Diary of a Fat Bastard

The Problem At 5'7'' and 270 pounds, I am 100 pounds overweight. Having been recently married and inheriting with it an 11 year old step son, we decided it was time that I do something my health. Putting aside bad personal experience, I set out to find myself a new doctor to give me a physical check-up and also if would be any restrictions to any diet and training regiment I wanted to try. Being a resident of Quebec, I am entitled to free health care. Being an obese person for that last 15 years, that care consisted of my being told to lose weight before and after I was weighed on the scale. It was to the point where during my last visit 5 years ago (due to having severely hurt my shoulder by trying to stop my huge frame from crashing down onto a sheet of ice), the visit left me so physically and mentally damaged that I simply let my Medicare card expire. The pain was such that I could not even lift my arm above my stomach, and the only advice I was told was to lose weight. Looking at him incredulously, I reminded the doctor that the injury had not occurred when trying to pick up a bucket of KFC, but that there must be something pulled close to dislocation. His response is still burned into my memory, "when you are at the gym losing weight, do some exercises for your arm". Half a decade later, with a new family and budding career to support, I realized (a.k.a finally succumbed to my wife's constant nagging) that it was time to go back to the doctor and get a full check up. Not an easy task in Quebec, considering that free health care means that most doctors are so booked that they are no longer taking new patients. Through my mother's assistance, I was able to book an appointment with her physician (my mother later remarked about how her doctor just wanted to see what kind of 33 year old man still gets his mother to make his doctor's appointments for him). My biggest concern of late was this mind-crippling pain I would get in my chest every so often. I somehow knew it was not a heart attack, since the only position that would give me some semblance of relief was being on all fours with my chest elevated. The pain would usually last for 2 hours, and then disappear as if with a "pop", leaving only my sweat soaked clothes as evidence that anything happened. It was only when one of those episodes last a full 6 hours that I finally gave up and went to the hospital. Since the pain was in the chest area, they focused on my heart but nothing was found. I was able to at least diagnose the trigger of the pain the night before my check up. Fearing the worst, I decided to say goodbye to junk food by ordering a bucket of the Colonel's best. It was while in the grips of shear agony that I was able to think back to the menu of my nightly feasts and I realized that for the most part, my attacks only came when I gorged myself on fatty foods. KFC in and of itself was not the problem, it was eating too much of any fatty foods. This startling revelation was given to my doctor, right after she told me to lose weight. She suspected gall stones and after having undergone an Ultrasound, she found 3 gall stones and referred me to a surgeon for consultation. The Challenge Given that I was getting attacks with regular frequency, and their severity, the surgeon recommended that I have my gall bladder removed. As she was doing this, I was being guided to the scale, "272...do you think you can lose twenty pounds?" She then proceeded to explain that the operation is a fairly simple procedure. For most people, it is a day surgery. In my case however, there was simply too much tissue for her to have to work through. She could perform the operation now, but I would have an extended stay at the hospital, plus a longer recovery time. It was soon after that I got to thinking about losing 20 pounds. If I can lose twenty pounds, I would be down to size 42 pants. If I can lose another twenty, I would be the size I was when I met my wife, and fit it in to these great size 40 jeans I had when I met her! By why stop there? I can try for another 20 pounds and be the weight I was in college, wearing size 38 jeans. In fact, if I was so close to being less than 200 pounds, and I was spurred by the fact that I had already lost 60, getting another 20 off would actually make me feel healthy again. I wouldn't even know what pants size I would be since it has been so long since I was in that good a shape. To lose 80 pounds would be incredible, but it just doesn't have that ring to it. It just doesn't say accomplishment like 100 pounds would. So my challenge: Lose 100 pounds, but just 20 at a time. The Prize Positive re-enforcement is the key. In order to keep up my motivation, I know that I will have to come up with ideas for each leg of my challenge for me to want to keep going. Just the thought of living a healthy lifestyle is not enough. If it was enough, I would have lost the weight already. For now, my goal is 250 so that I can get my Gall Bladder removed. I have not come up with a prize yet, but I will let you know when I do. My Diet and Exercise Plan While I am keeping the word "diet" for familiarity sake, I am not actually following any kind of branded diet plan. I plan on taking the common sense approach. Eat less, Eat smart, Exercise More. Eat Less: I used to consume the majority of my daily calorie intake between 6pm-11pm. I am not a morning eater and can literally not eat more than a small lunch until about 3pm. I have tried to adjust that by eating bigger lunches in the past, but all that lead to was me eating more during the day, and the same amount at night. My new plan is to add water and herbal tea throughout the day, and eating sensible lunches and snacks. There is such a variety of green teas on the market, and I make sure that I have at least two cups by the afternoon. Eat Smart: I will never go vegan. Not even close. I am a meat eater through and through. Nothing in my diet will ever consist solely of green colors. For me, it is all about timing. I will make sure that almost all my meals will be eating by 7pm, with a light and sensible snack an hour or so before bedtime. Exercise More: Not hard to do when you don't exercise at all, so I have signed up for a martial arts class that has classes 2 days a week. I also plan on dusting off the elliptical machine I bought over 2 years ago in order to add 3 more sessions of cardio. My Journey, My Project www.projectgary.com will chronicle my effort, my successes and my failures. I hope that you will keep coming back to provide encouragement and support