Time to Lose Weight & Be Fit
Over the years I have not been kind to myself. My story is not unique, there are so many people out there who have and still struggle with their own health and weight. Living a rollercoaster ride of weight loss and gain. I was a childhood athlete who grew up to be an adult obesity statistic.
At my highest I was 325lbs. That was the first time being overweight scared me. Having developed high blood pressure and Acid Reflux, the Dr and Nutritionist were straight up, LOSE WEIGHT! This was 2010. During the last 10 years I have been down to 247 lbs and up to as high as 290 recently.
In August of 2007 a move to LA weight management become uneasy. Despite gaining back 10 lbs I was confident I could continue the good health path. FAILED Again. An emotional eater, in 2008 my father passed away, I was living unhappily with a woman who was also overweight and I ate away the pain. We visited in Toronto in October 2010 to attend my best friends wedding. When looking at the picture it became strikingly clear that the problem had returned, BIG TIME. This is when I weighed in at over 325lbs. It was absolutely horrifying.
Returning to LA, determined to find a trainer and lick my obesity problem. I met Billie in November 2011 and honestly she was the perfect fit. With Billie's guidance I was again on my quest to lose weight and be fit. Soon I became a beast in the gym and worked my way down to 255 lbs This was end of summer 2012. During that period I never gained any weight back, despite the heartache of now losing my mother.
December 2012 I returned again to Toronto for the holidays. I threw discipline out the window and... When my TN1 Visa was denied and the woman I was in love with seemed ok with me staying in Toronto for a bit, I settled in, back in the T Dot, back, seemingly happy, but not caring about myself again. I replaced workouts with binge eating, finally realized the great loss I had experienced plus, as much as I loved my friends here, I missed LA and this amazing woman I had fallen in love with. I blew all that happiness on Chips, dips and candy.
Soon everything and everyone was to blame for my misery. When the relationship started to go south, when the cold was unbearable, everything was an excuse to be unhappy and soon I found myself slowly gaining it back. Pants that were loose when I returned were now skin tight. T-Shirts not long enough to cover my huge belly and an HR woman who was frankly rude in her delivery but correct in how unkempt I looked. I did not care. I was depressed and for 2 more years I would suffer silently each night or every weekend with this... my comfort foods. Pure sugars and toxins.
The pattern dragged on bringing me back up to 287 by September 2014. Pretending I still loved my job, pretending I was happy in my life when the truth was I was completely unhealthy and a sedentary pile of processed junk food. (They say you are what you eat) It is no wonder I had gained all that weight back.
All that unhappiness took me to therapy. Like finding a trainer I did my research met a few people and found the person I felt I could share and be vulnerable enough to help heal the broken Sam. In a couple of months I was confident enough in myself to leave behind the job I was extremely unhappy at and start my own business. By the spring of 2015, the only issue I had not conquered was my weight. Finally happy again it was time to begin the arduous task of motivating myself to take action.
The Change Occured
July 1st 2015 I set a 3 month goal to see how I could do on my own, the only motivation... MY LIFE! I had to commit myself to the work necessary to change old habits into new. Adopt a healthy active lifestyle and treat my body like the temple it is. The first step to being completely happy with myself was in my own ability to love myself enough to take care of myself. As an overweight person I was not living the life authentic to to who I truly felt I was from the inside out.
The first 3 months were fantastic, I was confident I had made the important lifestyle changes necessary to achieve my goals. The trick about health is it is so easy to be overweight. Without even realizing it we are eating food that our bodies were not designed to process. I know McDonalds tastes good, I know a sweet sugary dessert will delight me in ways my endorphins can't handle, I also know each time I choose to put that stuff into my body I am slowly killing myself. And I want to live.
Not only do I want to live, I want to pay it forward. I want to share with as many people as I can the importance of clean healthy living. I am going to open up my world to public judgement and put my results out there. I want people to see it does not take a Keto, South Beach, Atkins anything diet that restricts your calories or provides fake processed foods from a cardboard box to lose weight. I am going to share a real lifestyle change and choices, foods that heal, that work with our bodies. I will demonstrate that eating can be a delight without killing you.
But I Fell Off the Wagon
I own the mistakes I have made in the past and feel ready to make better choices again. I will say this many times. I know the struggle, it is not easy. I will make mistake, plateau, wonder what is working and what is not. I have a starting point, knowing what has worked in the past. I have an end point, goals, an ideal weight and determination.
Welcome to Sam's journey! Choose to follow me, to praise me, to chastise me, I am prepared for it all. I am prepared to come out of lockdown changed
