Impossible? I don't think so.

Weight loss surgery is back in the headlines lately. The governor of New Jersey Chris Christie has had the lap band procedure. Before we get started, I want it to be very clear where I stand on two issues:

1.) While it is not something I would ever do, I make no judgment on anyone who has or has had lap band weight loss surgery. I wish everyone the best in their weight struggle. Please, no hate mail. I know you'll send it anyway, though.

2.) Chris Christie can do what he wants, it is his body. He has as much right to have weight loss surgery as I have not to have it. To each their own.

Now on to what I want to say.

The Today Show online ran a story about Christie's procedure. It's typical run-of-the-mill stuff. The weight loss surgeons throw in their two cents. But then I came across this quote from Dr. Mitchell Roslin, chief of bariatric and metabolic surgery at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York:

“When people get to the size of people like Gov. Christie, it’s absolutely impossible for them to maintain weight loss that’s significant without surgery,” Roslin said. 

Oh really? Impossible?  Incorrect.

Not only is it possible, but I am living proof. I am not sure how much Christie weighed before his surgery, but I would say he probably didn't weigh the 577 pounds I did when I started.

You can tell me it is extremely difficult.

You can tell me I will probably fail.


But don't you dare tell me it is "absolutely impossible," because you are wrong, Dr. Roslin.  This is the mindset of the weight loss industry, of which he is a part. The message is simple: the heavy person is doomed and surgery is the only way out.

But doing it the hard way is always an option, if you choose to do it. And it's not impossible.   What is somebody who weighs 500 or 600 pounds and doesn't have health insurance, or can't pay the money to have weight loss surgery to do? Are they just supposed to give up because some doctor says it's impossible? Are they not supposed to try anything?

Are they supposed to just eat themselves to death, because some idiot somewhere says it's impossible? How about eating better food? How about walking 5 minutes a day? Is that impossible? That's how I started. These doctors promote the idea that it's all hopeless, that the only way out is to file nutritional bankruptcy and go under the knife. We shouldn't even give people the information to try for themselves. We shouldn't help them. We shouldn't encourage them.

I remember one doctor 3 years ago told me that it was impossible to do it on my own because "losing 300 pounds would take 3 years."

He was wrong.

It only took 2 1/2 years to lose the first 300 pounds.

Here is a video I made over a year ago, after I had lost the first 280 pounds. Enjoy the impossible.

Product Review: Brooks Adrenaline GTS 13 Running Shoes

Being overweight for the first 37 years of my life, I was always very hard on shoes. Most shoes would last me 6 months...tops. And trying to find anything wide enough for my feet was nearly impossible.  Eventually, I settled on 4E wide New Balance shoes and I wore those for probably 20 years.

But, now that I have lost 370 pounds, I can wear whatever shoes I want.  Or can I?

The Feet Transformation
With all that weight being lost, I have discovered my feet have changed dramatically. It's hard to describe, but they are very sensitive. A shoe that rubs my toes or doesn't have a wide enough toe box might be a minor inconvenience for some, but it means excruciating pain for me.  I have tried on at least 100 pairs of shoes in the last year or so and have finally settled on one pair.

My quest led me to my local running store to try out proper running shoes. I had heard these were the best of the best. I also was warned I would pay a lot for a good pair...over $100. But I was prepared to shell out the bucks.  You get what you pay for, right?

The salesman at the store had me run on a treadmill and made a video of the way I ran. It was discovered that I overpronated when I ran, meaning my foot rolls inward. This is also because I am knock-kneed, meaning my legs bend outwards from the knee. It was decided I needed a stability shoe.

Enter the Brooks.

All I can say about these shoes is this: where have you been all my life?  From the moment I put them on, I felt a level of comfort and support I have not felt in a shoe in years.  Comfort is important because I walk 10-15 miles per week and bike about 15 miles on the weekends.

I could go on and on about what I like about these shoes, but I will hit the high points.

Pros:

The support has a lot of cushion, but is a little firm in its support. I love this. The shoe doesn't feel too "mushy," like a lot of the gel or air type shoes. It's just right.

The toe box on the Brooks is really superior to any others I have tried on. It is a wide toe box, so a 12 D fit me perfectly. In some other more narrow brands, I would need a 12 EE.

Lastly, the construction of the shoe. One problem I really have since I walk so many miles in my shoes is seams on the inside of the shoe rubbing my toes raw. This has happened in so many other shoes, including other $100 running shoes. It's a problem...the shoes rub your feet, so you get wider shoes, right? But then...they're too wide, and your foot slides around inside. Not so with the Brooks. The fabric of the webbing is very soft and comfortable.

Any impartial review would also show the cons. There aren't many.

It would be nice if there were more color choices. The Andrenaline GTS 13 in a 12D comes in either blue or red. Also, the style is typical running shoe style...really bright and eye-catching. It would be nice if there were some additional styles.


Brooks Adrenaline GTS 13 Running Shoes
Cost: $110 
www.BrooksRunning.com

Rating: 4 1/2 stars out of 5

7 Habits of Healthy People

As I approach the third anniversary of my lifestyle change, it's become obvious to me that there are certain behaviors and certain things that healthy people do that we could all stand to follow.  Some of these I do, some of them I should do more of.

So with apologies to the late, great Stephen Covey, I present to you the 7 habits of healthy people:

1.) Healthy people eat all the time. It's true, I've seen it in action...and now I do it.  Healthy people realize that the body is a machine and the machine needs fuel.  You can't treat your body like a car, driving around on E all the time and only filling up at the last possible minute. If you don't eat often, then you become very hungry and desperate, which leads to poor decision-making and binge eating on unhealthy foods.

2.) Healthy people are prepared.  You have to eat every day, several times a day...day in and day out, week in and week out.  Healthy people stock up and have food on hand. My health and wellness coach at the gym I go to sits at his desk eating peanut butter out of the jar with a banana. He wouldn't dream of not packing his lunch and neither would I.  The food has to come from somewhere and healthy people don't get it from vending machines, the drive-thru or the pizza delivery guy.

3.) Healthy people don't kill themselves in the gym.  The people I know who stay in shape do not work out 4 hours a day in the gym 10 times a week.  They have a regular schedule where they go 3 or 4 times a week, about an hour a day. Nothing crazy. This allows the healthy person to maintain a healthy weight, stay in shape and not burn out.

4.) Healthy people work exercise into their daily routine. Whether it's taking the stairs, parking far away from the store entrance, going for a walk or something else, healthy people integrate physical activity into their daily lives somehow. That way, "working out" is not the only source of physical activity. The healthy person does not drive around the Walmart parking lot for 20 minutes waiting for the magic parking spot by the front door to open (which I used to do.)

5.) Healthy people keep it simple. I love technology. But in my observations, most healthy people I know don't scan bar codes into their phones at the grocery store or walk around with a tracker all day long adding up their movements.  You don't need a special machine to work out and you don't need a smartphone app to track how much you eat. I use a pen and paper.

6.) Healthy people don't avoid the doctor. I did it for years.  I would never go to the doctor until the last possible minute.  I was always flirting with disaster and my stupidity almost cost me my life.  Healthy people go to the doctor, get checked out, get treated for any problems and keep it moving.

7.) Healthy people grocery shop a lot.  Every healthy person I know, whether it be a personal trainer, a running enthusiast or a body builder...they load up at the grocery store once in awhile. The healthy person realizes that there is nothing healthier than the food they prepare themselves, because they know what's in it.  Since healthy people get most of their food from the grocery store, dining out becomes the exception rather than the rule.


Got some to add to the list? Send me an e-mail. 

An Open Letter To The Weight Loss Industry

To the weight loss industry:

I am never sponsoring, accepting advertising from, or promoting any diet pills. Ever. There is no such thing as a "fat burning pill."  Green coffee beans are not going to do anything to make you lose weight. Ever. You should all be shut down and arrested for fraud. You are deceiving the public and promoting a quick fix that is a lie. I hate you all. Every time I see or hear an advertisement for a weight loss pill, it is an insult to me and everybody else that has worked so hard to keep weight off.

To the diet food companies. You sell a product that pretends to be something like food, except it isn't. How is somebody supposed to live on frozen dinners the rest of their life? They can't. But the dirty little secret is you don't want people to keep the weight off. It's bad for business.  The weight loss industry is a multi-billion dollar cartel of companies that siphons billions out of people's wallets while promising them the world and doing nothing.

To the commercial fitness industry. Really? Pizza day at the gym? News flash: most people don't even need the gym.  Maybe one day they will figure it out. You sell the lie that you can go to the gym and look like a movie star. The truth is, most people never will. And if everybody that signed up for your gym actually went to it, it would be so crowded you would be run out of business. There are legitimate gyms like the one I go to, but most of them are a scam. If you want to "work out," go for a walk. And then do it again.

To the home workout equipment industry. What a sweet scam you're running. You sell people workout equipment that winds up collecting dust and being used to dry laundry.  And what exactly does that shake weight thing do? Yet another big lie.

To the restaurant industry.  No, I am never coming back.  And no, I will never run your ads. Why? Because your "healthy options" almost never are.  Sure, it's only 500 calories...but it's loaded with enough sodium to give a rhinoceros high blood pressure. All you care about is making as much money as possible.  There's nothing wrong with that, but you don't care about anyone's health and never will.

To the big diets.  South Beach. Atkins. Sugar busters. Whoever. Your diets are all a scam.  Because the truth is the truth: you will lose weight when the total number of calories you are consuming is less than the calories you are burning.  Not before.  There is no secret plan that will fix it all for you. And no, carbohydrates do not make you fat, you idiots.

And finally, Dr. Oz.  The greatest snake oil salesman of the century. Dr. Oz brings new meaning to the phrase "there's a sucker born every day."  Dr. Oz profits from low-information TV watchers who watch his show and believe the nonsense he is pedaling. How on Earth somebody who is a medical doctor could promote so many lies day in and day out blows my mind. And yet, he knows what sells. Because people sitting at home watching TV, desperate to lose weight at all costs, will go buy whatever he is pushing. 

I don't believe in conspiracies. But what I know is that all of these thieves and scoundrels have a horrible track record and I want nothing to do with it. I have not worked for 3 years...and will have to continue to work for the rest of my life....to keep off the 360 pounds I have lost just to sell my soul to these scumbags. 

Go away...forever.

The 2013 Cooper River Bridge Run Wrap-Up

So for the third time in as many years, I participated in the Cooper River Bridge Run, a 10K race in the city where I live, Charleston, SC.

The first year, in 2011, I weighed 400 pounds and walked it.

The second year, in 2012, I walked/ran it at 285 pounds, shaving almost an hour off my time.

This year, I had fully planned and was ready to completely run the entire thing. I had trained for it. I have run a 10K easily in my training. I have run over the bridge and back without stopping.

And then disaster struck.

3 miles into a 5 mile practice run a few weeks ago, I felt my right knee pop twice. I went to a sports medicine doctor and got the news: a torn meniscus. I am also knock-kneed and have osteoarthritis in both knees.

I was told I should not run again and if I continued, knee replacements were in my future. So. What to do?

I had three choices:
-Ignore the doctor's advice and run the bridge and run it hard, going out of my running career in a "blaze of glory." This would allow me to fulfill my dream and get a good time. This was also the worst option. In all likelihood, I would've injured myself and made my knees worse.
-Drop out entirely. Just give up, don't do it.
-Go anyway and walk. So I chose option #3.

My final time: 1 hour, 53 minutes and 5 seconds. My goal was under 2 hours and I made my goal. I did it and my knees felt fine afterward!

So where do I go from here? My running career is over, because I have to preserve my knees. I am going to hit the bike. This was always my goal. I would walk until I lost enough weight to be able to ride a bike. But along the way, I became fascinated with the idea of running. Of being able to do it. So it was a nice diversion over the last year or so.

I'm glad I did it, if for no other reason to give The Bridge Run a proper farewell in my life. Now onto other things!

Walking Will Set You Free

People often tell me they either can't find the time to exercise, aren't capable of doing it or don't know where to start.

My advice: walk.

That's right. Walking is the perfect exercise. Why, you ask? Because almost anyone can do it. It's free. You can do it almost anywhere. And best of all: you can work at your own pace.

There's also a hidden dimension to walking that most people don't realize.  It is liberating.  Especially when you're really heavy like I was for so long and it's all you can do. You are making a statement and taking a stand.  You are moving your body.  You're not taking it anymore.  You are fighting back.

It is no secret that countries and societies where walking is a major mode of transportation have fewer overweight people and lower rates of heart disease, etc.

And yet, people put walking down.  The results don't come fast enough.  It's not hardcore enough.  But these people are wrong.

The secret to a walking regimen is persistence. Once your doctor clears you for walking, you start where you are.  If you can only walk 5 minutes before your feet start hurting or your back gives out, then start there.  5 minutes a day, 3 times a week.

Then, gradually, after a few weeks, increase it to 10 minutes. And so on. That is what I did. I started at 5 minutes a day and I now walk 3 miles a day.  When it comes to staying in shape and keeping the weight off, more than anything, walking is the secret to my success.  There is also an emotional, spiritual well-being side to walking. It's like you are in a march to free yourself from an unhealthy lifestyle.  Again, you are taking a stand. 

Don't think you have to have an expensive gym membership to "work out" and "do cardio" just to get started losing weight and staying in shape.

You don't. Walk.  You heard it here first.

Chapter 2: Time To Change Your Lifestyle

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Chapter 2: Time To Change Your Lifestyle

What exactly is a "lifestyle change?"

You've probably heard the following saying many times in your life: "It's not a diet, it's a lifestyle change."

What comes to mind is the idea that not only are you changing what you eat and how much, but you're also exercising.

But as I've discovered over the last 2 ½ years it's much, much more than that.  You don't get to be 577 pounds without having several serious problems going on around you. But when it comes to changing that lifestyle, here are just a few things I changed that aren't necessarily just diet and exercise.

1.) Your friends. That's right, your friends.  In much the same way that a recovering alcoholic gets rid of their drinking buddies, a food addict has to ditch their "eating buddies."  If all you do with somebody is go out to eat, then that relationship is destructive.  If the people you hang out with have become a bad influence, time for them to go.

2.) Grocery Shopping. If the junk food isn't in your house, you can't eat it. If you swing open your refrigerator and look inside it, what is available? Is it full of crap? If it is, time to throw it all away and fill it with healthy food.  Or the absolute worst, is there nothing in it at all?  Time to start grocery shopping...stat.  As far as eating out in restaurants goes, this is out of control.  It used to be dining out was reserved for special occasions. Now it's turned into 3 and 5 times a week.  I believe in order to change your lifestyle, a large percentage of your food has to come from the grocery store.

3.) Your schedule.  Part of my cycle of self-destruction included working a night schedule.  I would get off work, then stay up all night watching TV and binging on junk food. By the time I fell asleep at 4 or 5 in the morning, I was stuffed with thousands of calories.  For me, it took switching to an early morning shift to help jump-start my healthy lifestyle change.  It is true what Benjamin Franklin said: "Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise."  Except for the wealthy part, all of that has come true for me.

4.) Television. I almost never watch TV anymore. In fact, I've thought of giving it away. What's on TV, anyway?  Non-stop food commercials. I used to watch the Food Network all the time.  But I have discovered that I can't anymore.  Everything they show is one gigantic eating trigger. I used to think I had to watch certain TV shows...that there is no way I could live without the TV.  Turns out I don't need it at all. 

Your lifestyle is your life.  If you want to change your lifestyle, you're going to have to change your life.  After 2 years of doing this, I can tell you this: it is very hard.  But as the saying goes, it is difficult, but not impossible.

Think of it this way: if you want to lose weight, all of your habits, behaviors, food that you eat, body movements, all of it contribute to your current state of health.

To make that change, to improve your health, requires the modification of habits, behaviors, food that you eat and body movements.

What makes this a very tall order is none of it will last unless you do it forever. The problem with all of that is that for many of us (myself included, before June 20, 2010) food has become a reward.  Food has become entertainment.  Food has become happiness.

That all has to go out the window.  Food is fuel.  Nothing more.  The thin person does not have a problem with this.  They are perfectly capable of (for now) celebrating with food, eating foods high in sugar, fat, salt and calories in small portions and getting by.

But not us.  Not me. Not other heavy people.  We've gone too far.  We can't do it.  We can't stop.

Which is why we can never start.

Back to changing the lifestyle.  There are so many traditions and things that we do where unhealthy food is ingrained into our routines.  To be successful, long-term, I believe it all has to go.

Used to eating concession food at the movies?  Bring your own healthy alternatives.

Used to eating hotdogs and nachos at the baseball game?  Bring your own better food.

Eat out of the vending machines at work?  Don't.  Pack your own lunch and snacks.

That's what has to happen.  Those key behaviors have to be changed. And that's why it's hard.

But you can do it!  If I can, anyone can.  And that's the truth.

I get asked all the time: "How can I lose weight like you did?  How do I find the motivation to lose X number of pounds?  Will you tell me what to eat?"

As well-intentioned as those questions are, they all miss the point completely.  Simply losing weight should never be the focus.  As a matter of fact, it's a counterproductive way to think.  Being overweight is a symptom of an unhealthy lifestyle, it is not the cause of it.

Before you start thinking about losing weight and trying to add years to your life and life to your years, you have to be in the proper frame of mind. You need to think about how you can make your lifestyle change permanent.  If all you're going to do is temporarily change what you do in order to lose 50 pounds for a wedding and then put it all back on, you may as well not bother.

No, dear reader, what you want is a total lifestyle change.  Nothing less will do.  That is the best chance you have at getting healthier, losing weight and keeping it off and staying out of the doctor's office.  So what are the steps that go into this?  First, you have to analyze your own behavior.  You know yourself better than anyone else, right?

Identify what your demons are and stay away from them....forever.  For me, one of my biggest demons is restaurants.  When I am being served food in a restaurant, I cannot control myself.  It is very much like an alcoholic in a bar.  So I stay far, far away.  For you, it might be something simple like mindless eating.  Whatever it is, identify it and don't do it!

You can do it.  You know you can and so do I.  Take your life back.  Take it back starting right now.

When it comes to a lifestyle change, how you approach it, the expectations you set are almost more important than the journey itself. I'll give you some examples.

"I need to lose weight"  needs to become "I need to adopt a healthy lifestyle, one of the benefits of which is having a lower body weight."  See how that works?

"I need to lose 20 pounds by July" needs to become "I'd like to be in shape in time for July. By adopting a healthy lifestyle, that will help me."

Again, if just losing weight is the focus, then give up  now.  The failure rate on weight loss-based dieting is about 95%. That's 95 out of 100 people gaining it all back. A terrible track record.

Don't put yourself through that.

Instead, try this.  Don't put a time limit on your lifestyle change.  Don't weigh yourself all the time.  Stop wanting it all now, now, now.

When I started my journey, I had a doctor tell me it would take 3 years to lose all this weight.  And he might be right.  He then suggested weight loss surgery.  But I knew, for me, that weight loss surgery wasn't going to fix my problem.

It wasn't going to fix my food addiction problem, only I could do that.

It wasn't going to teach me how to eat right, only I could do that.

It wasn't going to teach me to exercise, only I could do that.

Instead of "I need to lose weight," focus on "I need to maintain a healthier weight."

Because I can tell you from experience, there is *zero* point in losing a bunch of weight if you can't keep it off.  Absolutely a waste of time.

How to Handle Negativity

There are going to be people that are not going to want you to change your life. Negativity is everywhere.

We're all guilty of it.  You've heard the phrase "misery loves company?"  It's very true.

But when it comes to saving your own life and changing your lifestyle, negativity has no place.  It must be banished forever and not be tolerated in any way, shape or form.  Your mindset on a daily basis is critical to your success.

So what kind of negativity am I talking about?

Sabotage. Face it, some people like us the way we are.  People don't like change.  Perhaps your partner thinks you'll leave them if you lose weight.  Maybe somebody close to you enjoys putting you down because they can't do it themselves.  Either way, watch out for sabotage.  People always offering you food, for instance, trying to tempt you and enable you into failure.  I've run into it before and I simply confront it head-on: "I appreciate the offer, but I am never eating that. Thank you though."

Put-downs. Don't stand for it.  This takes many forms, but the basic thrust is the person putting you down doesn't think you can do what you're doing.  Or perhaps they can't do it themselves, so they put you down to make themselves feel better.  The code words and phrases for the putter-downer are things like "you need to be realistic" and "you can't do this on your own." Again, just like with the sabotage,  shut them down: "I am changing my life and I would appreciate you being more supportive."

Fatism. It is an absolute irrefutable fact that the last acceptable form of discrimination in our society is the mistreatment of the overweight.  I will debate this issue with anyone who cares to try.  It isn't right, but a large portion of society sees big people as less than a human being, if they see them at all.  I've experienced this first hand.  When I weighed 577 pounds, many people wouldn't even say hello to me.  Now they're my best friend.  But what they don't realize is I have a mental list and they're on it.  So don't tolerate it from your friends and family. You are due the same respect any other person is and don't tolerate the jokes, the put-downs or the comments. You are on a mission to change your life and you will leave the doubters behind.

And one more note about people.  Early on, I realized that just like an alcoholic has to ditch their drinking buddies to get clean, I had to do the same thing with my eating buddies.  I don't mean to sound drastic, but it had to be done.

When you change your lifestyle, you are changing your life.  You are becoming a different, healthier person.  That goes for the mind and the body.  Your transformation will be the result of your own positive energy and anyone that is not on board with that 100% has to go.