Fed up with being unhappy at 346 pounds, Aaron Rice set his mind to losing weight.
He soon discovered that he was changing far more than just his health & appearance. Hear what Aaron’s discovered about authenticity, acceptance, and letting go.
“Behind every fear is the person you want to be.”
Weight Gain Background and Contributing Factors
Aaron had been “husky” whole life, but the gain really began in middle school. In addition to little physical activity, Aaron describes a lack of knowledge on his family’s part in regard to nutrition and fitness.
At one point in his senior year of high school, he succeeded in losing 40 pounds. However, he regained it that same summer.
Aaron’s tried a number of different diets: the grapefruit diet, the heart surgery diet, Beachbody, etc., with no success. Either he completely disliked what he was eating, or felt that he was depriving himself too much to maintain.
“I hated grapefruit anyway. I could have starved myself at that point and enjoyed it more.”
Looking back now, Aaron feels that this process was somewhat necessary so that he could slowly discover what worked for him, and what didn’t.
“When you first start, it’s a whole process of learning… until you figure out what it is that works for you, it can be very traumatizing almost because you really do have to try a million things before you find what works for you.”
Aaron reached a peak weight of 346 pounds. (157.2 kg)
How Being Overweight Impacted Aaron’s Life
“My whole life was completely impacted by my size.”
Aaron describes being unable to go up stairs, being the only kid who couldn’t run a mile, and reflects on how different his childhood could have been if he hadn’t been overweight.
The Turning Point
There were two moments that led to Aaron’s turning point. The first was the shock of seeing himself in high school “Homecoming” photos and realizing his size.
The second point for Aaron happened in college, when he finally got fed up with being unhappy all the time and wishing he wasn’t overweight. He had been doing a lot of research and something sparked within him to start changing things.
“It was one of the best days of my life.”
Aaron laughs at how unhappy he was back then, both inside and out, compared to the person he has become, which he describes as “annoyingly optimistic” and happy.
Starting The Weight Loss Journey
“When I first started, my goal was to do things that I could keep up for the rest of my life.”
Because of what he learned from prior diets that he didn’t enjoy, and ultimately could not stick to, Aaron worked to ensure that he focused on changes that he’d be able to keep up long-term.
He wanted to be able to eat the things he enjoyed AND to get healthier.
Aaron began with calorie reduction and increased exercise. He counted calories in everything ate or drank, and slowly introduced physical activity as his body allowed.
“I was on the exercise bike for 15 minutes and thought I was going to keel over.”
He also shared his fitness goal with others.
“If nothing else, sharing it with other people would keep me in check.”
Aaron also shares that he initially set a Goal Weight of 170 pounds (77.2 kg), but soon realized that number was too small for his body’s build.
Staying Motivated
Aaron made a very significant shift in how he looked at his health and his future:
“Kinda always just let life be handed to me in a way, and I was finally taking control of my own destiny and it was terrifying.”
He describes how, in the past, he’d always gone along with the pack mentality, but was finally learning “that I don’t need people, even though a support system and everything is great, but I don’t necessary need people to hold my hand to get me to where I want to be.”
He also made a decision to fully commit to his new lifestyle and not even consider returning to old habits.
“When I started this time, I didn’t give myself the option to fail… I’m going to find happy. I’m going to find healthy and I refuse to settle for anything less.”
What Aaron Learned About Food, Exercise, and Himself
Aaron discovered that improving his health & fitness was a learning process that evolved as he went. He had to let go of the Goal Number he originally had in mind so that he wouldn’t get stuck on the number instead of focusing on becoming healthy.
“You really have to get to a point where, yeah, you do want to see said number on the scale, but, at the same point, be healthy and be happy and find that point where your body is at a good point.”
Another big step for Aaron was becoming more accepting of himself, who he really IS, and letting go of the need to please others.
“My fitness journey kinda forced me to open up and say, ‘This is me, and this is all I am, and I’m comfortable with it. I hope you’re comfortable with it, but if not, well, sorry.”
He was finally learning how to truly love and accept himself, even if it meant changing aspects of himself that he’d grown comfortable with.
He shares that he had to cut out certain people and pull away from certain activities in order to be true to himself.
Aaron opens up about the emotional aspect of weight-loss being one of the hardest: letting go of who he was, accepting who he is, and dealing with his emotions in a healthy way instead of trying to eat them.
Aaron’s Advice For Your Journey
- Be aware of the realty that people are going to treat you differently.
“Take it for what it is.”
- Don’t hold so tight on who you were. Accept who you have become.
- Find what works for you and what you enjoy doing.
“It’s going to get hard, it’s going to suck, but keep pushing through even when it does get hard. Keep your end goal in mind.”
Resources Discussed In This Podcast
- 344pounds.com (note: this blog is no longer updated)
- MyFitnessPal – online calorie tracker & community
- FatSecret.com
On Aaron’s Workout Playlist
- Remember The Name by Fort Minor [ Amazon / iTunes ]
- Forever by Lil Wayne, Eminem, Drake, Kanye West [ Amazon / iTunes ]
- Cher [ Amazon / iTunes ]
- 3LW (Three Little Women) [ Amazon / iTunes ]
Contacting Aaron
Aaron shares tips, inspirational quotes, and regular updates to help others at the following social pages. Stop by and say Hello!
- Aaron’s blog: FatBoySkinnyFitness.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AaronRiceisFatBoySkinny
- Email: fatboyskinnyfitness [at] gmail [dot] com
- Instagram: fatboyskinnyfitness
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/FatBoySkinnyFitness
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