A New Me

It was a beautiful day in September, 2010. My parents had come from Utah to visit for our Son Oliver's baptism. We went to the St Louis Zoo for the day to enjoy some more time together before they had to head back to Utah. We seemed to have to stop frequently to rest for me and my Dad. Trust me, I love my father and he was a big inspiration for what changed that day. On the drive home I reflected on how how much he had struggled to make it through the zoo that day. I noticed that I struggled too. When we came home I looked at the pictures of my father at the different stages of me growing up and thought about his weight gain progression, and realized that I was on the same path as him as my weight gain mirrored his weight gain in his 20's and 30's.
At the same time, my father in law was also here, but he was different. He was a lot like me. He loved food. It was what we both enjoyed. But he was different and he wanted to share something with me. He had just lost 40 pounds on a life changing diet, he had complete control over his appetite, and he looked great. When we went out to eat, he was eating healthy. Roy was eating the HEALTHY choices over our loved fried morsels. My father and I both took notice of this and things were about to change for both of us. Who was this Roy and how could I be like this.
So here I am. One year later and 85 pounds lighter. I never thought I would be here. I have tried so many diets. Atkins, starvation, something with Scooby snacks called Isagenix, and the awesome cabbage soup diet. Every time I would do any of these, I would cave in and give up and put on more pounds than I lost. It was frustrating. I was constantly tired, hated the idea of working out, hated the idea that I couldn't change because I came from a large family that always battled obesity. I was pathetic and lazy and was pretty much hopeless. But that day in 2010 changed me.
I have been debating a blog about this. I should have done this as I went through this so it would have been more real. I wondered if anybody really care about my experience? Could I entertain as well as share my experiences that would hopefully motivate others to change? Could I articulate with my simple vocabulary and words what I really want to say. (Although my vocabulary is simple, Jodie has yet to beat me in Scrabble!) Ok, I wrote for the school newspaper in college, but now I am a supervisor in a factory, so obviously I was not made to make headlines. But as my friend Connie said the other night, please share for those of us who are still on the journey.
So blog I will. I hope my gibberish can inspire, I hope my simplicity doesn't annoy you, and I hope you realize that I will write how my thoughts process and how I think. So things may get weird because I laughed really hard while watching Brendan Frazier in "George of the Jungle," and I liked John Luggizamo in the movie "The Pest." I love my sense of humor and those that really know me will understand where some of it is coming from!
A couple of things to remember, I am just a normal guy who still loves food, but over the last year has changed how I see life and food. I exercise now. I try to be smart about what I eat. I found two diets that helped me get there and will talk about both. Spoiler alert, do your homework now and look up HCG Diet and Weight Watchers. I have no medical experience (In fact, the reason I studied communications was because I didn't want to take too many science classes in school even though I always wanted to be a Neuro Surgeon.) I just want to share what I have learned, and I want you all to know that if I can do it, anybody CAN do it! I hope to post once or twice a week until I run out of things to say, unless Jodie's honey do's take too much time. But please let me know what you think. Ask me what you are dealing with and maybe I can share something similar. We are all in this journey together, and a strong support group can get anyone though this! Blog-amos, pues!

Scott, the Normal Dude