At 45, my one year update, Jan 2012 to Dec 2012

I started using MFP a year ago.. it was very instrumental in my success. ..thanks for a awesome app and website community!


I can remember the exact date. December 27th 2011, I looked in the mirror and had to tell myself the cold brutal truth. I was overweight, not feeling good and my quality of life just was not what I wanted it to be.





There are many things in one’s life that a person cannot control. For most people, being overweight and living a poor quality of life just is not one. If you truly think about it, if you are sick, no amount of money, toys, can make you physically feel any better. Your health, at the end of the day is the only thing that truly matters.

“And all your money won’t another minute buy..” –Kansas

This was the thought that came to mind that faithful December day. I had taken some friends fishing for a couple days. We did inshore fairly easy fishing. No long runs, no bad weather and they next day, I had to take several Ibuprofen just so I could function. I thought to myself, I did not want to live the rest of my life depending on Ibuprofen just so I could get through the day.

No longer in my 20’s I knew this was not going to be an easy road. But I also knew it is quite possible to achieve. I wanted to achieve this the all-natural way, living right.

Now that the goal was set, it was time to figure how to get there. Like most people who have battle weight issues, I was no stranger to diets. I have tried many and many of them did work quite well. However, they were not sustainable at least not for me. Once I went back to my old habit, the weight quickly returned.

Low carb, low calories, low fat, HCG hormones, cabbage, salads, none of these were sustainable for me. I started to do research via youtube and came across a video of a guy name Shay Carl. I remember a video of him in Jan 2011, he was 300lbs starting a weight lost program. The title of the current video said “I lost 100lbs!” I saw the thumbnail and quickly clicked on it. It wasn’t a work out video it was him talking about the mentality of it all.

In one of his videos, he explained it this way, “I looked at what fat people did and l looked at what fit people did. I was doing the exact same thing the fat person was doing, there for I was fat.” Somehow this simple concept made a lot of sense to me. I looked at the way I live and sure enough I was doing what a fat person does and the result was, I was fat.

I go fishing, I eat fried foods, I shoot photos, I sit in front of the computer for hours and I would eat whatever tasted good to me. None of these activities equate to what a fit person does. A fit person would have a routine of some type of exercise; they would watch what they ate and indulge sparingly.

It was quite simple, If I wanted to feel better and sustain it, I had to start living like a fit person. The goal was also not to be one of those crazy fit person who ends up having zero life. After all, what good is being fit when you are locked up in the house/gym all the time?

My intentions were not only did I want to lose the pounds naturally, I also wanted to look fit. I mean, Jared from the Subways commercial lost a bunch of weight, but he did not look fit to me. I wanted to look like the guy it the Solo Flex commercial. I did not want to look like a marathon runner; I wanted to look like a sprinter.

Before I go any further I want to say that I took the time to write this entry not to brag about myself. I write this in hopes of empowering and helping people to reach their fitness goals, the same way Shay Carl motivated me. Hopefully I can help some people out there that might need that little push.

In my 40’s, in December 2011, I was 5’ 7” 226lbs. 38-40inch waist and wearing an XL shirt. By any standards I was obese at best. Waking up with back pains, out of breath when walking up stairs, terrible sleep and to top it all off had really bad dandruff.

After getting into my routine, within a couple weeks, my skin started to clear up. Within a month, I was starting to feel better and wanted to work out. Within in 3 months I had dropped over 20lbs and the clothes were getting baggy on me.

As I type this, December 25th 2012 almost one year later, I am 190lbs 32”-34” waist and wearing a Large or Medium shirts. I just wanted to add that the journey does not end. This is not a diet, this is the way I will try to live.

I wanted to end this entry with one of my favorite quote from an old movie that has kept me going.

“That every passing minute is a another chance to turn it all around.” –Vanilla sky(2001)