Stages of Fatness

This post is dedicated to my stages of fatness over the past six years. I don’t hold anything back, it’s a very unhealthy me where I valued work over my health. I don’t wish anyone to go through what I went though, but I know millions of people around the world struggle with their weight.

Obesity is a growing problem and I think education on how to lose weight and maintaining a healthy lifestyle should be taught better in schools. I for one did not learn anything about a healthy diet in school and I for sure didn’t learn it from my parents on the fast food diet. Regardless here I am from 2004 – 2010.

Stages of Fatness 2004-2010

This first photo is dated June 2004; and it’s around the time I started my own business. I was probably around 250 lbs. at this point.

This next one was taken October 2005, a year later and it pretty much shows my peak weight gain of 336 lbs! This is when I was working 20 hours a day, and eating crap non-stop. I was pretty much miserable at this point.

This next one was taken June 2006 and at this point I started to work out with a trainer at Gold’s Gym. I didn’t lose very much weight; I only gained some muscle but that was it. I was around 300 pounds at this point.

This one is dated September 2008, and I was in Vegas at the time. Man did I go crazy on the fast food there. I gained 15 pounds in two months! I seriously ate pizza almost every other day. I’m not sure what happened to 2007. I was around 280 pounds here?

This is me AFTER my Vegas trip.. do I look different? It’s dated December 2008. The photo was taken the morning after a long drive from Vegas. I was tired to say the least. I was around 290 pounds here.

This next one is dated January 2009; and I was back in the gym at this point and ready to lose weight. I think this is when I realized (diet + exercise) equals weight loss. I was down to around 280ish here.

This one is dated July 2009 and at the time I was busy buying a house, and not really working out that much plus I was eating pretty bad. I was around 280ish here (I maintained my weight be counting calories).

This one was taken November 2009 from my iPhone (obviously), I was in the processing of moving out of my apartment and I think that was the last photo before I left. I was around 270ish here.

This one is dated December 2009 and it’s the exact day I started the Weight Loss Challenge, December 7th. I felt pretty good that day, I weighed 268 lbs.

This next one was taken on January 25th, 2010 and I weighed 243.5 pounds and felt great.

These two were taken February 08, 2010 and I’m 237 here. Diet and exercise for the win!

These next one was taken April 8th, 2010 and I’m 218 here!

Here is one from a wedding I went to in July, 2010.. I’m 184 here.

And here I am at my goal weight, 174lbs.. this was taken Nov 11th, 2010.

So it took me a year to reach my goal.

I went from 268 pounds to 170 pounds. I lost 98-pounds in a year.. all documented in this blog. My highest weight was 336-pounds in 2005.

To tell you the truth, once I understood how to lose weight, I already had the motivation, it was easy for me to suck it up and just do it

Once I figured out that diet was a huge part of losing weight, the pounds just started coming off. I worked out for an entire year with a personal trainer at Gold’s Gym in 2007-2008 and hardly lost any weight because I kept eating junk food all day long. Do you know how frustrating that was? I worked out five times a week (hard) and didn’t lose any weight. I never thought about watching my calorie intake in order to lose weight, it was in my head that the gym would do all the work. That wasn’t the case.

After doing some research online and learning how to count calories the weight started coming off. I wish I knew about calorie intake long before though; it would have probably saved me a ton of problems later in life. Physical education in school should not only teach you how to exercise, but how to eat right as well. Like I said, diet is a HUGE part of your weight.. so why not teach this?

Well if you’re having trouble losing weight, read the blog and come along with me through my struggles to success. At the bottom of this page checkout the archives from December 2009 until today. I document everything and show you what worked for me. I did this to keep me motivated. I figured if I started this blog, then I would be held accountable and had to reach whatever goals I put forward. So far so good!

Good luck to you!

Jay,