It's a shock to even me that I've returned to blog to post again but here I am. This time, I'm older and (hopefully) wiser and I know my body a little better. Another benefit is that I live on my own (with a roommate, technically) and I am cooking my own meals now. If I'm being honest with myself, I would say that I gave myself to many exceptions and handicapped myself by living with the mindset, "I am living at home, I do not do the cooking, therefore I am not in control of my diet." Oh brother! What I was really saying is, "I do not want to take responsibility for my eating habits/choices and want to magically lose weight and be healthy! Poor me for not having a high metabolism!"
I have been taking control of the narrative in 2020 and this year, I plan to document my progress with recipes, weight updates (including pictures) and my thoughts/opinions during this whole process. If I fail, it falls squarely on my shoulders as its my life and I have to want it bad enough. I do not see myself failing because, as of late, I have been making incredible leaps of progress towards this goal. I first identified why I was falling short. Fast Food, Soda, Snacks, Lack of Veggies/Fruits in my diet, etc. 2020 was a terrible year for the world but a eye opening year for me.
I started working from home in March '20, if memory serves so I wasn't driving 25 minutes to work, I wasn't passing fast food establishments and I wasn't able to go out to eat with my friends or family. Going to the grocery store was even difficult with all the new covid rules in place but that was all I had at that point. As that continued to happen, I began to realize where my diet was and how dependent I was on soda over water, how much I craved chicken mcnuggets and eventually, I had to see that I was addicted to it.
It didn't happen overnight but it took me until late September when I started making the most progress. I started dating my best friend Jennifer at the end of September and she has been nothing but a force of positivity in my life. She has been very helpful in my lifestyle changes and in fact, she and I have been playing raquetball together for the better part of five or six months now, twice a week! My whole life, I have struggled with the addictions of food and cravings always haunted me, they still do! Jennifer understands that but doesn't let me use my previous crutches to allow my bad habits to continue or thrive and as such, I am breaking bad habits and learning new, healthy habits in their place.
I think the best example of that is in my addiction to soda pop. When I think of addiction, I think of being so completely in need of something that the thought of not having it almost cripples you. That was absolutely the best way I would describe my dependence on soda from high school until even the start of last year. The amount of calories in a can of soda alone is a meal you could nourish yourself with yet you add it to a meal you're already eating, a bad meal for me, too. I was out of control and the thought of not having water with any meal hardly ever got used in practice during meals. I recall going full weeks without drinking even one glass of water. My entire liquid diet was soda, milk, juice, etc. Combine that with the unhealthy meals I was partaking in and you have a cardiac cocktail in the making.
Luckily, I made it through on the other side. At least, I've attempted to reverse the damage I've done to my body. I know it's a long journey ahead and to keep things short, I'll list the progress I've made in 2020 so far.
- Been to a doctor and been prescribed meds for my high blood pressure along with my gout
- Been referred to a sleep Therapist via my doctor and discovered I have sleep apnea
- Gone to a Sleep Specialist and been set up with a CPAP machine that I use daily
- I am drinking one soda/tea every few weeks now
- I am learning to cook healthy meals for myself
- Age: 27 Years Old
- Height: 6'3"
- Weight: 337 lbs
- Goal Weight: 265 lbs
- Current Goal: 300 lbs by July 1st, 2021