The Road To Destruction

The Belly Button Burrito

I think it was one night when I was laying in my bed watching TV that I realized it might be time to turn things around. Sitting atop my stomach were 2 Taco Bell tacos and a 3rd was being shoved into my mouth by my hand. My stomach was so big I was using it as a table and it was doing a heck of a job. Inside my belly button were flakes of taco shells mixed with cheese, meats and whatever else fell down there, a belly button burrito bowl of sorts (Yum!). Mid taco-bite I mentally stepped back and truly pondered the situation. That's when I began to laugh uncontrollably.

Amidst the laughter there was a moment of clarity. All of a sudden I realized I was no longer able to eat fast food 3 times a day with no repercussions. My lack of food control and exercise had put me somewhere I thought was impossible to get to. The skinny kid who could eat anything he wanted was officially a fat guy.

That taco binging day was somewhere around 10 years ago and was the first time in my entire life I ever thought about actually learning about proper eating and nutrition. The next day, this taco loving guru in his mid 20's began his journey into the world of diet and exercise. I scoured the internet to learn everything about nutrition & exercise I could find, developed a plan, and lost 15 pounds.


My Girl Health

Over the course of those 10 years my healthy to unhealthy phases have cycled more than a laundry machine. I've had plans, schemes, ideas, dreams, visions, strategies and gameplans but nothing seems to last for too long. One month I'm winning flag football championships, the next month I'm a winning hot dog eating contests (neither actually true, but you get the idea).  I never got back to the max extreme weight but I dabbled.

Fast forward to today, a fat guy reborn. After a decade of my on again off again relationship with health I've once again decided that it would be really great for the both of us if we got back together. If she would just give me one more shot! I'm sorry I ate McDonalds while you were gone. I'm sorry I skipped the gym and binge watched the entire Breaking Bad series without you. I'm sorry that I got 3 scoops on my ice cream cone. Take me back!!! Pleaseeeeeeee!

I Keep On Falling

My latest downfall started back in October 2014 when I started a Happy Hour Group. That ended up growing quite large in popularity so when it ended I started another Happy Hour Group and then a Happy Hour/Restaurant Review website. Needless to say for about 10 months beer and wings were my primary form of nourishment. I gained 15-20 pounds and found myself at my ATF (All Time Fatness), which in my case is 185 pounds (right back where I started 10 years ago).

At this point you might think the ATF caused me to get well. You may have thought it was the horrific daily pain I had from indigestion/heartburn. You may have even concluded that it was the fact that paying a rents worth of food every month had pummeled my savings. Or maybe you thoutht that it was when I was once again using my stomach as a plate. But as Destiny's Child might say, No No No No No. My decision to romance my true love once again came from some badly timed circumstances.

The Thing About Kickball

The thing about kickball is that it is pretty dumb. I mean it is fun at first but eventually it just gets repetitive. I play sports I like almost every night of the week. I play basketball, flag football, soccer and softball so when I found myself sprawled across the grass on my stomach grabbing my knee after doing something that I don't like, I was not exactly thrilled.

A few weeks later, a month after returning to fatness, I found myself face to face with a doctor who was pointing to something I couldn't understand on a computer screen while I slouched over depressed. He was showing me the results of my MRI and explained to me that I had torn my ACL and I wouldn't be able to play anything for more than 6 months.

This was a crushing blow. For the next 2 months as I waited for surgery I was not in a good mood. I spent time in bars and in bed. That's it. My exercise went from 100mph to a screeching halt. I contemplated how much weight I would gain from eating the same diet with none of the same exercise. I was going to reach 200 easily.

Allergies Are Jerks

About a week before surgery, in August, I encountered an enemy that was about to take me down hard. That enemy was allergies and it caused me to be stuck in bed sick for 7 straight days. As soon as I got better, on day 8, it was the day of my surgery which kept me in bed for another 7 days. And just as my knee was fixed enough to let me out of the house for a day I got sick again, better for a day, and sick again, taking me down for another 7 days total.

I had just spent about 3 straight weeks with no appetite and with barely any movement. I lost 12 pounds, probably in a very unhealthy way, and a way in which it would pile right back up. I couldn't let that happen. I was given a head start and I had to run with it.

So that is when I decided to get back together with the old ball & chain, health. This time it wasn't just for my weight gain. It was for the insane heartburn, indigestion, acid reflux, and whatever other stomach & throat problems almost a year of sodas, beers and junk food inflicted me with. It was for my bank account. It was for the future of my knee and my ability to play sports. It was for my attitude & demeanor. It was for my brain. It was for everything.


Blog #20

So I decided to start another blog. I have like 20 of them so what's one more. I wanted to do this one to chronicle my journey back to a healthy life.  I hope it will help motivate me, keep me interested and maybe even help out somebody else. Will I succeed, will I fail or will I just continue the lose/gain cycle. I'm not sure at this point but there is no try, only Yoda...or something like that. See you on the skinny side...

Sincerely,

Fat Chris Ford