Metamorphosis

This is content that I first posted to the web several years ago. Through several iterations and new versions, I have kept this and so, I recreate it here in its original form.

Believe it or not, both of those are pictures of me during my last year of college at Florida. When I went home for Christmas in 1999, I got on the scale in my parents house and tipped the scale at 265. That was about 15 pounds heavier than I had ever been in my life. At that point I pledged that I would go home, eat right, and exercise until I was at a healthier weight. I didn't set a specific goal for my weight, but I knew that I needed to lose a good amount. 

Back in Gainesville, I started counting calories. All of them. I planned each meal and what I would eat and estimated my daily calorie intake. I then limited my daily calories to between 1500 and 2000 a day. I tried to maximize my protein intake as well as eating fruits and vegetables when I could. For exercise, my reigmen was working for about 2 hours a day three days a week. That would be about half cardio and half weight training. I would run stadium steps, use the elliptical, and ride a stationary bike. This was in addition to my daily routine of walking and biking around campus. I tracked my workouts, weights I could lift, and time spent on activities. Doing all this helped me to burn about 1-2 pounds a week.

The following Christmas break, I went home to my parents house and got on the same scale. To my delight, it topped out at 195 pounds. I had shed about 70 pounds, and my waist size dropped about 5 inches from a 40 to a 35. It was a great feeling to not only be healthy and look good, but to get to buy a whole new wardrobe as well.

These days I don't do as much weight training, it is mostly cardio. I have become an avid jogger (ed note: runner). Now that I have a bicycle again, I also enjoy riding it on weekends. I have managed to keep the weight of and actually have lost a little bit more. I don't always follow these guidelines 100%, but these are my goals.

For diet:

• Eat a salad everyday
• Snack on fruits and vegetables, not processed foods (allowing for some protein bars)
• Have a beer or wine with dinner
• Enjoy a cup or two of coffee a day
• Eat protein rich foods: nuts, yogurt, lean meats
• Limit carbohydrate intake
• Avoid fried foods
• Avoid anything that is advertised and has a brand name (ie: chips, cookies, etc.)
• Cook and bake at home as much as possible

For exercise:

• Exercise 3 days a week when on rotations where I walk a lot
• Exercise 5 days a week when on rotations where I mostly sit
• Mix it up, run new places, stay outside when possible

After going through all of this, I went to go see my doctor for a checkup. He was pretty flabbergasted at my appearance and asked, "How did you manage to lose all that weight"? I looked him in the eye and said, "diet and exercise". His response? "No, #$%@? That really works, huh?"