How I lost 80 pounds and gained a little happiness...

Over a year ago I found myself having a number of problems. From falling asleep while driving to falling asleep during movies, I was having issues just staying awake. Of course that wasn't all. I was having constant and intense back pains, I messed up my knee and had trouble walking, and in general I just felt pretty shitty.

So November of 2011 I spoke to my doctor about my knee and the problems I was having. Big surprise, my weight was the issue. I weighted around 330 pounds and I was finally able to admit to it. You see, weight gain is tricky especially if you don't necessarily eat really badly. Not that my diet was perfect, and while I didn't always over eat, it wasn't necessarily the main issue. I'll get back to that life changing doctor's visit in a moment.

Here is the thing. In this day and age, it seems to be A-Okay to trash people who are overweight. Discriminatory words are generally looked down upon, but if you are heavy, ha ha, fuck you fatty! I had gotten a number of nasty comments from people including a reader or two on JoBlo (hardly ever as JoBlo's Schmoes are generally awesome) and a dude or two on Rotten Tomatoes that said some down right nasty things. So the problem is, if you don't realize how quickly you are gaining, the insults seem to come out of nowhere. Let's be clear here, I am not looking for sympathy or somebody to say, 'oh, poor thing, don't let those guys get to you' I don't give a flying fuck if some cocksucker on the internet called me fat. Anybody who goes on the internet and attacks people they don't know is a pathetic and sad person so please, no pity here. My weight gain was MY FAULT. It wasn't a genetic issue, it was something that I COULD CONTROL and I didn't. So whatever. I can imagine it is harder for some people who have nasty comments thrown their way, but you the sooner you own up to your own situation, the better you CAN CONTROL IT. There are a ton of people out there that weight is not simply an eating issue, it is something that they have a very hard time controlling, so my situation may be very different from theirs. But if some asshole goes on the attack or is just nasty, be strong and try your damnedest to not let it get to you. If somebody makes a stupid and rude comment, they are certainly not worth your time - however if it does bother you, I'm sorry, and yes it is fucked to attack somebody you don't know.

Enough of that, let's get back to the doctors visit. So my amazing doctor said to me, you are having issues because of your weight. He suggested I try some "lifestyle changes" even if a couple of them were really hard. And yes, my crazy soda habit was beyond out of control. I'd be downing five or six Super Big Gulps a day, sometimes more. THIS was my biggest enemy. So what do you do? Well, for me, the doctor suggested I try something else to drink as to not throw my body out of whack. We agreed on unsweetened tea with sweetener. I prefer Stevia or Splenda. After that, he added that I try walking about 10 minutes a day for 3 days a week. This second suggestion may have been a different doctors visit, but it was was definitely early in 2012.

With these simple changes, I found myself inspired to go farther. In fact, I was at 7 Eleven one day and I spoke to one of the guys that worked at the gym across the parking lot. I went in, and decided to get a membership. That was in April. Since then, nearly every single week I go in around five days a week. Sometimes are more intense than others, but either way, thanks to the help of my gym's amazing staff, I've really become very serious about working out and by now, all the problems I had had earlier had gone away. No more sleeping while I was driving. No more back pains. No more feeling like I was going to have a heart attack. Between November and April, I started to feel like a new person.

Recently I started taking a class at my gym called Bootcamp Boxing. Sadly, I have had to stay away the past couple of weeks due to my son being sick and me getting his cold. It would be kind of a dick move to go in and spread around my sickness. Anyway, while I'm kind of addicted to working out, my next goal is to go to boxing a whole lot more than I have been.

So what is the point? Well, for one thing, I wish that I had taken a picture back in November in 2011 to see the difference now. Honestly I was too terrified to do it last year because frankly I didn't think it was possible.

Thankfully, I was wrong. It was very possible. As of now, I have lost over 80 pounds and I continue to lose weight and gain muscle. That said, I am over half way to where I want to be. The more I lose, the better I feel. This wasn't about vanity, if you've ever watched my interviews on JoBlo, it is clear that I don't mind looking a little trashy. Yet with the weight going away, I find myself wanting to change. Mostly I want to be able to be an active father who can handle running around and doing things that I just couldn't do before.

If you've actually read this entire diatribe I salute you. Well, actually I thank you. I've had a lot of support from friends on this journey and am so utterly thankful I have taken it. So this Thanksgiving, I am thankful for the second chance I had. Being a father ultimately gave me the best goddamn reason to get healthy. So really, thanks to my son who is a constant source of inspiration to me every single day!