I've been meaning to share this story for quite some time, but keep forgetting about it. The conversation came up again today, so I decided to spend tonight laying it out. I hope that by sharing this, even though I don't care for the story, that this helps my athletes, friends, family with their goals and objectives.
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People that haven't known me my whole life, often are unaware that I have struggled with my weight since I was about 12 years old. Up and down I went over the years, even in the military. After bootcamp and flight school, it was pizza, beer, and taco hell. Along with expanded waistlines and horrible physical fitness levels.
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| 1999 - My first year of Kung Fu - 155 lbs |
I had tried any and all "diets" of the times - nothing seemed to work. At the age of 25, I cranked a 180 degree turn on my life and refocused my priorities. I went on a 'low fat diet' and lost 32 lbs whilst quitting smoking, drinking, and taking up mountain biking, as well as some of my military exercise routines. This took me from 180+ lbs down to 155 lbs, but had a negative side effect that I was unaware of till years later - low fat diets lead to depression.
I began Kung Fu a year later, and kept the weight off for a couple more years while training and competing. After a series of life altering events, I started to gain weight. I was in denial that this was happening, and not one person around me said something about how much weight I gained save for one - my Kung Fu teacher. The scale doesn't lie folks, and your friends and family are trying falsely to be to nice by not telling you. [Sometimes the nicest thing you can do for people is to tell them the truth.]
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| 2003 - 204 lbs. |
Things got way out of hand over a pretty short period of time. I maxed out at 204 lbs and knew I had to change things. I signed up at a new martial arts school in Boston so I could train in classes more frequently. Prior to this I had been commuting to Concord, NH from Beverly, MA 3x/week to continue training with my original teacher (I had moved to Massachusetts a year before). In addition to going to school full-time at night, and working full-time during the day, I was hitting the fast food stops like nobody's business.
I started attending lunch Kung Fu classes during the day, and going back for three back to back classes at night. I shed 30 lbs over the rest of the year, and then started to plateau again. Training alone by itself wasn't doing enough. Eventually I brought my weight back down to the high 160's as I went into competing at Nationals. Still a bit chubby for my height though.
I spent the next few years struggling with my weight between 165 and 175; never able to shed the remaining weight no matter how much exercise I was doing. This was morally devastating to me. I was well into running my own school, working out all the time, and still didn't look like a martial arts teacher should (in my opinion).
After All, I did not want to be what I despised before. It was always in the back of my mind - remembering going to competitions early on, sneering at the food being served to competitors - donuts, pizza, hot dogs, and candy bars. Scoffing at the judges that couldn't even close their gi's because their guts were so big. This was not what martial arts represented to me. I looked at martial arts as not only the constant struggle to perfect your fighting skills, but the manifestation of the control and discipline over mind,
body, and spirit. I was now representing the opposite of what I believed in.
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| 2011 - 145 lbs |
Since my early training, I had suspected that something was wrong. I talked to doctors and asked if I was Hypoglycemic. They always said no and never delved deep enough into it with the proper testing to find out. So I believed them. But this didn't change all the symptoms - massive mood swings when hungry (HULK SMASH!!!), foggy brain, inability to focus, the necessity of caffeine to regulate energy between meals (roller coaster ride from morning to night). A typical day was breakfast, crash, caffeine, crash, lunch, crash, caffeine, crash, dinner, crash.
In 2010 I had enough. I scheduled an appointment with a nutritionist with the objective of determining 1) if I was Hypoglycemic, and 2) how to shed the last 5-7 lbs I wanted to lose. At this point, I was down to 162 lbs through cutting my caloric intake so drastically low, that I was constantly stressed out, moody, and angry.
I came very close to cancelling my appointment due to finances and skepticism. Afterall, years of doctors, diets, and dieticians had done nothing to help. I stuck with it though and went to my meeting. The nutritionist I saw (
Eric Reardon in Groton, MA), looked at my blood work and symptoms and confirmed what I had suspected for years. He gave me recipes, meals, and a shopping list and released me on my way.
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| 2013 Gut Check - 41st Birthday - 149lbs |
I did everything I was supposed to, and the weight I could never lose before, shed off of me in 2 weeks. By the end of 30 days, I was down to 152 lbs. In addition, my moods regulated, my stress levels dropped; anxiety dropped, no more seasonal depression common to northern climates; and I enjoyed the food I was eating (consuming 4x more than I
had been eating). I never went back.
I feel better, look better, and perform way beyond what I could ever do in the past. At 41 years old I dwarf the me that graduated boot camp in the autumn of 1990. It's humorous to me to be in this position now, because I had a Sergeant Major when I was stationed at Ft. Bragg in 1992 that was in his late 50's ( Sgt. Major Rhea). He looked wicked old compared to us 19 and 20 year olds (sorry Sgt. Major, the compliment is coming). Anyway, he would spank us on the 2 mile, 5 mile, 10 mile runs. I would feel like a worthless scumbag for being a third his age and not even close to keeping up with him. He was a machine! Because of him, I could never make an excuse. Never. I always had to own it.
These days - Kung Fu, Tai Chi, Kickboxing, hiking, biking, hang-gliding, running, swimming, competing in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, etc., etc., are all changed drastically by what I eat. It can be done.
So in the end, I tell you this so you understand why I don't buy any excuses that people give me about weight loss. I am not some superior being that came from the womb with six pack abs. Ask my mother. I am a normal human being that has been through the trials and tribulations of modern day obesity problems. You want the fix? You need two things - 1) get educated about food, and 2) get off your ass and do it.
Your body is a machine. Treat it like one. You can't run your car without gas, oil, brake fluid. You can't run your body without protein, fat, carbs, fruits, vegetables.
My school is my life. It is the representation of what I do and believe. I designed it to offer everyone a holistic approach to their life and training.
- Martial Arts for Self-Defense, Fitness, and Personal Growth.
- Tai Chi, Qi Gong, Meditation for the mental and spiritual focus.
- Ultimate Kickboxing for the conditioning and drilling that martial artists and athletes need.
- Nutrition - the fundamental building block for everything else you do.
One of my greatest joys, is when someone comes in and commits themselves to all four of these aspects, and experiences the growth and benefits from changing their lifestyle. This is truly why I do what I do.
You can all achieve your goals, have the body you want (as long as it's YOUR body), and the energy to do the things you love and enjoy. Good luck.
Note: 9 months after reigning in my diet, my friend Sifu Jeff Hughes of Austin Fitness Martial Arts shared with me a fitness program that took things to another level. The same Cross-Pit program that my Kickboxing program is based on today. Old school martial arts conditioning with modern training techniques and methods. The right knowledge is a powerful tool! Thank you brother.
