Fat in the Brain!

This entry will have no scientific information, no call to action, and no guilt. I promise.

I am simply at a point where i feel like I need to talk. Human to human. Fat person to fat person. Yes, I called myself fat. I just called you fat, too. It never feels good. Especially if you ARE fat.

But I just wanted to get something of my chest that pops up from time to time. Like the state I'm currently, and quite frequently in:

I feel fat. After a year of busting my ass, I'm still a fat guy.

I can't help it. And I know some of you, who have worked really hard, and made great strides to change your lives and your habits, and your bodies, feel it too. I know I am not finished with my weight loss, and I am eager to lose the last 10 or 15 lbs, that I feel like I must lose...but I have hit a wall, and really do need to work a little harder for that last few lbs. But here's the thing...I'm worried about it. It's like having anxiety about waking up, and all that progress will have disappeared. It's looking at the scale and seeing the same number every day, and it feeling the same as it did 50lbs ago. No progress.

When you start and stick to a plan, seeing results is intoxicating. When you level off, at first it's okay...but it's been since before Christmas, and I am still at the same weight. And now I am once again...seeing a fat guy staring at me in the mirror. This is dangerous ground.

It is the point where people... emotional people, like myself, lose control. This is a gut check (pun intended.)

Gone are the exciting revelations: "Hey, look....my collarbone!", or "Wow, I can fit in my high school jersey!". Now, at least for me, it is: "I look dumpy in my fat boy clothes...but I'm afraid to buy new ones, cuz I'm an phony. I'm not really this size...I'm a fat guy...a fraud.".

We all have insecurities, and my friends know, I'm chock full of them. I have always been like this, and I must confess...I hide it pretty well. It doesn't matter how I try to counter it...I have a massive inferiority complex. I'm bad, you're good. I'm good...YOU'RE BETTER. When I was a three sport athlete in high school, and in the best shape of my life, lean and ripped...I still felt fat, comparing myself to the other athletes. As I have gotten older, it has made socializing, working, and performing, tough. Sometimes, it was easier mentally to just be fat.

This is relevant because it happens to a lot of people who lose weight. We keep waiting for someone to jump up and shout: "IMPOSTER!", while pointing at us.

This is the moment when people give up, and go back to being fat, or go overboard, and do damage to themselves, that can have dangerous and deadly results. Beware...(pointing at myself).

I see a lot of you doing so well, and looking so very good. We are none of us perfect. It is in that imperfection, that beauty and individualism flourishes. We do not have to look like magazine models. Curves are okay, good in fact (my personal taste bubbling to the surface...rolls, not so much.) Embrace who you are, not some vision of who you think you should be, or what you believe others want to see. And I'll try to practice what I preach.

So I am writing this note to myself, and to all of you:

Don't stop. Don't give up. You are worth the effort. You are not a fraud. Learn from this doubt. Things are no different...keep making every choice, and day count.

You got this.

"Somebody Bring Me Some Water!..Can't You See I'm Burnin' Alive!"

Since Shane posted a classic rock lyric, I felt I needed to follow suit.

At this time of year, unfortunately we take an all too close look at ourselves, for a week or so...and then go back to doing whatever we were doing before the holidays. I am guessing that Weight Watchers™, and exercise equipment sales go up at this time of year more than any other.

Being one who has had many New Year's Resolutions go South by mid-January, (to avoid the cold weather, presumably), I know this can be a rough time. I don't make them anymore. That way, they won't fail.

But one thing that you can do, that does not take a huge commitment in time, money, or effort...is drink water. Yup...it's that simple. Pledge to drink more water.

The biggest change I made in my life over the last year, was drinking more water. And every time I have a lapse in judgement and will power, water saved me.

When you think of your body as a machine, Food is the fuel and Water is the oil. You would never think about NOT putting oil in your car, right? Water is of paramount importance in kidney and brain function, colon and bladder health, joints and muscle function...the list goes on.

Link: Google-ing water and weight loss...

I am a big believer in Purified water as opposed to spring water. It tastes better and is filtered of chlorine and other "stuff". I buy a case and throw it in my van.

A case of the store brand purified water at Wal-Mart, is $2.48. That's 24 - 16 ounce bottles.

How many sodas can you buy for $2.48? I drink at least 4 a day, (that is the gold standard of water consumption: 8 - 8 oz glasses a day.) But I usually end up drinking more. Divide your body weight by half, and that is how many oz. you should get, some sources say. The most resistance I hear about drinking water: "I'll be in the bathroom all day!" Just consider that every time you are in the bathroom, you are dropping weight...it's a fair trade off.

Water keeps you from eating junk just because your bored. Water keeps your system chugging along, washing out toxins, and helping your joints feel better. If you like salty foods, drink even more water to help from feeling swollen and achy. I love salty foods, (my weakness), and I can really feel the difference when I don't flush my body with water after a salty meal. My joints and especially my hands, really hurt.

Click Here for some interesting info when and how to consume water.

Although I have changed my diet significantly, and my activity level has increased, I truly believe that without the water regimen, I would still be fat. I was terribly dehydrated most of my life, and only looking back now, did I realize that a lot of my health problems, were tied to that. Most notably the kidney stone I had some years back. (Ouch!)

FYI....Through the holidays, I have eaten pretty much whatever I wanted, without going overboard, of course...(well maybe a little overboard), and have maintained the same weight roughly, (185-190 lbs). My secret....I carried a liter bottle of water around like a ball and chain. For every soda, glass of wine, little smokey, summer sausage...there was some water to wash it down, and keep it moving.

I raise my glass (of water)......Happy New Year. I hope that 2012 finds you all healthier and happier.

Timing is everything.

If you are reading this, you are probably looking for inspiration and maybe some advice...perhaps even just a little bit of encouragement. As someone who has struggled with being overweight for the better part of my adult life, I can tell you one thing for sure...the decision and dedication to building a healthier, more slender body comes from within. That is the first step. Whether it's seeing a friend's or co-worker's success, or being humiliated one time too many, finding out that you have eaten your way to a medical issue, or just being depressed about taking off your clothes...the time comes when you have to act. For you.

Now, as you read above, Shane and Scott appear to be on different ends of the same path...Shane crossing the finish line, and Scott is lacing up his shoes, and waiting for the starting gun. This is where I come in...My name is Tim, a former high school athlete, and 46 year old dad, and I'm in the middle of the race, and to be perfectly honest, so are they .

Now before I continue, let me just say, I am no expert...I am just like you. But I do know a few things about losing weight, and they fall squarely in the category of common knowledge. As a matter of fact, most people know how to lose weight...it's not rocket science. (Unless you have a medical issue, then yeah...it's rocket science.) But for your average person, with a normal functioning system, all the information you need is everywhere. It's all out there. It's already been blasted into your consciousness through just about every type of media, your doctor’s office, family, friends and the educational system. Me telling you the ins and outs of weight loss is not the reason I'm here, (although I will offer some suggestions and tell you what worked for me.)

When I say we are all in the middle of the race, my point is simply that once you make a decision to do something to change your body, you have to accept it as a way of life, not a diet, or a plan to lose weight.
A "diet" is a low calorie recipe for failure, long term. I know...because I am currently on my fourth try at staying slender....I have lost over 50lbs, 4 different times since I was 19. That's over 200 lbs, and am currently on the last 10lbs of my latest attempt to reach a goal weight. I have been as heavy as 245lbs in the last 15 years, and am now weighing in at 185lbs. Most of that loss has been over the last year...slow and steady. And the key to it for me, was to take each day as it comes, and not gain weight. Really...NOT GAIN. That was my goal at first. Eat better, don't gain.

But the bottom line for me...is it's all about timing. The time you decide to change...the time you decide to start your quest for a healthier life, the time you make that first tough decision about what you put in your body, and the time you see your first little triumph on the scale, or in the mirror. Or the first time someone tells you, "You look like you lost a little weight!" Because from now on, those moments will be define your commitment. And they keep coming...moment to moment to moment.