Something had to be done.
A full ten years removed from the day I received my high school diploma, things were changing. Probably the most visible differences were in my appearance, from the sagging double chin I saw in the mirror to the bulging belly that began to hang over my belt. Closing in on my 29th birthday, I wasn't looking so hot, to put it mildly. A little fat here and a little fat there added up to a quite a lot -- 50 extra pounds, to be precise.
The ugly truth
A guy my height (just over 6-feet tall) shouldn't tip the scales at 230 pounds. According to the CDC's body mass index, I should check in at closer to 180 pounds.
Height: 6 feet, 0 inchesThat's where "the 50 pound guy" thing comes in. I'm hoping to shed those 50 pounds and return to the weight of my high school days, when I was in a healthier 180-pound range.
Weight: 230 pounds
Your BMI is 31.2, indicating your weight is in the Obese category for adults of your height.For your height, a normal weight range would be from 136 to 184 pounds.
People who are overweight or obese are at higher risk for chronic conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and high cholesterol.
Sure, we've all seen the folks who are morbidly obese. Unfortunately, we all know someone in that situation. They weigh in excess of 300 pounds, and many times want desperately to lose weight. Many of them resort to extreme measures, such as gastric bypass surgery or other medical procedures.
Of course, I'm not that guy. But I am the guy who is teetering on the edge of overweight, and dangerously close to falling into the obese crowd. Television shows are done about the folks at the extremes, meanwhile there are thousands of people out there who don't need to lose hundreds of pounds but merely need to drop about 50 pounds or so, such as I do.
How did this happen?
It really crept up on me. It seemed like yesterday that I was sitting on a doctor's table listening to options on how to bulk up. Could it be that a teenager who was deemed too skinny could possibly become an adult who was overweight and headed to obesity?
That's not just a yes, that's a big fat yes.
When I was a teenager staying in shape was much easier. School afforded more opportunities to exercise and stay active, at least more than office jobs do.
As a teenager there are many different sports and athletic activities available to you. School starts in the morning at the same time every day, and the final bell dismisses you at the same time every afternoon. After that, there is still plenty of daylight to enjoy.
Even when not playing on formal teams or with organizations, I was always able to find a basketball goal or a bicycle to use. Moving around wasn't so much of a problem, so excess calories taken in at the lunch room would eventually get burned.
Then college came and things changed. Going to a university typically means moving out of your hometown, living in a new place and meeting new people. Simply going to and from classes on a big campus could be enough walking to keep a person slim.
After earning a degree, every job I had involved writing in some sort of way. Unfortunately for me, writing doesn't involve any aerobic activity. I found myself sitting much of the day jabbing away at a keyboard. Most of the time, the only exercise I would get was back and forth from my car. Now I'm not expert, but I can tell you that simply walking a few steps per day won't burn many calories. And due to that, all of the food I ate turned to excess body fat.
I'm not completely innocent here. I knew exactly what I was doing. I can't play dumb. I knew full well where the candy machine was located, and I made a point to visit it every day. This is embarrassing to admit, but sometimes I made it my lunch. A bag of Zapp's potato chips, Butterfinger candy bar and Barq's root beer makes for a tasty meal, but not a particularly healthy one.
My uncle Vinnie, who is a professional fitness trainer in Los Angeles, calls me often and gives me tips, especially since I've expressed interest in stopping this freight train headed toward obesity. I've learned a lot from him, and I frequently check out his advice at his Web site, SaveGasBurnFat.com. He's had so many success stories with clients over the years, I figured why not hear him out and give it a try myself?
It won't be easy
I can tell already that it will be work to get this 50 pounds off of me. I feel like writing about it will be cathartic. I will get all of my emotions out there for everyone to know. Will it be embarrassing? I'm sure it will be, but it's not like it's a secret that I'm overweight. What would truly be embarrassing is going about my life and increasing my weight more and more while pretending like it's not happening.
I suppose it's true that you have to admit that you have a problem before you can go about fixing it. That's what I'm doing. I'm announcing my problem to the world. I want to be vulnerable. That way I can truly tackle this problem, and move on. In a way, losing the 50 pounds is on my checklist of things to do, just like any mundane thing on my grocery list.
I can do this, and I will. Thanks for reading.
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