Featured blog:
About David Antocci
OK, so you may have guessed I'm not a MassMom; I fall into the category of "and Dads too!" I'm a native of Central Mass., married to a beautiful woman from the South Shore, and the happy dad of two wonderful little boys.  By day, I'm Mr. Mom, taking care of the boys, by night I am an author, juggling a part time office job, and running a wedding photography business. For more information about my writing, visit my website www.Antocci.com.  I enjoy sharing my experiences here, and having discussions about all that encompasses raising the little ones - from a dad's perspective!
Losing some weight in the new year?

I'm no expert. I'm just a guy that once weighed 300 pounds and would get winded walking up a flight of stairs, and today I weigh 219 and I'm running my 3rd half marathon this weekend. I've probably told my story before, but I'm going to tell it again with the hopes of giving a few folks a push to do it for themselves.

There is no magic pill. There is no miracle workout. You cannot eat whatever you want, whenever you want to. You will be hungry. If you're serious about your health and losing weight, the sooner you accept that, the sooner you'll be ready to truly make some progress.

Why talk about this now? I was at the gym this morning, which being January is significantly busier than usual. I got to thinking about is how there are lots of dads (and moms) out there that want to lose weight to be a better example and be in better health for the sake of their kids. They put in a good couple weeks at the gym, then I don't see them again until next year.

I've heard so many excuses, "I don't have the money to join a gym". My first pair of walking shoes cost $17 at Wal-Mart, and the pavement is free. "Losing weight is easy for you, you're a guy". I've literally worked my butt off for over three years, if that's you're definition of easy then you have a wildly distorted perspective. Excuses do nothing but justify your inaction to yourself, so stop trying.

There are so many reasons to want to lose weight. Health being number one. I could write forever on the health risks that come with being overweight/obese. As a parent, your health doesn't just effect you, it effects your entire family. If effects your partner and the quality of your lives together, it effects your kids, it dictates the type of life you are allowed to have.

Again, anyone who had read me regularly these past few years probably remembers that I was once very overweight. The government charts said I was obese. The casual observer would say I was a fat guy. I lived a life where my 80 year old grandfather could out-pace me on a one mile walk, and I figured that sometime within the next ten years I'd sit down at a restaurant for a bacon cheeseburger and leave in an ambulance.

I was a cupcake shy of 300 pounds at my worst before I got married. My wife and I joined Weight Watchers and over the course of a year and a half I got down to 245 for the wedding day. I swung back in the other direction and was 285 around the time my wife got pregnant with our first son. That was about four years ago almost to the day.

It was then that I decided to get serious. I'm not going to be the fat dad. I'm not going to be a bad example for my son, and I'm not going to be a burden on him and my family as the years go on because I couldn't control my weight.

I just got home from the gym today, and weighed in at 219. I've mostly lived between 210-220 for the past couple of years, with a few ups and downs on either side of that. I'm still a big guy, I'm no great physical specimen, but I've come a long way. After spending many years before that trying all sorts of things, I finally discovered the secret to losing weight and keeping it off.

The secret is, that it's no secret at all. Put down the fork, put in your earbuds, and hit the pavement. That's over simplification, so I'll expand.

One of the most important things was that I got rid of the notion of "going on a diet". Six years of going on diets, losing 20-30 pounds over a few months, then putting it back on proved to me that going on a diet is worthless. I decided I'm not going on a diet anymore, I'm going to change my diet and my choices.

What I found was the most valuable thing in helping me do that was to educate myself on how the body works, and what are the best foods to eat. At least then I will know when I'm making good choices and bad choices. I'm ashamed to admit that I read a Dr. Oz book, but his book YOU on a Diet was indispensable. When it came to learning what to eat, when to eat, and how to eat, this book answered my questions in an easy to read format and language. It made it easy to make good decisions.

Remember, what you put into your body is your decision. So although I make good decisions 90% of the time, I do also make decisions to order out chinese food or have a pizza a couple times a month. Poor eating choices are OK, just don't make those your choices the majority of the time. You've heard it before.

My typical day starts with eggs and fruit of some kind in the morning. This morning while I'm writing, it was two hard boiled eggs and a banana. The other day with my kids it was some scrambled eggs and an apple. At least once a month it's a sausage and pepper omelette with bacon, home-fries, and a side of pancakes. Again, it's always a choice.

Lunch more often than not is some type of sandwich, or if I have the time some soup, salad, or some grilled up chicken with some veggies. Dinner is heavy on the protein and veggies, and light on the carbs. When I go to my grandmother's house, it's a heaping plate of lasagna or whatever other high calorie delicious offering she has on hand... and then there's pie. Again, it's always a choice.

Between meals I usually stick with fruit. Anjou pears are my favorite, and watermelon or pineapple are close in the running but take more time and effort. I also never eat anything, be it a meal or a snack, without having a tall glass of water or three.

I'm no dietician, I just try to eat healthy, balanced, mostly unprocessed meals. I drink mostly water, tea and coffee. Yes, I'll down steaks and beer with the best of them. I'm a man. Any of my friends will tell you that I won't allow anyone to out eat or out drink me if it's "game on" and that I'll mock them for not ordering the largest steak on the menu. But it's not "on" all the time. Those same friends will tell you that they've mocked me for ordering ice tea and salad bar after a day on the golf course.

The other part is to get up and move. When I started, I literally couldn't walk up a flight of stairs without getting winded. I had to stick to walking and biking for nearly a year before I lost enough weight and had good enough cardio and lung function that I could jog for even a few minutes without having to sit down.

When I started jogging I followed a very basic program of jogging for one minute, walking for four, and repeating for three miles. The next week jogged two minutes, walked for three, etc. Once I was jogging five minutes at a time I'd take two minute walking breaks. When I felt I could push myself a little more I would, if I needed to take it easy I would. I've been at it ever since.

It's amazing to my that the first time I tried to jog, I got about 1/8th of a mile before I had to sit down on the curb and try not to throw up, and this weekend I'll be running 13 miles in stride.

The other big thing with exercise is that I do it first thing in the morning. It's not easy getting off work so late, crawling into bed at 11 (at best) and then getting up at 5. However it gives me tons of energy through the day, and vastly improves my mood. It also gets my metabolism running, and curbs my appetite. If you can do it first thing in the morning, I can't recommend it enough.

If you really want to lose weight and get healthy, educate yourself, chat with your doctor, make good eating decisions and stay active. If I can do it, anyone can.

Reader comments

Excellent post, and I can say from experience that it works! My experience
pretty much paralleled yours over the last couple of years- I could have written
this with just a few detail changes, and I've never felt better. The early
morning workouts, meals heavy on the fruits, veggies, and lean proteins, making
the right decisions 90% of the time, and being accountable for your choices...
it all works! I'm a 5'5 female, and went from 182 lbs to 127 in the last two
years, which feels great, but its the extra energy, the positive boost I get
from feeling good that really makes it all worth it to me. I don't know if
you've seen the same, but my immune system is in overdrive too... I used to get
sick all the time and now it's maybe one cold a year. Congrats on the lifestyle
change, it truly is amazing what our bodies are capable of! - BeckH
Great blog post! - Jen Niles MassMoms moderator
This was a great post :-)

- Melissa musingsofawritermomblogspotcom
Previous posts
All bloggers


MassMoms.com is looking for bloggers!
