Welcome to my fitness journey. I have been working toward finally becoming more fit since October of 2014. Unfortunately, I accidentally deleted all of my original blog content (10/22/2018). The pages contained here will chronicle the struggles I am currently going through as well as those I have I've gone through in the past to get to where I am today.
This is my open letter to the world. I believe that everyone has the potential to be a positive catalysts for a change in the overall health of the general populous.
The first thing I would like to make known, is that I am not a part of the "body positive" movement. Secondly, if you can't tell from the .com name, I AM OR HAVE BEEN FAT. Thirdly, I am angry that I've seen reputable fitness advocates/personalities/bodybuilders etc. post on social media the various rants of this and that person, yet all they are doing is advertising/perpetuating someone else’s opinions. To add insult to injury, these people are also tacking their 2 cents on as well and doing nothing to be part of the solution.
I know, through personal experience, that there are people out there trying to affect positive changes for those that are facing the challenges associated with obesity. To those people, I offer my sincere thanks.
I have gone through the ordeals associated with being morbidly obese for the better part of 3 decades. I've lived through the stares, pointing, name calling/insults and anything else that the seemingly "fit people" have offered up. To offer a little context, I've included 3 pivotal moments in my life that have shaped me and set me on the path I'm on right now. We all have what are called, breaking points in our lives. These moments will usually act as a turning point and propel us in a direction, be it positive or otherwise.
Jenny Craig consultation:
My grandmother, being the supportive person that she is, decided to aide me in an endeavor to conquer what appeared to be the insurmountable odds I was facing in losing weight, once again. This time, she thought a good step would be to help me with a membership to Jenny Craig. That gesture, in and of itself, seemed fairly harmless at the time. I absolutely do not hold my grandmother responsible for what happened next.
On the day of the consultation, nothing out of the ordinary happened, at least not that I can recall. So, I got into my vehicle and went to my appointment. As with many such appointments, there is a visit to the scales. This is standard procedure when undertaking the task of weight reduction. Jenny Craig's supportive staffer lead me to the scale and I
stepped on. My foot touching this mechanical/digital messenger of despair completely changed the trajectory of what was to have been a journey into a healthier life.
Once on the scale I saw what was to have been, at least to date, my highest recorded weight. The scale, though no fault of its own, returned a value of 499 pounds. I cannot even say that I know what went on for the rest of the appointment. As far as I know I broke down that very instant and left. For the next few years, I continued to gain weight.
Stuck on the floor:
This day too appeared to be any other day. I'm not sure what lead me to get down onto the floor, face-down. After a bit of time on the floor, I decided to get back onto the couch. I began to place all of my effort in picking my upper body up, so that I could get to my knees. At this point, I discovered that I was unable to raise myself up enough to get to my knees. I tried a second time to lift myself. Still I was essentially pinned to the floor by the weight of my own body.
I remained on the floor for a few minutes more and then panic set in. I began yelling and screaming that I could not get up. The person I was with initially thought I was playing some kind of a joke. Finally, I starting crying, screaming and kicking, while yelling through my tears that I was not playing and that I couldn't get up.
After this incident, I went through a consult with a bariatric clinic in Carmel, Indiana. Shortly thereafter, I was scheduled for gastric bypass surgery. January 30th, 2001 was the day I went under the knife to once again, attempt to take steps towards conquering my ever growing body.
Tel Aviv hotel room (October 2014):
Just another business trip to Israel, I thought. I was going to visit the headquarters of the company I worked for and have a good time with the folks I was traveling with. This was my initial thought process anyway. I knew that I was not able to keep-up with the majority of the walking that would be taking place while in Israel. This is the biggest reason that I have not seen anything other than Tel Aviv in the 2 times I've been to Israel. I'm in a land full of all this great, and not so great, history and I'm able to not see anything, but downtown Tel Aviv. I mean, Jerusalem is within a 1-2 hour car and/or bus ride, and I've still not been there.
Anyway, back to the life changing moment. Friends had decided to take a trip to Jaffa and stroll the market. Once this was done, I was to be made aware of where we would be having lunch and/or dinner. After several hours, this did not happen. I was beginning to get increasingly upset.
During some of this time, I was speaking to my wife on Facebook Messenger. By the middle of the conversation, I was sitting in my hotel room, alone, sobbing. I had once again come to the realization that my physical condition was preventing me from enjoying anything in life. AT that point, I resolved to not allow myself to remain in a physical condition that prevents me from joys in life. I returned from Tel Aviv about a week later, I would say. At that time, we had planned to go to Indiana for a visit with relatives. In late October, after returning from Tel Aviv and Indiana, we began to take measures to reduce my weight.
Since then, there has been no looking back. I spent roughly 2 months, just eating more health consciously. On January 5th, I began going to the gym. Sure, I sometimes crave all of those things that helped me put on the pounds. I also don't completely deny myself. That results in more damage than good, at least in my opinion.
We are now circling back to the present day. Since October of 2014, I've fought the battle to become fit. Over the last 4 years, I've lifted as often as circumstances would allow. This can be seen by the numbers I post on a regular basis on my BodySpace account. As of 08/16/2019 I've now recorded 36.7 million pounds lifted and 832 training sessions. All of this I did with the support of my wife and family, with the help of a few great trainers at GoodLife Fitness in Kanata, Ontario.
There are people out there that, if given the chance, would make similar efforts. Unfortunately, they either haven't come to the epiphany I did or they simply don't have the know-how to do so. In the end, I am nothing more than a fat guy trying to make positive changes for himself and maybe for others.
Feel free to share this, if you are so inclined.
Starting weight (highest recorded): 679 pounds
Weight as of 12/02/2019: 294 pounds
Weight as of 12/27/2022: TBD, but has gotta be 400+ pounds
This is my open letter to the world. I believe that everyone has the potential to be a positive catalysts for a change in the overall health of the general populous.
The first thing I would like to make known, is that I am not a part of the "body positive" movement. Secondly, if you can't tell from the .com name, I AM OR HAVE BEEN FAT. Thirdly, I am angry that I've seen reputable fitness advocates/personalities/bodybuilders etc. post on social media the various rants of this and that person, yet all they are doing is advertising/perpetuating someone else’s opinions. To add insult to injury, these people are also tacking their 2 cents on as well and doing nothing to be part of the solution.
I know, through personal experience, that there are people out there trying to affect positive changes for those that are facing the challenges associated with obesity. To those people, I offer my sincere thanks.
I have gone through the ordeals associated with being morbidly obese for the better part of 3 decades. I've lived through the stares, pointing, name calling/insults and anything else that the seemingly "fit people" have offered up. To offer a little context, I've included 3 pivotal moments in my life that have shaped me and set me on the path I'm on right now. We all have what are called, breaking points in our lives. These moments will usually act as a turning point and propel us in a direction, be it positive or otherwise.
Jenny Craig consultation:
My grandmother, being the supportive person that she is, decided to aide me in an endeavor to conquer what appeared to be the insurmountable odds I was facing in losing weight, once again. This time, she thought a good step would be to help me with a membership to Jenny Craig. That gesture, in and of itself, seemed fairly harmless at the time. I absolutely do not hold my grandmother responsible for what happened next.
On the day of the consultation, nothing out of the ordinary happened, at least not that I can recall. So, I got into my vehicle and went to my appointment. As with many such appointments, there is a visit to the scales. This is standard procedure when undertaking the task of weight reduction. Jenny Craig's supportive staffer lead me to the scale and I
stepped on. My foot touching this mechanical/digital messenger of despair completely changed the trajectory of what was to have been a journey into a healthier life.
Once on the scale I saw what was to have been, at least to date, my highest recorded weight. The scale, though no fault of its own, returned a value of 499 pounds. I cannot even say that I know what went on for the rest of the appointment. As far as I know I broke down that very instant and left. For the next few years, I continued to gain weight.
Stuck on the floor:
This day too appeared to be any other day. I'm not sure what lead me to get down onto the floor, face-down. After a bit of time on the floor, I decided to get back onto the couch. I began to place all of my effort in picking my upper body up, so that I could get to my knees. At this point, I discovered that I was unable to raise myself up enough to get to my knees. I tried a second time to lift myself. Still I was essentially pinned to the floor by the weight of my own body.
I remained on the floor for a few minutes more and then panic set in. I began yelling and screaming that I could not get up. The person I was with initially thought I was playing some kind of a joke. Finally, I starting crying, screaming and kicking, while yelling through my tears that I was not playing and that I couldn't get up.
After this incident, I went through a consult with a bariatric clinic in Carmel, Indiana. Shortly thereafter, I was scheduled for gastric bypass surgery. January 30th, 2001 was the day I went under the knife to once again, attempt to take steps towards conquering my ever growing body.
Tel Aviv hotel room (October 2014):
Just another business trip to Israel, I thought. I was going to visit the headquarters of the company I worked for and have a good time with the folks I was traveling with. This was my initial thought process anyway. I knew that I was not able to keep-up with the majority of the walking that would be taking place while in Israel. This is the biggest reason that I have not seen anything other than Tel Aviv in the 2 times I've been to Israel. I'm in a land full of all this great, and not so great, history and I'm able to not see anything, but downtown Tel Aviv. I mean, Jerusalem is within a 1-2 hour car and/or bus ride, and I've still not been there.
Anyway, back to the life changing moment. Friends had decided to take a trip to Jaffa and stroll the market. Once this was done, I was to be made aware of where we would be having lunch and/or dinner. After several hours, this did not happen. I was beginning to get increasingly upset.
During some of this time, I was speaking to my wife on Facebook Messenger. By the middle of the conversation, I was sitting in my hotel room, alone, sobbing. I had once again come to the realization that my physical condition was preventing me from enjoying anything in life. AT that point, I resolved to not allow myself to remain in a physical condition that prevents me from joys in life. I returned from Tel Aviv about a week later, I would say. At that time, we had planned to go to Indiana for a visit with relatives. In late October, after returning from Tel Aviv and Indiana, we began to take measures to reduce my weight.
Since then, there has been no looking back. I spent roughly 2 months, just eating more health consciously. On January 5th, I began going to the gym. Sure, I sometimes crave all of those things that helped me put on the pounds. I also don't completely deny myself. That results in more damage than good, at least in my opinion.
We are now circling back to the present day. Since October of 2014, I've fought the battle to become fit. Over the last 4 years, I've lifted as often as circumstances would allow. This can be seen by the numbers I post on a regular basis on my BodySpace account. As of 08/16/2019 I've now recorded 36.7 million pounds lifted and 832 training sessions. All of this I did with the support of my wife and family, with the help of a few great trainers at GoodLife Fitness in Kanata, Ontario.
There are people out there that, if given the chance, would make similar efforts. Unfortunately, they either haven't come to the epiphany I did or they simply don't have the know-how to do so. In the end, I am nothing more than a fat guy trying to make positive changes for himself and maybe for others.
Feel free to share this, if you are so inclined.
Starting weight (highest recorded): 679 pounds
Weight as of 12/02/2019: 294 pounds
Weight as of 12/27/2022: TBD, but has gotta be 400+ pounds
