Andy's weight loss journey

So Amanda shared her weight loss thoughts so I thought I should share mine. I guess this is even more appropriate because my 10 year high school reunion was a few weeks back. I didn't go, but my weight loss really started there. It is a bit surreal.

So between my junior and senior year of high school I gained a ton of weight. I blame the ability to drive and fast food. At my heaviest I was 240. I'd show you pictures, but there really aren't very many. I didn't take pictures, didn't want pictures. It was pretty brutal.

(This picture is from 2008ish)

So for some reason, around the start of my senior year I decided to do something about it. I blame this on my need to be attractive to the opposite sex. So I cut out a lot of things from my life. First, I stopped drinking soda. Now I very rarely drink it. Second, I stopped eating fast food. I eat fast food less often than I drink soda. And last, I started to eat less. Portion control was always a problem. It took be about 2 years, but by around the end of my first year of college, I was down to 175-180. I went from a size 40 to a size 32 in pants.

Fast forward a bit, my first year of graduate school was hard. It was the first time I was away from home and Amanda and I had just started dating. I gained about 25 pounds and was hovering around 200. This would have been around 2006. I was able to lose that weight by getting back into good habits eating. I would eat because I was entirely too stressed, which is why I didn't continue to pursue a PhD and instead I just received my Masters.

Since then, I really try to eat well. I don't always, but I try to be conscious of what I put into my body. Sometimes I don't eat well, and I can tell because I don't feel right. I try to work out more, although I have not been able to lately because of my arm surgery(which, BTW, I go to the doctor on Monday and will probably start physical therapy shortly). Amanda has really helped with this, mostly because she is an amazing cook.

This brings me to running. I played a lot of baseball growing up, and despite being pretty overweight I was still pretty athletic. But I never really ran much. Amanda convinced me about a year ago that we should do a 5K, and so we started to train. It wasn't too long into this when I ran 1 mile straight for the first time. This seems like such a small thing, but really I was so proud of myself for finally being able to run a mile. It was something I never thought I could do. The 5K came around and I ran the entire thing. We ran another, and I improved my time. It was pretty awesome. It is something I want to continue to do, because it is a great stress reducer on top of being healthy. I have some pretty bad anxiety, and it is a great way to relax.

I still have a way to go, both with my physical body but also with my body image. I still feel like the fat kid I was in high school. I am a pretty small guy now and people will make comments about this, and it is something I can't handle. I don't see myself that way, but it isn't like I am unhappy. I am incredibly proud of everything I have done with my life including losing a considerable amount of weight. If I could maintain this weight for the rest of my life, I would be happy. But I still think of myself as a 17 year old kid in nearly everything I do. I'm not entirely sure if that is healthy, but it sure is fun.

I now weight about 185. For most of the last ten years I have been anywhere between 175 and 185.

And I am sure if I cut out coffee and alcohol I would be in much better shape. Oh well! Some things are worth hanging on to!