Blubber To Runner

Seriously… why should I be different than ANYONE else and not reflect on what I am truly thankful for as we wrap up 2010.  While in some ways I’m wrapping up 2010 (Blizzard NJ) the same way I began it (Snowpocalypse VA), in other ways it will end quite a bit differently! So, without further adieu, here’s a quick wrap-up of the things I am thankful for in 2010.

276 – that would be my current weight.  That’s a total of 62 lbs lost since I changed my life and, to be honest, if I had weighed myself at the beginning of the year it would probably be more than 62.  Holidays have proven difficult for the weight loss – good lessons for the next go-around in 2011 – but it’s hard to be too discouraged considering where I started.  It’s amazing how a persons focus changes… I remember one time getting on the scale wondering what it would be like to be under 300 lbs again.  It’s pretty cool knowing that thoughts like that will never have to creep into my head again.

My New Wardrobe – No… I didn’t get a new wardrobe for Christmas (yet… gotta love gift cards though!)  But these 5 shirts right here?  I don’t think I’ve ever been more proud of any pieces of clothing.  These represent the 5 5K’s that I ran in 2010 (since Labor Day to be precise).  I weighed 308 lbs and took over 45 minutes to finish the first one.  Now, I’m more concerned about cutting my time down around 35 minutes (and eventually below), I have a goal to complete 10 races this year and, of those 10 races, I am hopeful there will be a half-marathon at the end.  Yeah, I said it… a half-marathon.  Lofty goal I know – but at this point, did you really expect anything different?

Unlikely Support – I have the WORST problem asking for help/ advice/ support.  I’ve always been the person people like to go TO when they needed something like that so, when a situation comes up when I would like the same, I basically know all of the stuff they are dealing with and say “well, damn… they’re already working on X.  They don’t need to worry about me” and I leave it at that.  One of the reasons I do this blog is because it forces me to change many of my habits, including that one.  And boy did it work.  People have been offering me so many different things – and I’ve been taking them up on it as much as possible.  From diet to fitness, the Mudder to moral support… I have either rekindled or began more relationships that, 12 months ago, I could have ever imagined I would have.  It’s crazy… but awesome all at the same time!  It’s too many to list, mainly because if I forget one I would feel MISERABLE… but I’m sure you all know who you are, so thank you, Thank You, THANK YOU!

Likely Support – Of course, this doesn’t mean that the usual suspects in my life haven’t been absolutely fantastic and, in some ways, surprisingly more supportive than I expected (look… I love my brother to death, but he’s not known as the most mushy, emotional, ‘rah-rah’ guy on the planet – but for me he has been!)  My friends and family have been very excited about my changes and, outside of the occasional ribbing (“If you become a vegetarian we are no longer friends… not eating meat is simply unamerican.”) they have all been uber-supportive.  Throw in all of the great comments and messages I have received through e-mail, Facebook, Twitter, etc. it’s been everything I need in order to keep going.

Clarity – this covers a whole REALM of things; clarity on what I put in my body on a daily basis, clarity on the value of fitness as an everyday necessity and clarity on what the real relationships in my life are.  The food and exercise points are pretty boring and, quite frankly, apparently very obvious to normal people (“wait… if you drink water instead of soda, that’s better for you?!?!”) but I did wanna share one piece in regards to people that I found enlightening – it amazes me how many people I had in my life had me there due to my dysfunctions.  Seriously.  Once I started changing for the better they either:

a) couldn’t relate to me anymore because all we had in common was excessive partying/ drinking, etc., or
b) didn’t want to relate to me anymore because they are at their best when they surround themselves with dysfunction, thus making them look/ feel better about themselves… once dysfunction starts to go away, they move on.

It’s something I think many people in my position are aware of, but just fail to accept because they want to think the best of people.  And it’s not a ‘negative’ trait… these type of people survive because there is an inherent need for them.  But once you take control of things in your own life and really start caring about yourself (not others) first the patterns become much clearer and you need to choose if these people offer the same value to you that they once did.  Tough choices for sure… but if you really want to better yourself, you have to do it 100% – and that includes the people you choose to have with you!

Return On Investment – This is, bay far, the most shocking piece of everything that’s happened to me in 2010.  As I state in the intro to this blog – I started this as an accountability for all of MY actions, because I couldn’t think of another way to do so with where/ how I am living.  But it has turned into something completely different – and something I did not expect.  The number of messages I receive saying that I motivated someone to do something BLOWS ME AWAY.  It wasn’t the intention when this started… this was MY tool to help ME get better.  Selfish, right?  But somewhere along the way the message started spreading, and people reacted to it.  “Hell, if Gach can do it… why the hell can’t I?!?!”  But as I look back on it – it’s true.  If I can do it – WHY THE HELL CAN’T YOU?!?!  I mean, I was in a pretty bad place… a place I am STILL uncomfortable talking about (but realize I need to eventually – that blogs actually been sitting in ‘Drafts’ for about 2 months), so if I can start to take steps and make strides physically, mentally and emotionally there is no reason at all why anyone of you who are reading this can’t start to take the same steps I did.  Don’t believe me?  Hit me up and ask me.  One on one I will tell you anything about me you wanna know… it’s just the whole ‘public forum’ thingy that has me kinda buggin’ out :).

Charity – I’m not gonna lie… I am proud as HELL with what we did in regards to the American Cancer Society and Relay for Life.  I don’t really know where to go with this… it’s kind of overwhelming and just sitting here now thinking about it I’m getting kinda emo.  I will say this; my teammates already knows how much having them donate their money, time and energy means to me, but having my mother and father come down to Virginia and walk with us… having my Mom, a cancer survivor, walk with us… it wasn’t just a highlight of my year it was the highlight of a lifetime.  I’ve said it a MILLION times to everyone who was a part of it – THANK YOU SO MUCH.  If you were there you are etched in a memory that, for me, will never die.  PINE… APPLE!!!  I wanna put up a million pictures but that would be annoying so instead click here and check out the photo album if you’d like.

I think that about sums up ol’ 2K10.  I’m excited about 2K11… got a lotta plans for next year that I can’t wait to tell y’all about and, hopefully, get a lot of you to join me in as well.  I hope you all enjoyed your holidays this year and here’s to a FANTASTIC 2011.  Much love to each and every one of you for all of your support… I wouldn’t be where I am right now without it!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

So… lemme introduce you to Brandi or, as I call her, B-Sox (due to her uncanny resemblance to a certain former American Idol contestant).  Brandi and I have been friends for a few years now and she has been one of the biggest supporters of what I have been doing.  She also participated in Veggie Week 2K10 with me and, as part of it, I asked her to please write about her experience so people could get a perspective outside of mine because everyone handles things differently.  So, without further adieu… B-Sox!

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So… I’ll be keeping track each day of what this whole week will be like – I’m sure it’s gonna be interesting for me to say the least.  Check back each day to get an update as to how my previous day was.

DAY 1

I wake up, and I’m already 6 hours into my first day attempting to adhere to a vegan diet. I feel FANTASTIC… OK, so I was sleeping that whole time, but that’s irrelevant.  I still feel great.  I make my Basic Balance Smoothie for breakfast and throw in some Protein Powder (which apparently will become my BFF this week) and ‘Voila!’ – breakfast is done.  This is gonna be SO easy.  I mean, why didn’t I try this sooner!  I had a half of grapefruit in the middle of the morning as well and made it to lunch NO problem.

Lunch?  Equally as easy.  That’s because I already live off of Subway Veggie Delight sandwiches… why change?  Marta and Enis already know me.  It’s kinda like when a commuter goes to the same place for their morning cup of coffee… they see you and just start making it.  I’m like the Jared of Herndon.  Now that I’m typing it I’m not exactly sure if that’s a good thing, but hey… it is what it is!  So, now I’m done with breakfast AND lunch and still crusin’ through this so-called “challenge” I’m supposed to be participating in.  Pfft… I’m gonna ROCK this.

Then came what will be forever known when remembering this week as ‘The Text’.

I was just finishing up my sandwich when the phone goes off.  It’s Leah texting me.  It’s UFC 124 tonight which means we have plans.  I don’t know many people in the area that are into MMA like I am so, when a fight is on, Leah and her friend Brian (who trains MMA fighters) watch the fights at a local Hooters and I am lucky enough to get to join them as much as possible.

Hooters.  Tonight.  On a vegan diet.  Hmmm…. maybe I should have started this on Sunday instead of today.  So I hit up the ol’ Google machine and look up the menu.  If you ever want to know what would be considered vegan on the menu at Hooters, I’m here to tell you:

Garden Salad… without cheese.  That’s it.

I’m now TERRIFIED.  How in the HELL am I gonna do this?!?!  I call Leah and try to find some kind of ‘out’ so I don’t have to go… I really don’t think at this point I have the willpower to do this.  Doesn’t work, so I decide to eat dinner BEFORE we go and have some brown rice pasta along with my Mom’s homemade pasta sauce.

We meet up later on, get to Hooters, sit down and order drinks.  I have a Jack Daniels, which is fact vegan-friendly as I learned from this FANTASTIC site.  I need to do SOMETHING to cut the anxiety I have built up.  How in the heck do real, full-time vegetarians do this?!?!  Now, she comes to take our food orders.  French Fries, Fried Chicken Cobb Salad, Cheesecake.  I order nothing.  As everyone is waiting for their food, a plate of 50 wings walks by us… and my head is pulled towards their scent like Anne Hathaway just breezed by me instead.  My stomach starts to growl.  I order more water.  The fights haven’t even started yet and I’m already trying to leave.  I destroy my Jack Daniels, but instead of ordering more I just loaded up on water.  The fights FINALLY start… and they were my saving grace, because once they started I had something to focus on other than all the delicious food (and the creepy French guy eyeing up the young men in the bar as they walked by him… Oui oui!)

I did it… but barely.  I made it out of there in 1 piece – and sticking to my Veggie Week plan – but not without a small consequence.  My anxiety really worked overtime while I was there, so by the time I put my head on the pillow I was wired and staring at the ceiling.

If I’m gonna function for the next 6 days I am REALLY gonna have to figure out a better way to handle situations like this.  Let’s see what Football Sunday Funday brings…

DAY 2

Sunday Funday… and I wake up at 9:15a.  For those of you that know me, I will give you a minute to pick yourselves up off the floor.  For those that don’t know me intimately, I’m gonna let you in on a little secret – I wake up early… EVERY DAY.  And I’m talking like 5a – 6a, including weekends.  If it’s after 6a and I get up I feel like I just wasted my entire day… and no, I’m not exaggerating.  Due to my anxiety from last night I didn’t crash until around 4a… next thing I knew?  9:15a!

So I finally get up after wasting the entire day (:^)…) and the day itself is completely uneventful in regards to Veggie Week.  Originally I worried that going out to watch the Giants/ Vikings game was going to be an issue for me, but then THIS happened so now I won’t have to worry about that until tomorrow night.  Phew!

(NOTE – if you haven’t seen video of the Metrodome collapsing yet… it’s worth the click – check it out!)

I did the same things for breakfast and lunch that I did yesterday.  Now, just so everyone knows – I am a complete creature of habit.  When I’m NOT doing this I generally have the same things for breakfast and lunch, so the only difference between Veggie Week and every other week is the items I’m eating, not the fact that I’m eating the same things.  For dinner I just sauteed some veggies.  After dinner I got out of the house for a little bit and was eventually surrounded by the largest bacon cheeseburger known to man – prepared this way for someone who’s getting their wisdom teeth taken out Monday and will be unable to partake in such delicacies for a few days – but actually handled the temptation quite well… partially due to sheer willpower, but mostly due to the speed in which it disappeared off the plate.  🙂

Off to Monday… and my first attempt at a new recipe for dinner – before I go out for the game!  I will share with you what that is when (and if) it happens!

DAY 3

First work day in Veggie Week 2K10 and it went alright… but I need to start eating some different things!  Even by my bland standards I am starting to be bored.  I decided that, instead of trying to make dinner due to work constraints (and the early start to the Giants game which I was going out for) I was going to find someone to make it for me…

Take-Out!

Well, if you didn’t already know this – it’s HARD to find vegetarian take-out.  You really – REALLY – need to search high and low to find something that adequately works.  I, once again, settled.  I ordered steamed veggies from the chinese place, and at this point I my first bit of regret is creeping in about doing this whole thing in the first place.

My frustration is, without a doubt, coming from the fact that I know it’s over in a week.  Sounds crazy, but for me there’s “a light at the end of the tunnel” – and it shouldn’t be viewed like that at all.  I’ve said it before about this whole process – it’s a lifestyle change, not a diet.  And I definitely didn’t go into this week with that mentality… it was more of ‘let’s get through 7 days, have some fun and learn some things!’  But, with no sense of permanence it’s without a doubt become more of a struggle than I anticipated.

I went out for – and made it through – the Giants game after dinner with flying colors… while the process itself is getting harder, being around foods I normally crave is getting easier.  I definitely credit the Protein Powder for that, because if I had those cravings I don’t think I’d be so strong-willed.  I’m hittin’ the half-way point tomorrow, and it feels like when I run my 5K’s… that first mile I feel great, I always feel awesome in that last mile but that middle mile or so is just THE WORST.  Here’s hoping that that the half-way point in THIS race is easier!

DAY 4

So as of noon today I was exactly 1/2 way through this challenge and I really just need to figure out ways to kinda spice up what I am eating.  I re-posted this blog right at noon (the exact half-way point) and received some fantastic advice.  Jimmy (aka ‘Boy Crazy’… no joke – he was one of the featured cards in the early 2000’s Boy Crazy girls trading card game) was one of the servers at my, dare I say legendary, Carlos O’Kellys karaoke shows back in the day and also, for the last 6 years, a vegetarian.  This guy also does ultra-marathons and endurance events, so he is the epitome of healthy living.  He sent me a message mentioning “fake” beef and chicken and how he loves the stuff and makes all the normal stuff you can with real beef and chicken and just uses that… like burritos!

 Uhhh… I’m sorry, did you say FAKE BEEF AND CHICKEN?!?!

Not gonna lie – I did my due diligence in researching food options for this week (I had no idea bean curd and tofu were the same!), but this was the first time I had heard about “fake” meat of any kind.  There is no doubt this will be what’s for dinner on Thursday.  And who knows… maybe this week would have been a little easier if I had only known that this existed?!?!  I also found out that Guinness is apparently not that terrible for you (Thanks Court!) so guess who’s gonna be tryin’ the old ‘edible beer’ sometime before Saturday?  This guy!

As for the actual day itself… I made it through.  Not good or bad, just kinda happened.  Only slight issue were the amazing wings at my friends new karaoke show that I went out to support.  They smelled AMAZING, and will probably make it out there sometime for dinner next week – when I’m back on the bird :).  For now?  4 days down, 3 to go.

DAY 5

As is customary this time of year, it’s Holiday Party time!  Complete with carving station, fried deliciousness… and a veggie tray.  I am honestly amazed at the lack of effort people put into offering vegetarian ‘alternatives’ when there are functions such as this.  Vegetarian isn’t Chinese for “one that eats like rabbit” – there really are a lot of fantastic options that can be put out that are not only vegetarian friendly but everyone would actually enjoy (avocado rolls, anyone?).  Granted, if I wasn’t doing this little challenge, I would have thoroughly enjoyed the vast buffet of treats that were offered.  🙂

At this point in the challenge the comfort level is starting to kick in and, although I am absolutely CRAVING Red Rock Canyon Grill Rotisserie Chicken, I am doing extremely well watching what I eat during the day when I am either home or out and about… no temptation to sneak anything in whatsoever.  And even at the party I didn’t feel any pull to have to eat – even the veggies actually – and made it through once again with no issues.

I can see the finish line!  🙂

DAY 6

Most Boring.  Day.  Ever.  Literally did absolutely nothing worth noting.  I was extremely bust with work today and ate terribly – but stayed on track.  I barely had no breakfast… veggie delight for lunch… salad for dinner.  That’s it.  I just forgot about eating… completely distracted.  Oh well… every day can’t be perfect and full of protein!  Tomorrow is Day 7 – weigh-in day and another party to attend.  Weigh in will be interesting – curious to see how much I lost by doing this.  We’ll find out tomorrow!

DAY 7

Weigh-in this morning… 2 lbs on the dot.  Not gonna lie; going into this I expected a nice spike to my weight loss – 4-6 lbs possibly to really jump-start the ol’ system again.  I mean, I was eating salads!  But I learned over the course of the week that simply wasn’t going to be the case and that I probably was going to end up losing what I have been averaging over the course of the last month and a half, which is 1.5 – 2 lbs.  Mission accomplished.  And I could have EASILY have gained weight this week had I not corrected a few things early on (I will be posting a summary blog on Monday with details on what I learned this week) but overall I am happy to continue to lose weight at a moderate pace and not in an unhealthy way… you know, like last time.

Ironically – TODAY was the day that was the hardest for me, and it was because of what it symbolizes.  My weigh-in day has always also been my ‘reward day’ – if I go and have a positive weigh-in, I eat what I want (within reason) for the remainder of the day while still monitoring my points.  This wasn’t going to happen now because no matter how much I enjoy those Boca Burgers, I really wouldn’t mind grabbing myself a Spicy Chicken Sandwich from Wendy’s right about now.  Instead, I head RIGHT over to Subway and get the usual (by the way, my Subway shares a parking lot with a Popeye’s and a McDonald’s… I mean SERIOUSLY?!?!) and head to my office 🙂 as quickly as possible.  This afternoon is another holiday party… Go-Karting and Cheesecake Factory!

Let me tell you one quick thing about the Go-Karting.  We did this as a team at work about 2 years ago, and I weighed at the time close to 350 lbs.  These cars are very low to the ground and, as you can imagine, the amount of weight in the car directly relates to the speed that the car generates.  Two years ago, my friend had to help me in and out of the car because it’s so low.  I’m serious – in order for me to do this I had to have that happen in front of my co-workers.  Also, I was SLOW… real slow.  When we would hit the straight-aways, my car would go “………vvvvvvrrrrrrrroooooooommmmmmmMMMMM” while everyone else’s sounded like “VVVVVVVVVRRRRRROOOOOOOOMMMMMMM!” – in other words – they tended to pick up speed a little better when someone 150 lbs was driving instead of when someone 350 lbs was.

This time?  Different story.  I nimbly popped in and out of my sleek ride – OK OK… that’s a SLIGHT exaggeration.  I was able to easily get in and out of the car on my own without any issue whatsoever and, more impressively to me, was also able to post the 4th fastest lap time of the day!  This was, in part, due to the decreased weight disadvantage I now have – but mostly due to my slick yellow firesuit and the deft driving ability I possess.  Cheesecake Factory afterwards was nice and, although they actually had many different options that I could have indulged in, I just wasn’t hungry!

Fast forward to right now.  12:30a on Saturday… Day 8.  I’m going to bed after successfully completing my Vegetarian Week Challenge – completely vegan.  I am happy that I did this, and have really learned a lot about what being a vegetarian/ vegan really means.  This blog is LONG enough… As I stated earlier, I am going to write a blog summing up what I learned, some thank you’s, etc. in the next few days.  For now – and against my best friend’s advice which, 10 minutes ago when I told him Veggie Week was over, was ‘now go eat a steak’ – I need some sleep.  I have a feeling I know what I’m gonna be dreaming about too…

If you would have asked me 6 months ago what one phrase would probably never… EVER… come out of my mouth it would have been ‘I’m going vegetarian’.  The only thing salad used to do is take away room in my stomach for the 20oz. Porterhouse I was about to destroy at dinner.  I mean, why eat fresh fruits and vegetables when there’s an equally fresh bag of salt ‘n’ pepper potato chips in my cabinet?

Well, that was 6 months ago.

Times they are a-changin’… and so am I.  And so is Weight Watchers for that matter.  The weight loss juggernaut just overhauled their entire program… the first time in 10 years they have made significant changes to their system.  Without getting into the technical aspects of it, lemme summarize the biggest change – most fruits and vegetables are now zero points (very few are not – such as potatoes, corn and avocados).

For those that aren’t aware – WW assigns point values to everything that you eat.  When you sign up you are given a daily point value that you are allowed to consume each day.  This point value is based on weight, daily activity and a few other factors.  So why is ‘fruits and veggies are zero points’ such a big deal?  Here’s an example: on the old program, a banana was two points – the same amount of points as a 100 calorie snack pack of Doritos.  Now… given the choice of the two I chose the Doritos 100 out of 100 times.  I mean, why not?  It’s the same amount of points, right?

There’s clearly a difference… and Weight Watchers recognized this.  So now, in the NEW plan, a banana is ZERO points, while that same snack pack is 3.  I’m a big dude… I get a lotta points daily.  My mom?  She’s a petite young woman :)… she gets roughly 18 points/ day.  So to now be able to eat something that helps her fill up and not worry about losing points doing it?  It is HUGE.

So, the new plan started Monday… and I immediately went out and stocked up on fruits and veggies.  Then, without realizing it, I went almost two days without eating anything but fruits and vegetables – the only exception being a chicken breast with my salad Monday night.  So this got me thinkin’… why can’t I try being a vegetarian?  I know people that are.  I’ve had several reach out to me after reading my blogs just talking to me and telling me some things about healthier eating.  I know people who buy industrial strength blenders (that realistically could make a human body disappear) which they use for whole fruit and veggie smoothies.  It’s obvious that it can be done.

So why can’t I?  This, friends, is where YOU come in.  Sunday, Dec. 12th – Sat. Dec 18th I am going to become a vegetarian… for a week… with your help.  I want to do this right.  There’s no reason at all to try this if I’m gonna do it half-ass.  No fish, no chicken… straight up, full-out vegetarian.  Now… here’s what I need from you guys (besides the usual support):

*  FOOD IDEAS – Yeah yeah… laugh all you want.  “Fruits and vegetables, dummy!”  I get that.  What I want to know is what are some of the things I may NOT know that do or don’t fall into a true vegetarian diet like, for example, milk… I’m not trying to be dumb but is that considered an animal product or not?  I don’t know.  But that’s and idea of the types of things I’m talking about.  Also, anything that you guys really enjoy?  Let me know what it is!

* RECIPES – Lord knows I’m not gonna eat 21 salads over the course of the week, so I would love to get recipes, websites, etc. that can help me try some different things – and hopefully learn to like some of those different things at the same time!

*  ADVICE – I’m not claiming to know anything about what it really takes to actually do this, even for a week.  I’m gonna spend the next week or so researching and making sure that I can not only do this, but do it right.  So, if you’re reading this and have ANY sage advice, words of wisdom, etc.  PLEASE SHARE IT WITH ME – even if you stumbled across this blog and we haven’t ever spoken before in our lives.  Send it my way!  This also includes the ‘dude… you can’t do this’ advice also.  if you don’t think I can, I wanna know why.

It’s in writing… so it must be done.  Ladies and gentlemen, with your help, The week of December 12th will be…

… for me.  YAAYYY!  Algae smoothie anyone?!?!  🙂

**** UPDATE 12/9/10 – So… I’ve received a ton of great advice, and done a good amount of my own research, and I have decided to go full-out vegan for my Vegetarian Week.  I think it can be done… well, we all know it CAN be done, so maybe I should say I think I can do it!  My friend Brandi is even going to try and do it with me, so I’ll be sure to keep you all updated on our progress (BTW – if you wanna join us… LET ME KNOW!)  I have changed the date for my challenge to coordinate with my Weight Watchers weigh-ins, so it will now begin SATURDAY, DECEMBER 11th and go through FRIDAY, DECEMBER 17th (Yes, Todd… I will be vegan on the day we immortalize your birth… who woulda thunk it?!?!) since my weigh-ins are now Saturday mornings.  Wish me luck and keep sending that advice over! ****