Letter To Everyone Struggling with Weight
Dear Friend
September of 2005 I w in the same position as you. I was terribly ashamed of my body. My waist was a size 40. I was 25% body fat. Every shirt I wore was 2XL or bigger.
My eating habits were horrible. My diet consisted of unhealthy garbage. On a daily basis I stuffed down one of my favorites:
- Fried Chicken
- French Fries
- Burritos
- Cornbread
- Cookies and Cream Ice Cream
- Remy Martin VSOP
- Potato Chips
- Collard Greens
- Fried Fish
- Homemade Macaroni and Cheese
- Fried Pork Chops
- Soda
- Krispy Kreme Donuts by the dozen
Exercising was the farthest thing from my mind. I was too busy watching TV, playing video games, or just generally goofing off to exercise.
My thinking was simple: I do not have time to manage my weight. So like millions of others I went to the only place I could for information…Television. My eyes would glaze over whenever I saw an ad for “eye popping abs”. I was overwhelmed. The announcer seemed to be speaking to my deepest desires.
- Are you ashamed of your body?
- Do you want to get rid of those love handle obliques?
- Want to lose weight without sweat or weights in just 15 minutes a day?
Mentally, I’d answer each question with a yes. I was being led along right into the trap. When my skepticism arose I’d be finished off with a view of someone’s rock solid abs doused in baby oil. I was hooked!
$90 dollars, 1 piece of useless machinery, and a starvation diet later I realized that I had been wasting my time. Apparently I wasn’t going to shed that spare tire by following any miracles.
Fortunately for me I was fine with that.
I decided to reach out a personal trainer. He was fit and had already done what I wanted to. Lifting weights wasn’t entirely new to me so I thought it would be easy. Unsuspecting and unprepared I paraded into the gym.
Mentally I was prepared…physically I was way off target.
60 minutes later my sweaty back was pressed against the gym wall. Every conceivable muscle was aching. My arms and legs were frozen stiff with pain. To make matters worse I still had to pay. I forked over the $35 and trudged out to my car. Pain flashed through my body again as I took the driver’s seat. 20 minutes later I psyched myself up enough to drive home.
I can’t recall being in more physical pain at any single point in my life. Even though I was hurting the thought of quitting was never an option. Looking into that bathroom mirror pushed me to places I’d never been before. Muscle pain couldn’t outweigh the disgust I felt. A month into the program my body began to develop a tolerance. My hunger for the gym grew as my muscles began to bulge. My workouts were going great but my weight was going in the wrong direction. I was gaining weight because I totally disregarded my diet.
At the time eating 5-6 healthy meals a day seemed so hard. I started with the common excuses:
- What will I eat?
- How will I fit that into my day?
- Isn’t that expensive?
- How will my coworkers respond?
I continued to plug away doing things my own way. The weight was going no where fast. Time was wasting away so I did the only thing I could…I began to eat 5-6 HEALTHY meals a day. My eating style went from pathetic, unhealthy, and tiring to lean, healthy, and energetic. The new staples were
- Salmon
- Yogurt
- Walnuts
- Baked Chicken
- Green Veggies
- Protein Shakes
- Turkey
- Whole Grain Breads
- Kashi Bars
- Tuna
- Green Apples
- Lean Cuisine
The weight began to peel off. Soon I was shedding 7-10 lbs a month! Between November 2006 and May 2007 I went from 252 lbs to 205 lbs by following the old fashion formula. Tax the body with weights, eat correctly, and perform cardio 3 times a week.
No magic, No gimmicks, just results.
I’m happy to be in a position to write this letter to you. I hope it encourages you to continue along your path to losing that unwanted fat. Before I leave I want to share some photographic evidence to prove that I’m not making this up. The first picture is my after photo at 205lbs and the second picture is before at 250 lbs.
Unfortunately, the fitness industry is plagued with horrible information. There are some less than savory characters out there looking to make a quick buck from your dreams. I can’t help but cringe when I see one of those advertisements promising miracle results with little to no effort. It’s simply not true. In the end they get paid and you walk away from the exchange with a useless piece of equipment that usually emulates a movement that you can easily pull off in the gym.
Losing weight isn’t really that difficult of a thing to do. Your results are a result of your effort. You are a strong enough person to workout 45 minutes a day and manage your diet. After all aren’t you the same person who went to college, raises children, works a 9-5, balances your checkbook, and deals with the everyday struggles of life.
If you can manage all that you can shed that weight. The results are really and truly up to you. Here’s the only true secret to shedding pounds.
Calories Burned > Calories Consumed
Marcus A. Smith
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