Category: Scoop

It’s the strangest thing. I ate lots of sugary foods this past weekend and yesterday, I had a bigger than normal dinner. So this morning, at my daily weigh-in, I weighed a good 5 lbs more than I did on Saturday morning. I just shook my head and continued on with my morning routine. I know I didn’t eat THAT much more. The only explanation for it is that it has to be retained water.

After doing a  little reading, I learned something that astounded me:

It is true that excess salt in the diet can aggravate fluid retention, but sugar is more likely to cause the fluid retention in the first place. Sugar is a carbohydrate, and all carbohydrates, if consumed in excess can promote fluid retention. This is because sugar promotes your pancreas to release insulin. Source

Wow. So that makes SO much sense. I tend to retain fluids after drinking alcohol, eating sweets, or eating carbs. Now I understand why. It also makes me feel better. These gains are temporary, and my weight should stabilize and get back down to the new norm within the next few days.

Until then, I’ll be eating very carefully and avoiding any and all sugar or carbs. I know it’s not all about the scale, but when it’s out of whack, I tend to get a bit grumpy.

I’ve had three people either try to run me over or inconvenience me in some way while I ran in my neighborhood one evening last week. I couldn’t really tell if they were all doing it on purpose, but in at least one case, someone in their car literally pulled it forward as I was running on the sidewalk at night so I had to run into the street, and after I passed them, they pulled back up and kept the sidewalk clear. They stared me down the whole time. That was pretty blatant and uncalled for. The others? Maybe they didn’t see me or maybe there was no malice behind their actions.

At least once a week, I experience some sort of weird action or look from people as I run by. I normally get waves, smiles, and kids running next to me for 10 yards or so. Those are the nice interactions. Then there are the others. The looks I get from people who possibly think that the only reason I’m out running is to make them feel bad that they aren’t. Because of course, I only do this to make people feel badly about themselves.

I’ve had diesel pickup trucks “Smoke” me as they drive past, and people on sidewalks give me dirty looks. I’ve had people stop what they were doing and watch me as if I were some sort of oddity or criminal running past.

I find it sad, really. When I was my most outspoken about not liking exercise, I never went out of my way to inconvenience those who were exercising. Heck, I always gave runners and cyclists thumbs-up. They’re doing the work, and I always recognized that. Even if I didn’t want to do it, and even if it was a reminder to me of my own lack of motivation to get moving, I never put that on them. I put that on myself.

Trust me: I’m not out there flaunting my fitness. To do so would be a joke; I’m not that fast of a runner, nor am I in perfect shape. I’m in good shape, but I have a long way to go before I would say that I’m really fit. What I’m doing is the work necessary to get fit. I’m doing this for me, not to make anyone else feel bad for any reason.

I also hear people every once in a while make comments about me at the mall or in a store. “Well, doesn’t that skinny guy think he’s special wearing a suit jacket?” “Who does that skinny guy think he is, all dressed fancy and stuff?” “That guy needs to eat a sandwich.” Okay, the last one made me laugh when it happened (and actually, I’m laughing now) because I’m really not thin. Not even a little bit. I’m still just average. But really? Because I’m no longer fat and dress nicely it’s okay to be rude?

I expected fat shaming and being made fun of when I was heavy. I never expected it for being fit or working on getting fit. That surprised me.

You’ve probably heard one or all of these at some point (and heck, you may even believe it!):

• Fat is bad for you.
• Gluten is bad for you.
• Milk is good for you. (It does a body good!)
• Eggs are bad for you.
• Orange juice is better for you than a soda.

How many of these have you heard? How many of these do you believe? What if I told you that each and every one of these statements is wrong? OK, I am telling you: each one of the statements above is false. But don’t believe me. Look it up.

Fat is bad for you. This is wrong because not all fat is bad for us. There are good fats to be found in:

• Coconut, olive, and sesame oils
• Avocados
• Nuts (like almonds, pistachios and walnuts)
• Fish (like salmon and sardines)

Unsaturated fats: Bad. Saturated fats: good. Here is how to tell the difference.

Gluten is bad for you. Unless you have Celiac disease, then gluten is not bad for you other than it is high in carbs. Carbs are the enemy, not gluten. According to WebMD, “Many people may just perceive that a gluten-free diet is healthier. In fact, it isn’t. For people with celiac disease, a gluten-free diet is essential. But for others, unless people are very careful, a gluten-free diet can lack vitamins, minerals, and fiber.”

Milk is good for you. Again, it is not. Just because a milk industry funded ad campaign said it was good for you doesn’t make it true. It just makes the ad campaign successful that you still believe it.

Eggs are bad for you. Another ad campaign lie. This ad campaign told us that eggs were bad for us and wanted us to buy egg substitutes. Eggs are actually the perfect food. The egg is called a perfect food for its health benefits and aiding in reducing your weight. Eggs are also complete in all amino acids (protein building blocks), which are found in the yolk. The fat in the egg yolk is in nearly perfect balance. These essential fats are very important in the regulation of cholesterol.

Orange juice is better for you than a soda. By volume, they contain the same amount of sugar (sometimes, OJ has even more sugar than a soda!). Just because it comes from a fruit doesn’t make it better. There are some orange juices that have less sugar than a soda, but juices overall are not a good choice to drink for anyone watching their weight, trying to lose weight, or at risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes.

Don’t believe every ad campaign you read, see, or hear. Do the research and find out for yourself. Oh, and don’t get me started on the food pyramid myth, or how we are supposed to eat a balanced diet from all the food groups. That’s been disproved time and time again.

 

At lunch today, I showed a new friend a picture of myself taken a year and a half ago. “That’s not you,” she said. “That’s your brother!” My friend Steve was with me, and he assured her that the big guy in the photo was, in fact, me. She just couldn’t believe it.

People I’ve known for a long time say I’m brave for posting my before pictures here. They say I’m braver still (or crazy) for posting the photo above. They don’t understand why I do it, or why I’m not more modest about it. I post them because of a conversation with my good friend Kenny.

When I started my journey, I didn’t push it on anyone. I talked about it, but I tried to not talk about it too much. Then, after a while, I stopped making it a topic of conversation and just went about my daily routine of eating right. After a few months, Kenny noticed that I was making solid progress. Since I had dinner with him and his wife every Friday night, he also noticed I was able to eat food that was pretty much normal, albeit lacking in added sugar, carbs, grains, beans, or dairy. After I’d lost over 50 lbs, he asked me specifically about my diet and shortly thereafter, he and his wife went Paleo.

When another mutual friend of ours, Matt, asked Kenny why he hadn’t listened to his advice in the past (Matt has been advocating against added sugars and carbs for years), Kenny replied that it was because Matt has always been a thin person. Of course anything he said about nutrition was to be taken with a grain of salt because he didn’t have to overcome being overweight they way we did. When Kenny saw me lose all the weight without exercise and by eating normal foods, he was sold. My example led to his changing his lifestyle, and he has said as much on more than one occasion.

So that’s why I post those photos others would find embarrassing. Photos that more modest people could never fathom posting, I put up for display here. I do so because I want people to know that I have walked in their footsteps. I’ve been the heavy guy. The overweight guy. I’ve been the fat guy. It wasn’t easy or fun. But I found a way out of it, and I want to help others follow me to good health and if there’s a chance, even fitness.