I just had to admit it...

It's not that far away in the timeline, just two and a half or three months ago. I love eating... it's just a part of my culture as a Spanish citizen. Our long lunches, nice Mediterranean food, great friends around, long hours maintaining nice conversations after lunch, the coffees, and so on.

On top of that I think that, to know a culture or a society, you need to go through its gastronomy. That's why when I came to Saudi Arabia one year and some months ago I discovered also the Arabic pastries, their really high calorie dishes, etc.

Back home Spain I used to walk a lot, meaning, for example, 12Km in around 2 hours every other day. I played "padel tennis" and loved learning Martial Arts (by now I practised Judo, Muay Thai, Tae Kwon Do and Jiu Jitsu).

But I was always saying "it doesn't matter, what I eat now I will burn it later" and it was not true. When I came to Saudi I also discovered how difficult is to do sports in that really hot weather. Even if you go to the swimming pool sometimes is annoying because the water is so hot that you sweat a lot while swimming...

Sport is not really into this society neither, except watching Spanish soccer Liga anytime! hehe...

So, I reached a weight and a fitness status that I couldn't maintain for so long.

I never disclosured my weight except to the doctors in the regular checks. I always skipped the question by saying:"I weight a lot, a lot more than you" and because I am tall (6.2feet) everybody use to tell me: "Don't worry, you are ok" But I was not.

I never had medical problems due to my weight but, for example, I snored a lot and sometimes my wife told me that I had kind of small apneas, just for some seconds while sleeping.

One day I woke up and I said: TODAY I FINISHED TO BE LIKE I AM NOW

I began to eat cleaner, just that, cleaner, and I decided to delete the word DIET from my vocabulary. No sodas, no fats, just healthy food.

But more important than that... I had to admit that I AM FAT, I AM A FOOD JUNKIE.

From "I don't tell my weight to anybody" I went to " Hey, you know, fat people like me do this or that". From "I'm ok, just big" to "**** off Dukan diet and lets adjust some parameters of my food habits"

I don't understand, still don't understand how people would never offer alcohol to an ex-alcoholic but they offer you an extra pizza slice or an ice-cream under the statement "come on, it's not going to be bad to you"

OF COURSE IT IS BAD (it's bad if that "extra" is not part of your plan for today, just that)

Now my food habits are changing, I eat really clean (my diary is open for all of you who want to have a briefly idea about how do I eat), counting calories is a very good tool and, more than that, if you are not sure about any food just log it before you eat it and dont panic after that, hehe.

About sports... I was running nothing, zero, niente, rien, nada, nihl! and thanks to c25k i reached the 5K in a good shape. Now, when I go for a relaxing running before the weightlifting training I go for 30min jogging, when two months ago it was the target!

I ran an 8K race here in Jeddah in a very proud 50min27sec, that, for a 136Kg man is... GOOD! (I guess)

The difficult thing is that you must plan your day, your food, you must cook at home, and be accountable of your actions.

Do I suffer when I run? ****! yes! But I do it and I feel well after running. Do I eat sweets, candies, cakes, etc? Yes, but only if my calorie intake has some calories left for me.

Do I have cheat days? Well, not really like that but if my friends and me go for a junk food restaurant I try to just, behave, and avoid things that I really know they are not good for me. For example, french fries... the food with the less good things for you... if I manage to change the side dish and take mashed potato, or just grilled veggies I prefer them to the fries.

I don't want comments to this post like: you rock, you are doing great, you are so good... I just want to make sure that all of us understand that we are like, I guess, junkies that need a little bit of rehab to go back to our good shape bodies and minds.

Admit, you, me, everybody, that we are FAT, that is not a problem... that is the beginning of the solution. You can reverse that and go back to a lean life.

Sometimes my wife tells me: "Hey, you dissappear two hours everyday and I don't see you" Well, this is my rehab, instead of going to a hospital and rehab there I must go to the gym and spend two hours exercising.

Do you prefer to rehab at the gym, at the hospital or just not being able to rehab and dig your own grave by eating junk food? It's your choice.

My wife is pregnant and because of that she is eating the walls! My friends love to have big dinners cause we never meet to have lunch. The country is like a 24/7 fast food franchises paradise.

But in my inner side, when I said "Spartan mode ON" I just clicked the switch to a better life.

Today 10kgs are gone since September, or so. Another 20kgs are scared cause they know that I'm going to take them out of my body...

Eat clean, train mean and live lean!

By balancing your food intake, counting calories, paying attention to cardio and combining it with weightlifting your life will dramatically change.

You can do it because YOU ARE A CHAMPION and you have many people around supporting you everyday by saying: "Hey, you look different", "did you lose weight?", "****, you run??" Yes, I look different, yes, i lose weight and yes, I run but... IT'S NOT OVER!

Admit your current situation, do not hesitate to admit you are in a weak position, a fat person never want to be fat, but by admitting that you are doing 25% of the job!

Balance your food, do not hesitate to eat a chocolate or a muffin' but think it this way "calorie in is equal to exercise more".

Set up achievable targets, small, think in big but act in small...

And... GO FOR IT! you are a champion!

I DON'T WANT TO BE AN EXAMPLE but I want to infuse my spirit to you all!

So... SPARTAN MODE: ON!

Brgrds/José D.