Update!


Well, it certainly has been a very long time since I wrote another blog about my weight loss journey.  I figure that an update is sorely needed.

Before I get to the meat of this post, I would like to mention that my wife and I are expecting our first child and I was told by multiple sources that I would put on a ton of weight during my wife's pregnancy because "that is just the way it works".  I am happy to say that thusfar, I have proven that statistic wrong.

I am still not at my overall goal or 15% body fat, I am currently at 17%.  However, I am currently at 195 pounds which is actually at my goal of under 200 pounds.  I have learned that these last 2% points of body fat are the hardest thing that I have done thusfar in my weight loss journey.

I will admit that my metabolism is better than it has been in a very long time.  I am in better shape than I was in high school or even middle school for that matter.  I weigh less too.

This has been an incredible journey, one that I am so very thankful to the Lord for walking beside me through.  It reminds me of the "Footprints in the sand" story.  When I was at my weakest, there was only one set of footprints, it was in those times that the Lord carried me.

My wife has been a continued source of encouragement, I can not thank her enough for standing by me through the mood swings brought on by changing my eating habits.  They were rough at times.

Thank you for everyone who reads this blog and has supported me through this journey.  I do not have enough time or space to mention you all by name.  Thank you.

Diet (such a dirty word)

Let me start this blog post out with a asterisk.  Included in this will be some of the foods I have eaten that have gotten me to this point (210 pounds currently).  Some people have told me that I should not tell people who are serious about losing weight to eat these foods.  Well, I work off of results.  These foods have worked wonders for me.  Those who disagree need only to take a look at my journey.  I can not guarantee that any of you will lose a great deal of weight by eating these foods, but I can tell you that I have.

In order to make this simple, I will do a breakfast, second meal, lunch, fourth meal, and dinner section(s).

Breakfast

Any of these items will do.  The key is to get enough into your body to get you to your second meal.

Banana - Low Fat Yogurt - Egg Whites - Oatmeal - Wheat toast - Coffee (Black preferably)

You can easily mix oatmeal with a banana.  Yogurt with a banana.  I find that a piece of wheat toast and egg whites is an awesome meal in the morning.

Second Meal

The key to my weight loss is small meals.  Five meals a day to be exact.

Banana - Apple - Wheat Bread - Grapefruit - Protein Shake - Any fruit, really

You have probably noticed a pattern, bananas.  I love the things.  People have said to steer very clear of them.  However, I have had great success with them.  They even eliminated my workout cramps.

Lunch

Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich - Turkey and Mustard Sandwich - Apple - Carrots - Broccoli - Baked Potato Chips (Serving size) - Celery with Peanut Butter

I have eaten so many peanut butter and banana sandwiches.  I absolutely love them.  Some people say they are awful for you.  Well, they are much better than a Big Mac and I have been successful using it as a staple of my diet.

Fourth Meal


Your fourth meal is much like your second.  As a matter of fact, it is the exact same.  It is also used for the same reason.  To keep your metabolism working and to make sure that you are not starving your body.  If you starve your body, it will go into what I call "fat store" mode.  You will stop burning and eliminating fat and your body will hold onto it.  This is obviously bad.

Banana - Apple - Wheat Bread - Grapefruit - Protein Shake - Any fruit, really

Dinner

Chicken (get friendly with it) - Sweet Potatoes - Brown Rice - Wheat pasta (I have eliminated Pasta almost completely.  Try replacing it with eggplant and spaghetti squash) - Veggies (lots and lots of them) - Steak (In moderation) - Ground Turkey (Replace your beef with either low fat beef or ground turkey) - Turkey Sausage (In moderation) - Salad (Spinach Leaves)

Try some recipes.  Take ground turkey and low fat mozzarella, combine with marinara sauce and eggplant (Cut the eggplant thinly and use paper towels to remove excess water).  Layer it just like a lasagna.  It is amazing.  You could also try replacing potatoes with cauliflower.  Boil it and mash it just like potatoes.  Completely remove things like white potatoes, white rice, and white pastas.  I know, I know...those are the good things.  I miss them too.

Feel free to ask any questions.  I will do my best to answer them.

I am by no means an expert.  I am just filling in the information on what has worked for me.

Results!

Well, I think it is time for post number two for my weight loss blog. I asked the facebook world to give me some ideas on what to blog on for this entry. With your help, I have decided to write about "results!".

This will probably be a very short blog, but I feel it has the chance to be very effective. Results are one of the key things that people tend to push their focus towards.

Before I get into the meat of this entry and give you some of these details that I am sure you are dying to read about; let me point you towards two pieces of scripture that stand out to me regarding my epic weight loss journey.

"Commit your work to the LORD, and then your plans will succeed."
Proverbs 16:3

"But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded."
2 Chronicles 15:7

When I gave my weight loss up to the Lord, it took the stress and pressure of pleasing myself (and others) and focused it on letting the Lord work in me. This was the greatest thing I could have ever done and is the sole reason why the Lord has blessed me with the ability to work hard in the gym and to develop better eating habits

Now onto the reason why you are reading...the "results!".

Obviously, the top statistic that people want to know about is body weight. While my first entry covered this heavily, I will also take the time to include it in this entry. At my worst I was 300 pounds. I am now 217 pounds. As of today, I have lost 83 pounds. My long term goal is to see myself under 200 pounds. I would just like to show you a picture to make you think a little bit deeper about this.

I know, I know. You are probably either saying, "What is that?" or "That is disgusting!". Well, that is a pound of fat. Consider for a second what losing 83 pounds of that would look like.

This seems to be a good place to move on to my next statistic. This is probably a better one to study as it tends to give you a better reading on how you are actually doing in your weight loss journey. Body fat percentage is very important. For example, there are 250 pound men who have less that 10% body fat. You may ask yourself, is that good or bad? Well, a healthy body fat percentage is around 15%. For comparison sake, at 300 pounds I was a whooping 40% body fat. In other words, 40% of my body was fat. As of today, I am at 24% body fat. I have lost 16% of the fat in my body. While I have a good ways to go in order to get to the healthy number of 15%; it feels much better to be at 1/4% body fat than nearly 1/2%.

One huge way to determine if your weight loss is actually working does not even require a scale, measuring tapes, or even a body fat reader (which is a pretty awesome piece of technology). Your clothing can be a huge indicator of whether or not you are losing weight. At my heaviest I wore a 46 in my waist and was between a XXL and a XXXL in shirt size.  Both of these pictures focus on clothing items that were once tight on me.  The shorts will fall off of me if I do not wear them with a belt.  As of today, I am a 36 in my waist and can wear a medium shirt, though I prefer a large.

The most important result to me though is the fact that I feel absolutely incredible.  I can do push-ups, I can run miles, I can hike without stopping to take a break, and I am starting to see some definition come through in my muscles.  The changes are amazing to see!

I want to take this final paragraph to thank you all and to tell you all that I love you dearly for standing by me, encouraging me, and loving me.

The epic beginning of my weight loss journey

While most of the questions I have fielded about my journey to better health have been, "How did you do it?" type questions.  I think the most important aspect to this amazing change in my life is held within the roots of it's beginning.

As part of my new weight loss inspired blog, my first entry will be a discussion of that very beginning.  In other words, what finally woke me up!

I will take you back to a Clemson vs. Carolina game in November of 2010 (I know, I remember we lost too).  While spending some much needed time away with some amazing friends, David and Megan Harris; we watched the Clemson game at their home in Conway.  I had not weighed myself in well over five years.  They conveniently had a scale in their guest bathroom.  Considering Clemson was getting spanked and taking the time to stand up on that scale seemed like a great way to pass the time, I stepped "up to the plate".  Upon stepping on to that scale, I saw a number that will forever be scarred into the back of my brain, 300.  As in pounds.  Yes, a whopping 300 pounds showed up on that digital scale.  I let it reset and tried again.  300.  My heart sank.

So, I began to do what everyone else who has ever tried to lose weight has done.  I started dieting.  Before I move along with this story, I would like to explain something to you very quickly.  Through my journey if I have learned anything it is that temporary dieting is non effective.  I will cover more of that later though.  I had also started working a job that required a great deal of manual labor.  These two combined gave me very temporary results.  By the time we visited our dear friends, David and Megan again in June 2011, I had lost a total of 20 pounds.  20 pounds in 7 months.  While it was progress, it was very poor progress.

Less than a month later, I reverted back to my awful eating habits and had taken a new job that required substantially less manual labor.  From June to November of 2011, I ballooned back to 290 pounds.  Talk about disheartening!

I like to call this my breaking point.  I believe, according to my faith in Jesus Christ, that the Lord will break you down in order to create a way for you to let Him in to let Him take over.  What I did not rationalize is that this is a considerable part of every aspect of your life including morphing your lifestyle into that of a healthy one.  I gave up the dieting nonsense for good and turned my weight loss over to the Lord.  I asked Him to take it off my shoulders and to do with me what He willed.

I learned the hard way that dieting is nonsense.  In order to lose weight, you must change your lifestyle.  It took 27 years for me to put on 300 pounds.  I was immature to expect it to go away in six months to a year. I began eating better.  I researched a group of what I call power foods (which I will include in another blog very soon!).  I researched workout plans and more recently created a support group for staying active by running, hiking, walking, jogging, biking, etc.  I put all these into motion and with the help and support of my Lord and Savior plus my dearest family and friends (I love you Chasity Black, with all my heart and thank you for your encouragement and support!) I have now shed 80 pounds off of my once 300 pound frame.  By the way, next to me is Mr. David Harris who also started his own weight loss journey, he has been a continued fountain of encouragement and knowledge and he deserves a special thanks.  Looking good there, Mr. Harris!

It is not easy, it is not always pleasant, and at times I greatly feel like giving up.  However, I keep coming back to the amazing people the Lord has put in my life to encourage me.  Thank you all for that.

I am also beginning to see the same changes in some of my closest friends.  There are numerous people close to me that have began their own journey.  I know the Lord will use you in the same ways He has used me.  I hope to be an encouragement to you all.  I just want you all to understand something very important.  Changing my lifestyle was not easy.  It required me to become "broken".  Broken in order for Him to "put me back together" and to teach me to lean on Him even in those times where I myself think that I am strong enough to do "it" on my own.  Thank you Christ for continuing to mold me even if I have given you clay that is full of air bubbles and dried out (seemingly at times, useless) pieces.

Thank you.