Archive for April, 2010


Update and Advice

Filed Under: Diet, Inspiration by Danny Jattan — 1 Comment
April 28, 2010

So as of my last Doctor Visit which was roughly 2 weeks ago I have lost a total of 43 LBS and since then I have lost another 5 LBS. That was my Update.

Now for a story that will lead into my advice.

I recently went to my cousins wedding I have not seen my family since January so when they saw me they were very surprised that I had dropped 43 lbs in 4 months it was nice for people to notice the difference it just raised my confidence to keep it going. So as anyone would do on Vacation I decided that I will still eat right but I will let go when it comes to drinking alcohol, I am not an alcoholic but when I am with my family and a wedding is involved we can put them back. To make a long story short even though I ate right I did not work while on Vacation and I drank everyday, I also decided not to weigh myself. Needless to say when I got home and jumped on the scale I had gained a whopping 10lbs, I was gone for 5 days and gained about 2lbs a day. Advice: When you are on Vacation, don’t put your diet on Vacation, stay conscious to what you eat and drink, I believe it is ok to “Cheat” but don’t over do it have a drink or 2 not…10.

When I saw the weight gain I thought about how I had undone almost an entire month of work in 5 days. I decided instead of thinking about what I did it would be better to do something about it and except that I need to step up the weight loss and do a little extra to drop the extra weight before it decided to stay with me. I went back to my normal weight loss eating habits and added a little extra effort in my workout, I was able to lose the 10LBS plus an extra 2lbs for good measure.

I hope my “Vacation Story” helps you from not making the same mistake I did.

Just keep this in mind everyone is different and even though I was able to lose the 10lbs back just as fast as I gained it, it originally took me a month to drop the 10lbs, if I did not gain back the 10lbs I could have lost more weight and actully be telling you that I have lost over 50lbs.

On a personal note I have never really had a “Light Weight” I went from a “Husky” Kid and turned into a “Big”  Teenager and then just a Fat adult. I would be happy to get back to my “Big” Teenager weight (225lbs) but it would be even better to actually label myself as an average adult(not sure what that weight is but once I find out I will let you know).

Advice:

  •  When you are on Vacation your diet should not be.
  • If you fall off the wagon don’t sulk just get back on and add a little extra effort.

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As You Wish

Filed Under: Inspiration by Shannon Lowder — 1 Comment
April 28, 2010

I’ve been asked to share some before and after pictures.  Anyone who knows me should know I don’t like being in pictures.  A lot of this came from having self-image problems most of my life.  I still do a bit.  It seems that it will take longer to get over the mentality of being obese, than it did to drop the weight.

Me, like a kid in an EXPLOSIVE candy store!Seeing as this request came from the most special person I know, All I could do is respond: “As you wish.” This picture is from my July 4th vacation last year.  I went to San Francisco and got to see M5, home of the Mythbusters TV show. I was at least 290 in this pic.  I had been bigger in my life, but this is pretty much what I was before finally doing something about the weight.

And this is me this past sunday. I’m in the low 200s now.  My weight still fluctuates, but since I’m weight training now, I gain a little, then drop a little.  I’m trying not to bulk up, I want to stay about 190 – 200, I’d really like to get down to around 15% body fat!

Even after my doctor has released me from the weight-loss phase.  My journey isn’t over.  This is a lifestyle change.  I’ll have to work every day for the rest of my life to keep from going back to where I was.  I know I’m healthier now.  I do more than I ever have before.  I have energy like never before.  I also realize other people are changing because they see me changing.  That alone is enough for me to work hard.

I want to help others make this change too.  If you are where I was. Let me know.  I want to share everything I learned on this journey.  We can all travel together!  It really helped when my friends joined me.  I know it can help you too!

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Results

Filed Under: Exercise, Inspiration by Shannon Lowder — 1 Comment
April 14, 2010

At my last job I worked with a couple Marines.  For those of you who have never been around Marines, you may not know they are a special bunch.  They have motivation the rest of us can only aspire to.  When I was early into my transformation, they were talking about a physical fitness test they have to take every year.
The test has three parts, and you have to do each part back-to-back.  You have to run three miles, do as many crunches as you can in two minutes, do as many pull ups as you can.  For my age, I’d have to run the 3 miles in 29 minutes or less, do at least 45 crunches in two minutes, and at least three pull ups.
The crunches weren’t a problem.
The running and the pull ups were.
So every week one of my cardio days is I put 34 minutes on the treadmill, crank the incline up to 2 (it makes it more comfortable on me), and after 5 minutes in, I hit the reset on the distance.  My best so far is 2.66 miles in the time limit.  I still have a little further to go on that one.
That left the pull ups.  I have never in my life been able to do a pull up.  Every time I would do weight training, I could never get my strength up high enough to compensate for the weight.  But that changed this morning.
Today at 6:00 I was stretching to do an arms routine.  I grabbed the pull up bar underhanded and used it to stretch my arms and back.  I was just curious how close I could get.  So I started a pull up, I got my nose over the bar, and my arms weren’t straining as hard as usual, so I kept pulling.  I pulled until my forearm and bicep were touching…my wrists were against my the fronts of my shoulders.
I had done it.
I look around… and no one was there.  No witnesses. Dang.
So I lowered myself back down slowly.  I was sure I was still asleep, dreaming.
I pinched myself.
I grabbed the bar again, sure it was a fluke.. This time I got to my nose, my arms refused to go further.  So I lowered myself back down.
Looked at the bar, I’ll be honest, I was a little mad at the bar.  So I shook out my arms, then grabbed the bar again.  I was gonna do one more pull up.
This time, I didn’t go slow, I gave it everything, and pulled up explosively.  I almost caught my nose on the bar on the way past it.  I was able to actually pull a little above a full pull up.
I smiled wide.
Then lowered myself back down to the ground slowly, and tried for a fourth… no dice.
I was still satisfied.
I’d done it!
After that, the arms routine felt like nothing.  It was all routine at that point.

Set your own goals.  Do everything in your power to reach them.  You will make it if you keep at it.  This isn’t just some saying.  It really works.

Now, get out there and GET TO IT!

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Motivation

Filed Under: Inspiration by Shannon Lowder — Leave a comment
April 5, 2010

I think the hardest part of losing the weight was finding the motivation to do something.  I tried off and on for years to drop my excess weight.  I could lose 10 -20 pounds, but then I’d get distracted, and stop trying… and it would all come back.

Seeing my medical records is what it took to finally motivate me to do something.  It’s one thing to be called fat as a kid.  That’s just kids being cruel.  When a medical professional writes in a report you are morbidly obese.  That’s not opinion… that’s fact.  I got up, and I started to do something about it.

Now, after I’ve dropped 80 pounds, I have to keep it off.  My motivation now is I can’t go back.  I can’t be that person any more.  It really scares me to think of how easy it would be to go back to my old eating habits.  How easy it would be to stop going to the gym every morning at 5:45.

But I can’t stop.

I have to work as hard today as I have every day since I started… If i stop…it all comes back.

My challenge for you is find your motivation, and hold on to it.  Transforming your body will be difficult, but the reward will be great!  Tell me what your motivation is in the comments below!

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