On my 19th birthday, I went to the doctors for my yearly check-up. As I stepped on the dreaded scale, my weight managed to even shock the nurse. At 5'5, I was 216 pounds . I had come to grips that I was big, but I didnt think I was THAT big. I was mortified, terrified..any other fied . How could I have gotten to this weight? Needless to say I had a revelation. I, at the age of 19, could not fathom that I could be this weight for any longer. I had to do something. Not just for vanity, but for my well being. I did not want to spend my whole life wondering what I would be like thin, or what oportunities I could have.
My father has been heavy my whole life. Since I have known him, he has just excepted that he was heavy and that there was not anything he could do about it. I realized I was adapting this train of thought. Its easier to think its beyond my control, than actually doing something about it. I had to realize I was not the victim, I was the culprit. I did this to myself, and I can undo this to myself. I had no idea what I was getting into. What got me to the gym is the fantasy of what it would be like to be thin. I was ready to experience a new world.
I started by doing the South Beach Diet for the first two weeks. I did not want to do something nuts like the cabbage soup diet. I wanted to just get a jump start, but be able to keep the weight off. In one month I lost 20 pounds. I was so happy. My motivation was finally up. I CAN do this. I CAN lose weight just like everybody else. I had thought that my body was this slow crappy shell that could not lose weight unless under drastic extreme measures, like not eating for a week. I could not believe that I was actually losing weight eating five small meals a day and working out for an hour 5-6 days a week. It was not as tough as I had thought. Food was not the enemy. I was. I was the one that kept me heavy.
