A Quick Introduction

So with thousands of blogs about health and fitness already in existence, why did I feel the need to add my voice to the cacophony? I'm not a famous athlete, or coach, or personal trainer, or a nutritionist, or other health practitioner. So who am I to share knowledge, health and training advice? Let me to tell you a little story, and then maybe you will understand.

A long time ago (well maybe not that long ago, but stories always seem to sound better like that), there was a 5 foot 8 inch man graduating from college at a slightly hefty 320 lbs. There was no accident in getting to that point, no injury, no health issue, it just... happened. Now I know a lot of people wonder, how people can get to be so big. Well I'm sure you've heard the saying that if you put a frog in boiling water it will jump right out, but if you put him in there and slowly raise the temperature he will stay in there and get cooked. For me, getting that big was like that. I was a big child, a big teen, and when I graduated college, a big adult.

I'm quite sure if I hadn't had a little wake up call, I probably would have gotten bigger. The reality was I wasn't taking care of myself because I didn't see the need. I could play Ultimate Frisbee (not well), play basketball (again, not well), and swim. I was ridiculously flexible (I could perform full Chinese splits), and capable of running enough to do all the stupid things that you might do during college. My weight rarely impacted me (though breaking a toilet seat in the middle of the night should have maybe been a warning...), so I didn't see it as a problem. Sure I knew I was "big", but I didn't really realize how big.

Fast Forward 10 years and I am no longer "big". In fact, I am quite literally half the man I used to be. I do my best to take care of myself (although I may or may not have a small coffee addiction... I will neither confirm nor deny that one!), and I try to work out at least 3 times a week. I have learned a lot in the last decade, most of it the hard way, and all of it from experience. So what makes my voice useful in this case? I've been there, I understand, and I just hope I can help.