After two devastating events gave him the emotional jolt he needed, Jeff committed to a new lifestyle and dropped 100 pounds! (45 kg)
From being unable to run around the block to running 5K’s and a half-marathon – this is Jeff’s story.
“I’d rather be covered in sweat now at the gym than be covered in clothes at the beach next summer.”
Weight Gain Background and Contributing Factors
Jeff was an active child, and was in a normal weight range until around 10 years of age. Then, he began gaining the weight that he would struggle with for much of his life.
How Being Overweight Impacted Jeff’s Life
At a young age, Jeff experienced difficulty finding clothing that fit him, jeans in particular. However, the most significant impacts to Jeff’s life weren’t the physical challenges – they were the emotional ones.
“I think my biggest struggle wasn’t the weight, but the lack of self-worth that went along with being heavy.”
Jeff opens up about how the self-esteem issues related to his weight have presented themselves in his personal and romantic life.
“When it came to girls, I just didn’t think I was worth their time. Pretty girl – why would they talk to me?”
Jeff had tried occasional dieting and exercise in the past, but admits it was mostly yo-yo dieting as a result of his “half-assed” efforts at the time. He never “took the full leap off that cliff to make it happen.”
The Turning Point
On a college trip to an amusement park, Jeff was embarrassed when he was unable to close a ride’s safety latch. He didn’t let it bother him, and tried another ride, but again – had to walk all the way back down from that ride when he didn’t fit.
“I don’t know that I had ever felt that down. That was a real low point.”
Soon after, Jeff had another sobering moment the morning after a party, when he got on his scale and it no longer registered his body weight. The scale’s upper limit was 330 pounds. (150 kg) To this day, Jeff isn’t entirely sure what his peak weight was.
Jeff opens up about how these “low points” devastated, emotionally wiped him, and became the catalysts for change.
Starting The Weight Loss Journey
Jeff admits he was so determined to lose weight that he started with some unhealthy steps. For example, some days he only ate “an apple and a Mountain Dew.”
“It was brutal. Don’t do that. It was a bad idea… It wreaked havoc on my body… I know better now.”
Here are the steps he does advise:
- Cut out soda.
- Cut out alcohol.
- Get active. Jeff started using a recumbent bicycle daily, and missed only 6 days for an entire year!
- Track weight regularly and under the same conditions. (You will not weigh the same in the evening as you do in the morning, nor before/after eating or drinking; Remember this when you weigh yourself!)
- Track calories, even if you don’t make immediate changes. You’ll learn a lot about your habits and which foods impact you.
- Lots of fruits and vegetables.
- Snacks that are not pre-packaged or come in a bag.
- No second helpings. Get the proper amount the first time, and slowly eliminate the habit of going back for more.
- No juices. Even fruit juices are very high in calories; stick to water and tea.
- Plan ahead. When Jeff knew he was going out to a social dinner or special event, he ate less during the day to leave “room” in his calorie budget to eat more in the evening.
Staying Motivated
Jeff reminded himself often that there was no going back. He had to stay 100% committed if he didn’t want to return to how things were before.
“I didn’t think of it as a temporary thing. I looked at it like, ‘This is now my life. This is how we’re going to do this.’ “
Jeff let the important people in his life know what he was doing. He shares how important their support was, in particular his mother – who supported and encouraged him long before he was successful.
Being accountable to others, but most importantly to himself, was critical and necessary to Jeff. He shares how there were days he didn’t want to get on the bicycle, but he forced himself to stick to his commitment.
Jeff also reminded himself often of how far he’d already come. The positive reinforcement of knowing he had already made progress helped propel him to keep going. This was especially evident for Jeff when shopping for new clothes that he could now fit into.
Challenges
Jeff shares that holidays were a challenge sometimes. There were also some people in his life were negative, and he had to be careful with how much he allowed their words to impact him.
Another unexpected event was the loss of his mother. Jeff opens up about how hard it hit him, and how his emotions drove negative changes in his eating behavior.
“Sure when you’re emotional and you’re in the dumps, it’s hard to hop on that bike. It’s hard not to eat that piece of cake, but you have to make [health] your priority, because in the end… you can’t give up on everything.”
What Jeff Learned About Food, Exercise, and Himself
Because of tracking his food, Jeff has been astonished to learn how high-calorie certain things are. Where he never said No to certain things in the past, learning how many calories were in them has helped him to avoid those things.
“You don’t need that extra piece of cake. You don’t need that second helping.”
Jeff has learned that eating right is more important than working out. No matter how hard you work in the gym, if you’re not making smart food choices, you’ll still be sinking and losing the weight-loss battle.
Looking back, Jeff laughs when asked if the old Jeff would have believed he’d be living the lifestyle he is today – eating clean and running 5K’s.
“I never thought I’d get to this point. Ever. Running those distances was the most emotional thing every. Not because they were hard, but because I didn’t think I could ever do something like that.”
You have to change things you do daily and make them a focus, or you will back into old habits because you haven’t changed the root of the problem.
Jeff also shares how big a difference the transformation has made in his confidence level. He also discusses the difference in how people respond to him – for better and for worse.
Jeff also talks about self-worth and knowing who your friends are-
“If you want to know who your real friends are, it’s the friends that were there before you lost the weight. It’s the people who cared then, and still care now.”
The post-weight loss emotional changes can be interesting as well. Jeff opens up about the struggle of relationships after his weight loss with the lingering self-worth issues. Some really interesting discussion here. [Starts around the 55-minute mark.]
Jeff’s Advice For Your Journey
Start today! Know that you have to want it, and you have to be willing to change your lifestyle. It’s a full commitment, not something you do temporarily and then go back to “normal.”
Track your weight, but pay close attention to how your body feels. The number on the scale isn’t everything.
“Don’t wait, because every day that you put it off is one more day of bad habits and stuff that you’re going to have to undo – and maybe more weight that you have to lose.”
Resources Discussed In This Podcast
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Libra – weight tracking smartphone app for Android
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My Fitness Pal – calorie tracking and fitness community
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/Loseit – weight loss support community on Reddit.com
- RunKeeper app – mobile app for tracking running, cycling, other distance activities
On Jeff’s Workout Playlist
Contacting Jeff
Email Jeff here or send him a message on Reddit. Say hello!
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