Friday is a day for interviews on Inspired Fit Strong. This week I will offeryou to read a great piece, based on a true story. A friend of mine shared his story but he prefers to stay annonymous, so just read it and learn from his own experience!
The last 20 years, all you can hear is “You are overweight, you need to get fitter!” Well, I will tell you a story how to become 235 pounds, from 138 pounds in just 4 years!
Based on a true story! Yes, my own story and the story of my ex girlfriend.
New town. New job. A better company and better colleagues, bigger salary and a new girlfriend! Everything is new and flourishing, but the sad part is that you can sniff the smell later on…
First, I stopped having breakfast. Just grab some coffee and go to work! Then, as a man with growing career, I began having the typical business lunch- too busy to eat, just go and grab something in the nearest fast food restaurant and eat it! Twelve hours of work- it is a lot but I earn good money, so why bother thinking about food and sport? Then it comes time for dinner- I am exhausted, hardly staying awake, after 12 hours of sitting in front of the computer. My stomach is grueling, so I stop at the supermarket and grab some food. The thing is that the food is the type “ Open and eat”.
You open the box and ferociously eat! The first year, weight and self-confidence- everything is under control!
Next year, you notice that when you go shopping for jeans, you don’t fit in your old size, and you need pants that are at least two more sizes. You somehow accept it. After all it is something normal to put on some weight. It happens even to the best of us. You don’t change a thing. Everything stays the same.
The mornings turn into a burden. You hardly manage to get out of bed. You feel tired. But come on, it is all due to your hard work, right? It has nothing to do with your awful eating habits! Besides that it is spring and it is typical to feel some exhaustion after the winter months. You start taking some pills to feel better…
The third year comes, and here you are- looking like a balloon. The lady in the mall gives you even bigger clothes than she used to last year! But who cares. You will overcome it. It is just a bad period in your life! You give it a thought and together with your girlfriend, you notice the commercials about healthy foods. You start buying these “healthy foods’ in a box. Well, the products are a little more expensive but afterall HEALTH MATTERS THE MOST. You will drink Coca cola light, you will eat slow carbs and you will keep on sitting in a chair all day long. Come on, we are eating “healthy food” that means we are healthy! Or so I thought!
You start reading some stuff on the internet. You understand what is a high fructose corn syrup, aspartame, dicolate and other words finishing on –ate. You start thinking that maybe something isn’t right! Your girlfriend starts eating a packet of biscuits, rich in fibers and some low fat yogurt. That’s what they tell you to do on TV, that’s what she does! They say fibers are healthy, but they somehow don’t mention that there is high-fructose corn syrup and other crap!? You try to tell her, but she answers in a typical way, “ Look at yourself! You aren’t that fit, so don’t give me advices!”
Ok, you stay silent. You already made a decision to eat a salad for lunch and for dinner as well. You are still fat, but now you are starving! Nestle becomes your favorite brand. They are a famous company, so there isn’t a way they could be lying, right? Their products contain calcium, magnesium, well- EVERYTHING! Healthy foods 100%!
Or so I thought!
One more year goes by, and now when you go shopping, the lady tells you that there is only one model jeans that would fit you! You are shocked, thinking “What is wrong with me? I am just a little bit over 200 pounds! Why are they saying there is just one type of jeans that would fit me?” You start eating more of the healthy foods. You and your girl friend start dieting together. You are starving, but you are still fat! For a month, both of you aren’t losing any weight and you feel like you are even looking worse! Something is wrong again! You stop with that diet, and you start another one. Then go back to the old diet…
Here, it comes a time for the big bang. The balloon from last year is about to explode- for just three months, the weight I lost with the diet is back, but this time with a few more extra pounds! Now you are overweight, with round cheeks. You sweat all the time. There is only one shop in town that has clothes, which would fit your body. You keep on reading for healthy foods, and you start realizing that the food industry is like a big washing machine, which takes you from one movie in another. You start thinking about winter, when Nestle advertise the cornflakes with chocolate. When the summer comes, they start advertising products, that will get you fit and skinny in just 14 days! That is when something struck me! After all my grandpa who lives in the village, gives corn to his pig in order to gain weight.
I now remember that when I was 140 pounds, I used to do some push ups, sit ups and squats every single morning. It used to take me no more than 10 minutes, before the morning shower. I used to go running every Saturday and Sunday, even in winter. I used to play basketball every now and then. I used to eat some eggs and butter in the morning. I had a soup and a stake for lunch. I used to have a healthy dinner.
Shocking! It wasn’t about food, but about physical activity! Human body wasn’t made to sit all day long!
It is August. Around 8:15 a.m. There is some wind, and I am still sweating!
I see my reflection in the shop window- an overweight, sweaty person. I rush to buy a bicycle! I started eating 3-4 times a day- meat, vegetavles, healthy fats. I stopped eating the healthy foods advertised on TV. I started cooking, ride a bike, and do my exercises every morning. For about 10 months, I lost 65 pounds!
Now I eat red meat, bacon,eggs, cheese, full fat yogurt, fish, vegetables and fruits. I eat when I am hungry. I don’t eat chicken. You can’t convince me that meat, which was an egg 40 days ago is quality food! I eat some sweets every now and then! I eat when I feel hungry and I eat quality foods!
I don’t go on a diet!
I workout- but I don’t have a specific program. My workouts vary!
What happened with the girl? The last time I saw her, was a couple years ago. She was still eating the healthy foods from TV commercials, she still had a big, jiggling butt and a lot of cellulite!
Thanks for doing this story! I was up to 265 myself when I was 21. I am now 23 and turning 24 in 3 months and I am down to 210.2 lbs. I lost my first 45-50 lbs in about 5-6 months, and then became lazy again, I was like “what the heck, I eat well, weightlifting, and do tons of cardio, but I’m not gaining muscle.” I stopped working out, but maintained weight. I became a ton more stressed with college and just couldn’t get back into working out.
3 months ago again, I began researching everything I could, getting all the bulls**t out of the way and learning what I needed to do. I got a gym membership again and built a real workout plan, setting realistic goals, and not giving up ever again. How do I know I won’t give up again? It hurts yourself so much to fail yourself, and giving up is failing. I want to be ripped, and have muscle showing, and look good. I my self esteem has increased incredibly since losing a total of 55 pounds.
I wasn’t seeing results with muscles the first time because I had no clue what I was doing. I would work here and there doing odd numbers of sets and reps and not using proper form. Educating myself on proper form and developing a working routine is already helping so much. I count every calorie that goes in my body and only eat smart foods. No soda, no s**t!
This story has inspired me further to look like this guy, cause that is the body I want. I looked almost identical to this guy at 265 lbs but I’m 2 inches taller.
I’m sorry but you look a little malnourished in your “after” weight loss pic. Your face looked more healthy in the “before” pic when you weighed more. Maybe you aren’t eating right?
thanks for the story. i am currently 340lbs and it is heart breaking. i need a change. all through high school i was a soccer player, played basketball during P.E. and took a weight training class at the end of the day. now 9 years later i am huge!!! i thought back then i was just blessed and never thought about what was keeping me in shape. I have been dieting TV style for a year now and NO change. I’m going to try what you said you did and see if that works. thanks for the inspiration.
Excellent article. I’m experiencing many of
these issues as well..
Thank you for the auspicious writeup. It in truth used to be a amusement account it.
Look complex to more brought agreeable from you!
By the way, how can we communicate?