I am proof this can be done
In last week’s Fitness Friday post I recalled my history with weight gain and how I began my fitness journey. I will not recount the whole thing here for the sake of time, but I encourage you to click the link and check it out. The short version is that I reached my max weight in December of 2009. I tipped the scales at 279 pounds. The breaking point for me was a double whammy. It started one day that fall when my oldest son walked up to my ex-wife and pushed out his belly and said to my ex-wife that he wanted to be fat like his Dad. The straw that broke the camel’s back was walking into the bathroom one morning around my birthday and seeing actual stretch marks on my stomach.
In January of 2010 I made the decision to restrict my calorie intake while working out as much as I could. I bought a recumbent stationary bike and got to work. By the end of that spring, I was riding the bike three hours a day. That summer I started running and ran my first 5k in August. In less than one year I lost 100 lbs.
Over the years, I gained a lot of it back and then lost it again, and then gained it back again, and then lost it again. This is not an uncommon cycle.
I believe I have finally found a semblance of balance. While I am not at what I would consider an ideal weight, my other fitness markers allow me to feel content. I currently weight around 200 lbs depending on the day, but I have struggled with some diet choices in the last year. I will talk about that in further detail in Step 2.
Our weight and its effects are a uniquely human anomaly. We often gain weight at an alarming rate all whilst denying the obvious and explaining it away as a temporary change. For example we will proclaim that we always gain weight in the winter. It’s just winter weight, after all. Or we will put on ten pounds during the holidays and tell people that we do this every year and it will come off on its own. Worst yet, we will dismiss the weight gain as a unfortunate reality of getting older.
Losing weight has the opposite effect on our psyche but it is actually more devastating. As we lose the weight, we fail to sense the progress. Our need to be thin clouds the positive changes. Once we accomplish our weight loss, we will look at ourselves in the mirror or in pictures and still see a fat person. The absolute worst thing generally comes from our loved ones. When they see us with a dramatically different appearance, they will often tell us we look too thin. We look sick. This has a tragic effect on the mind. We often allow that mind-trick to derail our willpower and we slip back into old habits. And the weight begins to come back.
Have faith you can do this. Here are the five steps to go from fat to fitness.
Step 1: See your physician
It is important to note that I am not a doctor. I am also not a certified trainer, a nutritionist, or a dietitian. All I am is a person who has a long history with weight issues and I have had success transforming my body. With that said, before you attempt any weight loss journey, consult your physician. The first step is to get a full physical and have your labs checked for any possible health concerns.
Once you and your doctor have a clear understanding of your health, you can discuss what the best first steps are. If you are a life long smoker and have developed chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, you may not be able to run. For those of you that have extensive osteoarthritis, you may not be able to run. If you have diabetes, there may be dietary restrictions you have to follow. The benefit of having a clear understanding of you health is that you can compare your numbers once you have accomplished your goals.
When you get the green light from your doctor to begin your journey, you may want to find professionals to help guide you along the way. The first two that come to mind would be a personal trainer and a nutritionist. There is something important to keep in mind when choosing your health and wellness professionals. Personal trainers and nutritionists do not require any former schooling. There is also very little regulation of their industries. Be sure to consult family and friends to find a reputable professional that will be a good fit for you.
Step 2: Decide on a diet and stick to it
Before you ever step into a gym or start walking for exercise, you need to begin eating right. There is an expansive number of dietary options out there and they all have their benefits and detriments. As I stated above, when I went through my initial weight loss journey, I subscribed to the idea of Calories In / Calories Out. That is the idea that if you burn more calories than you take in, you will lose weight. This is common sense, in theory.
The reality is that the metabolism of the human body is unbelievably complex. It depends on a certain balance to maintain health and while you may lose weight quickly through starvation, the body will make evolutionary hormonal changes to ensure it returns to its set point. What that means to you is that if you starve yourself to lose weight, you are practically guaranteed to gain it all back.
During a period of effective weight loss a couple of years ago, I found lasting success with the Ketogenic Diet. The Keto diet, as it is often called, requires you to avoid carbohydrates at all costs. With most plans, you must remain under 35 grams of carbs a day. With Keto, even protein should be reduced with fat becoming the primary source of energy. I will save the science of Keto for another post, but I have had success with it. As a matter of fact, I am currently living a Keto lifestyle.
Other eating lifestyles that many people have healthy success with are Whole Food and Plant Based diets. These are both self explanatory. Separate from food intake, another type of lifestyle choice I advocate for is Intermittent Fasting which is otherwise known as IF. This requires you to go for extended periods of time without eating. We all fast for a period of time every day. We do not eat while we are sleeping, thus the first meal of the day is called breakfast. In other words, we are breaking our fast. There are several methods, or IF protocols you can follow, but try them until you find one that is best for you. The longer the fast period, the better the benefits. I participate in The Warrior Diet protocol. This entails a 20 hour fast period followed by a four hour eat window.
Step 3: Begin an exercise routine
When I lost the weight in 2010, I was incredibly out of shape. I was still strong from my years in the Marine Corps, but I had nearly zero cardiovascular endurance. When I first bought my stationary bike, I would be exhausted after less than thirty minutes. By that summer, I was easily pedaling away for three hours at a time. In the summer, I started running. At first, I could not effectively jog for more than a half of a mile at a time. By the end of the summer, I ran a rather fast 5k.
Fast forward ten years to today and my fitness is at its peak. In 2019, I participated in 26 events. They were a mix of running and cycling. I ran 10 Half Marathons (13.1 miles) and 2 full marathons (26.2 miles). I rode my bike in five charity events that were 100 miles a piece. Three times in the last four years, I have participated in The Dopey Challenge at Walt Disney World. This is four races over four consecutive days. The runs consist of a 5k (3.1 miles), 10k (6.2 miles), half marathon (13.1 miles), and a full marathon (26.2 miles). That is a total of 48.6 miles in four days.
You can get there, but it won’t happen overnight. You have to walk before you can run. I hear people say all the time that they don’t like to run. I agree it is an acquired taste, but trust me when I tell you that if you keep doing it, you will fall in love with it. They call it the runner’s high and it is a real thing. It is an endorphin surge that occurs in the brain in response to long periods of high cardiovascular activity. If you get there, you are effectively hooked on running.
The reality is that not everyone can run. You may have limitations from a previous injury or arthritis that restricts your ability to bear the weight and impact of running. If that is the case, get on a bike. You can get an amazing workout on a bike without the strain on your joints, whether you ride on a trail or on the road. If cycling is also not your thing, swimming is a wonderful full body workout that takes all the gravitational effects off your body. This may be especially helpfully if you begin this journey morbidly obese.
Step 4: Set realistic goals
Once you decide to get started with exercise, set a realistic goal and work toward it. Depending on your current weight and health, setting a one mile walking goal may be it. If you have been healthy in the past but declined in recent years, perhaps a 5k is a good goal. If you are more ambitious, set a half marathon as your goal. Regardless of your goal, keep your eye on the prize.
Your exercise journey is not complete if you reach your goal. That is the time to set a new goal. Health and fitness is a lifestyle. Once you start to live it, keep living it. I did not run my first full marathon until I was 40. It doesn’t matter how old you are or how heavy you are, set a realistic goal and get to work.
Setting a weight goal is difficult. We all have an ideal weight, based on national health standards or past weights where we felt our best. But I will caution that weight isn’t the most important marker. Health and fitness and your measurements are the primary benchmarks of success. Instead of focusing on pounds, aim for a clothing size. How you look and feel is infinitely more important than what the scale says.
With that said, weigh and measure yourself often. Track your progress in the app of your choice. I have used a number of them over the years. I am currently using Samsung Health to track my health markers and I use Strava to track fitness.
In a future post, I will break down some of the apps I have used over the years.
Step 5: Join a group or several
In today’s fitness world, there are all kinds of groups you can belong to. There are peer social groups like Meetup that will organize runs, bike rides, or hikes. There are local run groups all over the country that schedule group runs and sponsor event training. Nearly every city has a cycling club that offer weekly rides of varying difficulty. There are even online groups that you can join that are effectively all over the world. I am a member of several of these groups. Regardless of the race I attend, there is someone from one of those groups there.
I am currently an active member of Shenanigans Run Team, Rvm Rvnners, RWB, Onondaga Cycling Club, and Autism Speaks. There are so many out there, it would be impossible to even form a comprehensive list.
The best thing to do when you are getting started is to find friends that are into fitness and tag along with them. Eventually, they will introduce you to groups and you can find the best ones for you. The primary benefits to these groups is that they provide a sense of community and they also help to hold you accountable. That is invaluable to achieving success.
I have done all of this and you can too
They often say that it is about the journey and not the destination. This is especially true when it comes to your health and fitness journey. The last ten years of my life have provided the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. I have had pitfalls along the way, but I have always returned to the correct path.
It will be hard at times but it will also be hugely rewarding. You just need to stick with it.
As you are preparing to begin your fitness journey, please know that the first step you take will be the hardest. Everything gets easier as you do it.
Have faith you can do this.
Christopher Hess, LMT
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