I'm A Big Looser

Ever since I graduated from High School and got married, which was 20 years ago, I've struggled with my weight. I weighed roughly 155 then, and since, have shamefully ballooned up to ~270 at my heaviest.

The question is why? Why such a drastic weight gain, and why haven’t I been able to get it off. The answers are varied, but the bottom line is poor diet and poor exercise. When you really think about it, loosing weight is a simple concept. You need to burn more calories then you take in. Yup, a simple concept, but not so simple to execute.

Our bodies are amazingly smart machines. If you’re like I was, I would only eat 2 meals, rarely 3, a day. Well, our bodies are programmed for survival. If you go too long between meals, your body will begin to conserve energy by slowing down your metabolism, and storing what excess food you feed it as fat, since that’s the most efficient source for your body to convert to energy when it needs it.

Same with water. If you don’t take in enough water, your body will store any excess water you take in for later use, not knowing when it will get it again. Smart. Only, these are the kinds of things that lead to weight gain over time.

Oh I’ve tried dieting and exercise many times before in the past, but they always ended in failure. Why? Mostly because I didn’t stick with it. The key to loosing weight and keeping it off is combining change of diet with exercise. Oh sure, you can loose weight with diet alone, but rarely do you keep it off. You got to get that heart rate up to burn those calories! That, and the leaner you are the more efficient your body burns calories.

So I decided this time I would chronicle my progress to help me keep focused on my goals. My first goal is to get to 230 by the end of Oct. My niece Erika is getting married on the beach in So Cal, so I would like to look half way decent for that. My ultimate goal is to get to 200. According to health “experts” for my height, 5’9”, ideally I should be in the 175-185 range. But I have a “stocky” frame and broad shoulders, so I think 200 is a reasonable goal for now. Besides I’m less concerned with the actual weight amount, and more with health and overall appearance. Once I get to 200 I will reevaluate and see how I look and feel then before setting any new goals.


As of yesterday, 1 month after I started my diet and exercise routine, I’ve lost 15 lbs. I’m very encouraged by my results so far, which is really keeping me motivated to stick with it this time. I know in time the weight loss will slow down considerably, that’s why I think it’s important to stay focused on my goals.


As you can see from this picture, you can really see the difference in my face. A lot of that was “water weight”, as before my only real water intake came from sodas. Oh sure, I still have the face of a pit bull, that will never change, but at least it will be a lean pit bull face.

I’ve also gone down 2 belt notches, which even more exciting to me then the actual weight loss. I already feel so much better physically. I can’t wait to get to the point where I will need to buy new cloths. I’m getting close to that point now.

So why now? Why the sudden urge to loose weight? Well, as some of you might know I lost my father last year to complications from leukemia. My father was always concerned about my weight. Not because of my looks, but because of health concerns. So after he passed I promised myself I would finally do it. It took me a long while to get motivated, mostly because I was still very depressed about the loss of my father, and then my sister the year before that (also from cancer). But that’s behind me now. It’s the start of a new me!

California here I come!


~Michael