I knew that I wanted a health and wellness section on www.Nerd-Central.com. So I thought if I am going to push out wellness information, I might as well use myself as a journey story. So let me give you some backstory as to the history of my wellness journey without going into too much detail but I think it’s important to understand a few of the twists and turns that have led to this point in my life and hopefully you can glean something from it to help you in your life.
I grew up being involved, pretty active, and tried hard at being athletic. I played some baseball, lots of football, and lots of basketball. I played racquetball with my dad. I went camping and hiking. I was in cub scouts and boy scouts. I was even a part of the skateboard craze. In other words I was a pretty active kid growing up.
Growing up in Europe, as military brats, my brother and I would go on lots of adventures. Trying not to get into too much trouble but as kids we entertained ourselves and stayed busy. Below is a picture of me when we lived in Berlin, Germany, riding a skateboard in our housing complex. Pretty thin. So, what happened?
I was tall and slender and weighed roughly 170 to 200 lbs through my junior high, high school, and college Years. By the time I was 25, I was married and weighed approximately 210 lbs. Keep in mind I am approximately 6’-3” in height and supposedly big boned (whatever that means). Here is a picture of my wife and I on our wedding day. At 210 lbs. I still felt really good, and my weight and health was not a problem.
So, without boring you too much with the details after marriage, fast forward 35 years. Apparently my habits changed over time and I created bad habits that didn’t help me stay a healthier person but drove me towards a non-healthy lifestyle. The change in weight was very slow and gradual. I was still doing active things such as hiking and camping. But apparently it was not enough.
10 years ago, I got into mountain biking. I enjoyed the concentration and stamina it required. But even still, I continued to keep my “ large guy” physique.
Over the years I joined a number of gyms. I was heavy in the CrossFit scene. I participated in several CrossFit games. I loved the intensity. I joined a Bootcamp which lasted a few years with some results, but it did not last. I even joined a Bikram Yoga studio. I enjoyed hot yoga because of the heat. It reminded me of the days when I would go to the steam room with my dad and brother. But even that went by the wayside due to the hour and a half commitment for each class.
2019 came around and I had taken a job in Oklahoma City, traveling back and forth between Dallas and OKC. This job, with all its traveling, new job stress, and distance from my family, hit me hard and it showed in my health and weight. In early 2021 I hit the highest weight I had ever been, which was just this side of 345 lb and it was still climbing. There is no doubt that I was obviously a stress eater.
I know, subconsciously, that weight gain and weight loss is mostly driven by your eating habits. I had heard the ratio for losing weight to be as high as 80% of your eating habits and only 20% of your exercise habits. I had focused solely on exercise and very little on eating habits. Honestly, at the time, I had no desire to change my eating habits.
So, drop a pin in 2020. Covid hit. I lost my job in OKC because of Covid (probably a good thing). I hit a whopping 375 lbs and finally decided something had to change. I started to reflect inwardly and realized that my wellness was out of control and something had to change.
Unfortunately, a weight of 375 lbs. caused my blood pressure to skyrocket. I was sluggish and not feeling right. I was in a vicious cycle. I needed to exercise and had no energy. I had no energy and needed to exercise. And of course, something had to change with my eating habits or none of this was going to matter.
So, I had been on diets before and I would lose some weight but I was unable to successfully keep the weight off and usually when the weight came back it would come back in droves. This cycle went on for years and years and years.
For me my journey is all about dealing with my unhealthy food issues. Addressing why I want chips and queso, or why I eat so many carbs, why I put some much salt on all my food, why I did not like vegetables or for that matter, fruits. Why I wanted to snack all the time, and why I wanted so many soft drinks – specifically Diet Cokes. I would drink so many Diet Cokes in one day. It was unreal. I ate so many carb centric foods that I would often joke “It’s the delivery system that is killing me”. I know, not very funny.
Point being I had to make some changes, I knew it was not going to be easy, and I have convinced myself that it’s going to be a journey (not going to change overnight)..
So…. here is what I am going to do. Over the next year or so, I am going to journal my new jo44urney. Not something I necessarily enjoy doing, but it’s another level of accountability to help me reach my goal. Every month I am going to come out with another self-dairy article either discussing my wellness or discussing a topic that has helped me with my wellness journey.
My hope is that people can glean something from this and either not repeat what I did and/or start some healthy habits like I am doing now. It’s going to be a long journey, but it will be worth the trip to get back to a healthy lifestyle.
