click on his avatar pic then you will see one in there.0 -
For some reason it disappeared, I uploaded it to photobucket:I can't see pics, but well done, great example set!
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Thanks for sharing your story. One of my favorite quotes is "if you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice." Living a healthier life is definately a journey of choices made. Keep up the good work!0
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Way to go! You look younger at 163lb 0
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I can't see the pic, but the story is incredibly inspiring! Way to go!0
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Great post, thank you! Inspiring to read how some relatively small changes, built upon over time, really transformed your weight and your health.0
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So you've morphed from a StrongSad to a StrongBad - nice! Your avatar made my day!0
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You have done incredible...And thank you for sharing your journey, it is very inspirational!!0
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Wonderfully written and such an inspiration you are! Choices, choices, choices... it really does come down to choice.0
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"I CHOSE TO BE THIS FAT. There was only ONE THING standing in my way from being the me that I could faintly remember. CHOICE. All I had to do was CHOOSE better. That’s it. I had tons of reasons why I was fat. I work at a desk all day, I’m a dad I don’t have time, I don’t want to get up early and workout, it’s too hard, etc. etc. When it came down to it, I just realized that I could do it, I was just choosing not to."
I didn't even get through your post yet and I wanted to let you know how the above quotation really hit home for me...THANK YOU! Now back to finish your story. 0 -
I love how you said this is not a diet, it's a lifestyle change cause it really is! My fitness pal has helped me be accountable on my food choices, I have lost 57 lbs in 7 months, I feel great, look great and am exercising more than I ever thought I would! I try to throw new monthly challenges at myself, right now im doing the couch to 5k! I ran for 3 min yesterday which I never thought I would ever do! Congrats on your success!0
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Coach Z says "Good jooooorrrrrrb!" Everybody Fhqwhgads!
Seriously. Nicely done. 0
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