Moving Sucks Part III…..FINISHED FINALLY

Well I sit here now in the new apartment, everything moved in, cold beer in hand, right in front of the air conditioning. I can honestly say this beer might be the best tasting beer I have ever had, its cold, its refreshing, its light.

But as I sit here recovering from sweating my balls off I realize yet another benefit of Fattle, the next time I move it should not suck so much. Of course we move again in two months, to the apartment above us, so that is not so bad, but when the time comes for the four of us to disband I will be in better shape, and that will help…not to mention I just don’t own a ton of stuff, unlike some of my other roommates.

In my last post Chris tossed around some ideas, including weighing in on the diet soda. Diet Soda will probably be a once in a while thing, but I don’t need it every day. Chris suggests propel, which I have had before and enjoyed. Since I am going home this weekend I can subscribe to the Bank of Mom, lol, and get her to pay for some of this stuff.

I hope that does not make me sound too crummy, but I have learned to not question a good thing, and if Mom wants so stock me up on groceries, I will let her.

I also need to look into some good red wines, order some cigars, find the exact location of the nearest T, and take a hot shower…..which will not be possible here until Wednesday when they turn the gas on, but at least I in New York I will have some access to some hot water.

Having been away from the internet for the last few days has meant a lack of research into what I will be eating next week, I was hoping to have it planned out by now, but it is looking like I will be taking things one day at a time. I can’t even really say what I will be eating Saturday because I do not know what my Mom has in the house, but she knows about Fattle, and I will be counting calories at home. Clearly I will need to be able to eat spontaneously, so this weekend should be a crash course in eating healthy with little notice.

As for my walking plan. It starts Monday. I will walk around in New York for a little bit before I come back to Boston, and on Tuesday I will walk around the neighborhood. When I start my new job on Wednesday the walk to and from work will count as the exercise, and I will follow the program as it is laid out. I figure this is a great way to start conditioning my heart towards a more formal workout program.

One thing is clear, I need to get in shape. I was dragging during this whole moving process. Everyone was really, the heat was brutal, as was the humidity, but I can’t imagine how much easier it would have been if I was in better shape.

It is scary to think, but even at 25 I feel that if I did not start Fattle now I could be in some serious danger. It is scary to talk about, or even to think about, but ultimately I am doing this so I can live a longer, more active life. I am tired of being tired, and during this journey I know I will reclaim my life, and ultimately end up in the best shape I have ever been in.

Which leads me to something I shared with a dear friend the other day, it is important that we take control of our lives. No, we can not control everything, but we need to be active in our lives and pursue things, and not just expect them to happen to us. Be it in a job, a relationship, family, health, hobbies, or whatever, we do have the power to improve our lives, and we should take full advantage of it. Saturday is my first step towards reclaiming my body from the junk food, fat, calories, and other things that have added up over the years.

Moving Sucks Part 2

As Fattle approaches I am pleased to announce I am 90% moved into the new place, thanks to the help of a few friends who busted their asses last night we got most of the stuff in.  Another trip tonight and we will be all said and done

Of course, it was no fun getting in last night at about 1:00am, going to take a shower, only to realize I had not had the gas turned on yet, and taking a cold shower.  That was fun.

Apparently they can not turn the gas on until Monday, hopefully I can get one of my roommates to be there, I will still be in
New York until Monday night.

Some other Fattle notes, I am going to go ahead with my 10 week walking program, I will start it on Monday.  I have also been told to give up soda, even diet soda, so in the spirit of following good advice I will do my best to ditch soda.  I may have the occasional diet with my Bacardi, but I will try and limit my alcohol intake to red wine.

I will be doing some grocery shopping in NY, and I am looking forward to taking the time to read some labels and come up with some good food.  I made the mistake yesterday of having one last fling with Taco Bell, but because it was lousy food moving in was rough, I just didn’t have the right food to eat before hours of hard work, and my body paid for it.  Live and learn.

I have also decided what my last supper will be tomorrow night, Spaghetti.  My mom makes great spaghetti, and I can not wait to have some.  The guys here at work are also throwing me party for my last day, so my last day before Fattle will be spent having some not so healthy food.

I am sore today from moving, and kind of tired, but I look forward to Fattle and slimming down, having more energy, and just improving my overall quality of life.  Thanks for all the support so far guys.

Fattle Starts in less than 48 hours

Moving Sucks Part 1

Yeah, so moving sucks.  This past weekend I packed up shop in
Marblehead and went to live with Jason for a few days, before he and I, along with Stephanie and Samantha all move to
Brookline to our sweet new apartment.  I can’t wait, mainly because I want this moving crap to be over with.

I know, moving is exercise, and considering this website I should be all happy that I got some exercise, but let us remember, if I liked exercise I wouldn’t need to be going on a Fattle.  Not to mention most exercise doesn’t involve navigating a 29 inch TV down a spiral staircase and straining your back, or re-injuring that old elbow injury. 

Of course it wasn’t all bad, we didn’t have the internet or cable over the weekend, so really it was like camping, and I never camped in such a large house before, of course by the time I realized that I was bored with insanity the pain of moving had set in, so I just went to bed in the hopes of sleeping it off.

Of course that never works, and the next morning I woke up as stiff as a bored.  No, not that kind of stiff.  I rolled out of bed and did the Night of the Living Dead Zombie walk, which as only slightly improved today. 

Fortunately I get to do it all again in a few days as we start moving stuff to the new apartment, then I go home and start Fattle.  I am going to go ahead with the ten week walking program, and if along the way I am not getting the results I want I will find something else.  This is a start, and that is good enough.

Christ, even typing makes my elbow hurt.

At least all the food that was in my old place has been disposed of, so I can start with some good Fattle Food at the new place.  It is going to be a long week, but I look forward to the end of it, Fattle starts in less than a week.

Walk This Way

Man it is going to be a busy weekend, so if I do not write until Monday do not be alarmed, I simply have had my internet cut off at the old apartment, and not had it turned on at the new one. I don’t like it either, but the roomie who has the cable in his name is returning the modem tomorrow, so what can I do?

In other news I talked with Chris today and he recommended walking, so that is going to be the plan. Beginning July 1^st I will walk 20-40 minutes a day. I don’t know how much distance this will cover, but I figure it is a great way to start getting my body prepared for more formal exercise.

I will figure out how much I walk to and from work, and if I need to throw on a little more distance I will probably just get off one subway stop early, or maybe take the line that brings me to Trader Joe’s, that way I can do some grocery shopping and then walk home.

As much as I do not care for moving, I can’t wait to get the whole thing done and over with. After work tonight I picked up the garbage and crap in my room, put most of my clothes into boxes, all that is left is packing a few more clothes, stripping the bed, and putting a few other items into a box. I feel like leaving here is in many ways leaving my old lifestyle behind. And that is a good thing.

I enjoyed the last several months here on the ocean, my roommates were older but we all got along, but because not much goes on in Marblehead during the night time I would often stay in and be less active, which is what I am trying to change.

Beginning Saturday or Sunday I will be staying with my friend Jason, then he and I, along with our friends Samantha and Stephanie will begin living together in Brookline. Not only is this place great, but it will be a lot of fun. As we speak I am hunting for beer pong tables, although with my diet it is far more likely to be a red wine table for me, although I can see bacardi and diet cola sneaking its way in their, everything else is just too many calories.

Everyone seems to like the idea of a two year time frame as well, but as I have been saying, this 18-24 month journey is meant to last a lifetime, but taken one day at a time. I really am not nervous, this website has become like my own little support group. Rather than be bored and eat I can just come here and write, share what I have been reading, and really just open up. Sure, my friends listen to me when I feel like talking on and on and on, but there is something almost therapeutic about sitting down and typing all of this out, almost like having a conversation with yourself.

No, I’m not crazy 🙂

But back to walking. I really want to get a feel for my neighborhood when I move to Brookline, and I feel some good old fashioned foot patrolling will allow me to do that. Here in Marblehead I never really walked around town, I would go to the beach, but never in town, and as I get ready to leave I feel that in many ways I never really got to know this area all that well.

As for Brookline, and Boston in general, there are some great parks that I plan on exploring, from the Fenway to the Commons I am sure I can find beautiful scenes, and with some luck, maybe a nice spot to take a girl to for a nice look at the Boston skyline.

I came across a great walking program called Take30, developed by our friends across the pond in England by a group called The Ramblers. They have a ten week walking program that I am contemplating, but I feel it is a good enough resource to list on the blogroll. If I did do this program I would see it out from start to finish, which means the Gym would be on hold until Mid September. I will think about that.

Working on Working Out

As I move forward with Fattle, and I start to piece together my diet, a reality has hit me in terms of working out. This reality is that I probably will not be adopting a formal workout plan until August 1^st. I have a few reasons.

First and foremost is money. A gym membership is not cheap, and considering the amount of money I have laid down this past month getting ready to move, I am a tad short on funds. The other reason is that I do not want to over do it. A diet change will take an adjustment, throwing in a formal workout would be a lot at once.

However, I do plan on working out several days a week, but instead of specific exercises or reps I will simply walk or go to a gym to try out some different exercises, get a feel for what I like.

Right now my workout preference is the exercise bike. I like the cardio, and I think it is a good place to start in the gym. I will also be looking to do some fat burning weight lifting, which I am sure I can get information on from Chris and Eric.

Of course if I can start a solid work out regime before August 1 I will, but I want to do this right, and easing into a workout program means I am more likely to stick with it in the long run…plus I will be walking more since I am getting rid of my truck.

I can’t wait to move. I went to the new apartment today with the real estate agent and it got me fired up. Of course I hate moving though. This weekend I am moving in with some friends for the last week of June, and then we will start moving to the new place. With some luck we can move in a little early, because I would love to be in NY on July 1, at home, starting a diet without having to worry about moving a bunch of stuff. So far things have been falling into place, hopefully my luck continues.

Thanks by the way to everyone who has been reading and commenting, it is nice to know I have this kind of support from friends and strangers.

To Be, or Not to Be…….A Vegetarian

Among the things that have crossed my mind since I decided to go on a Fattle is being a vegetarian. I know a few people that became vegetarians for health reasons, and for the most part their health improved. Of course, these people were older and were facing a grave situation, and fortunately I am not there yet.

I think I could do the vegetarian thing. These days veggie patties are tasty, and with the internet handy it is not hard to find good recipes that leave meat out. Ever have an eggplant burger? I have, and if done right it can be pretty damn tasty. Ever had vegetarian lasagna? I have, and again, quite good.

The problem is that before when I tried these things they were just one time deals, something I wanted to try, not part of a larger commitment. With Fattle being about a lifestyle change, rather than a quick diet, I have to consider the long run.

Ultimately I think being a vegetarian could get boring after a while, and even though the health benefits are there I think I will still incorporate chicken and fish into the diet, although red meat has likely seen its last day with me, with the exception of rare occasions.

Ideally I want a diet that can allow me to have vegetarian days, perhaps even working the vegetarian thing into an every other day occurrence for me, although at first I think I will probably just do one or two vegetarian days a week. So, as I begin to develop my first week of food I will make it a point to have two vegetarian days.

One of the things my vegetarian friends do that I will do is drink Soy Milk. Have you ever had it? I was skeptical too, and although it may not be the greatest thing to have on its own, I find it is great in cereal. So, cow milk is out for Fattle, organic Soy Milk is in.

What other soy things can work into my diet to replace the dairy that I love? I enjoy butter, cheese, yogurt, ice cream. Well, butter is going to be Smart Balance, and ice cream is going to either be Soy or Tofu based. I hear good things about Tofrutti and I look forward to giving that a try. But what about cheese? Granted I don’t plan on eating much bread anymore, but who doesn’t love cheese? I can’t make a veggie burger, pizza, or anything else without cheese. Turns out they have Soy Cheese, or other non dairy cheeses based on non dairy items, same goes for yogurt. So, that is good news.

One thing to expect from is reviews of products after I give them a try, so if you are a little squeemish about trying something you can at least have an idea on how I felt after I tried a product.

Breakfast is still the meal I am having the hardest time finding food for. Sure I could have some cereal and Soy Milk, which I will, but I would like to find something a tad more creative.

Now that my last big food weekend is behind me I am feeling more and more ready for Fattle. Soon I will get my weight, take some pictures, and be on my way. I do thank everyone who has offered support and advice so far, as well as those who are visiting the website. I hope, if nothing else, this will be an interesting read for you all.

11 days and counting.

I Hate the Heat

I know we all sweat, but is there anything worse than being a fat person on these hot and humid days? You know, days that are so hot and sticky that you wake up covered in sweat wondering if you perspired or pissed yourself.

Even now I am back in Boston in my bedroom (last week thank God) and I am hot as hell. I know what you are thinking, go get a fan, well I have one, in NY, and it will be in my new apartment, but for now I am sweating to the oldies, minus the oldies part.

Days like today are so bad that once I start walking to work I will probably need to bring a change of clothes with me, one pair to sweat my ass off in on the way to work, the other to change into when I get to work so I don’t smell like a gym sock all damn day.

This kind of heat breeds dehydration, which means for the first time in a long time I could probably qualify for a being able to drink a sports drink. This gave me an idea, why doesn’t Gatorade do a commercial that focuses on fat people. Sure, we know athletes sweat and need their Gatorade, but show some fat people sweating their asses off on the way to work, standing in line, or even eating a meal. Show these fat people being tired, then show some fat folks doing the same thing, only this time drinking Gatorade. Show them more awake, alive, active, whatever, just show them with Gatorade. Show the fat people drinking Gatorade to be ten degrees cooler than the poor fat guys without the Gatorade, this way fat people watching at home in their humid Apartments debating whether or not to go to work if it means sweating their balls off will think, hey, maybe I won’t look like I just got out of Typhoon Lagoon when I get to work if I drink a Gatorade on the way to work. This is brilliant, and you know it.

I know, I poke fun at being fat, because I have a good sense of humor, and because I know the struggles of being fat. I know what its like to decide between wearing your pants too low, so your ass crack is hanging out just so you can wear smaller pants or wearing pants around the belly button and looking like some sort of weebil wabel. I know what it is like to have kids point and laugh, to have coworkers make the same joke about beating you to the buffet table so there will be something for them to eat. I know what it is like to have people offer you more food simply because they think us fat people will want to eat way more than anyone else, or when someone farts they just assume it was the fat guy. I feel your pain, but you know what, laugh at these jokes, because ultimately, the majority of us can do something about our weight.

Honestly, I don’t even want to be skinny, being fat is a big part of my life, I just want to reach a weight so I can see my toes and live long enough to enjoy my grandchildren, assuming I get married and have kids.

I know, some of your skeptics are saying that even if I lose weight there is no guarantee I will live to get old. You are right, but I know that when I lose the weight I will be able to do more living, be it hiking ,biking, skydiving, bungy jumping, or just being able to walk to work without sweating my ass off on a hot day.

My Big Fat Extended Family

I had a great weekend, and I was looking forward to it for months, so the fact that it lived up to the hype is all the better for me. For a family that has had its ups and downs, a weekend like this always makes me grateful that we survived the harder times.

This was my last blowout weekend with food. Saturday was the family reunion, tonight was Chinese Buffet, and while I am sure that I exceeded my 1500 calorie goal for when I start my diet, I certainly did not eat like I used to. Two hot dogs, some dip, some salads, and a lot of beer for Saturday, while today I had a lot of General Tzo and Sweet and Sour Chicken. I will miss Chinese when I start my diet.

Speaking of the diet, I have begun to narrow down my drinking options. Beer is out, as much as I enjoy it, it has to go, what a waste of calories, and all those carbs….but I am thinking that for nights when I want to have beer, I can make a shandy. A shandy is an English drink, half beer, half Ginger Ale, and it is all good. SO, if I use diet ginger Ale, I can cut the carbs and half. SO that is an option. There is always red wine, and mixing liquor with diet soda. Ideally I should give up drinking for this diet, and while I do not drink all too often, I don’t really want to give it up, so for now I will be working on ways to improvise.

Meanwhile I find it a bit ironic that Nestle is going to buy Jenny Craig. Maybe this is the next wave of the diet wars, all the junk food buys out all the diet plans and shuts them down.

Fortunately Fattle is not for sale, and while I would welcome any type of sponsor or donation, ultimately I am going to do this how I want to do this, and that I believe is the key to any diet. You have to want to do it, it does not matter what you read in a book, or on the back of some meal you stick in the microwave. Your diet starts and ends with you.

This week should be fun, I will start to formulate the first few days of the diet, and work on developing an exercise plan with my friend Chris and my brother Eric. In the meantime, I have a long drive back to Boston tomorrow, so off to bed.

Top Ten Fat Guys

I will admit, a part of me has always enjoyed being a big guy. Much like my body size, my personality is larger than life. I often talk with my friends about the all time top fat guys, and I thought I would share my top ten with you. The only requirement, they be over 300 lbs at one point. Some of these people are real, some are not, but all belong in the fat guy pantheon.

10. Orson Wells. Arguably the greatest fat man in movie history, with apologies to Marlon Brando who only ballooned later in life, Wells was at least large through most of his career, getting even larger towards the end. Wells’ Citizen Kane is considered by many to be the best movie of all time, and anyone who ever saw The Critic’s spoof of Orson Wells doing a Fish Stick Commercial remembers it as one of the greatest moment in animation history.

9. Chris Farley. The ultimate fat guy from Saturday Night live whose lifestyle extinguished his talent way too soon. Everyone has a favorite Chris Farley skit, be it Matt Foley the motivational Speaker, or the classic Chippendales strip off with Patrick Swayze, Farley’s brand of physical humor laid some ground work for future fat guys to follow, both on television and in real life.

8. President Taft. Not much of a President, but one hell of a Chief Justice. Taft scores extra points for being the heaviest President ever, and the only one to ever get stuck in the White House bath tub.

7. Williams Jennings Bryant. He edges out Taft even though he never won the White house for two simple reasons. 1. Cross of Silver, a radical idea, which for politicians is rare, and the fact that because of his weight he would use Gin as a cologne to stay cool. Unfortunately people close enough to smell assumed Bryant was an alcoholic, but a man has to stay cool, especially when Air Conditioning isn’t quite around.

6. John Goodman. As a rule all fat guys love John Goodman, not only because he is a great actor who has shown fat guys can have a long career in Hollywood, but because his most famous role as Roseanne’s husband embodied the reality that most fat guys marry a fat chick. Goodman is unique in the sitcom world for this, as most shows show the fat husband with the hot wife (I’m looking at you Jim Belushi).

5. Homer Simpson. No guy puts fat and moron together than the animated Simpson, whose staying power is so strong that what started as a character based on many Americans has now translated to many Americans acting like the character. Homer’s crappy job and love of doughnuts is something most of us can relate to, and unlike most fat guys, we don’t ever have to worry about losing Homer to a sudden Heart Attack.

4. Meatloaf. The all time fat guy singer. Most guys wont admit to liking Meatloaf, but make no mistake, all fat guys love the meat. Sure he sings over the tops songs, but his tales of overeating and partying hard are legendary. Meatloaf even scores extra points for showing us all that its ok to shed weight as we get older, after all Meatlean is better than Deadloaf.

3. Santa Claus. Not all fat people are jolly, but Old St Nick is the most popular fat guy in the history of the world. I had the chance to play Santa Claus one winter and it was an incredible time. All fat guys should take a turn as Santa, because a skinny Father Christmas just isn’t right.

2. John Candy. The best fat guy comedic actor of our time whose large frame was matched by his large heart. Candy was classic in so many roles that it is pointless to make a list, but I will say my personal Candy favorite is Planes Trains and Automobiles. Another big man who lost the ultimate battle with his weight, but even though he has been gone for a long time his movies continue to make us laugh.

1. Peter Griffin. For me Peter Griffin is the ultimate fat guy. Idiot, hilarious, from New England, crazy family, loves beer, the list goes on and on and on. Some people will say he is nothing more than a crappy Homer Simpson, but fortunately they did not get to write this list. Peter Griffin is not only an icon, he is my buddy icon on AIM. All hail King Peter.

Honorable Mention:  Old Elvis, Drew Carey, My Great Uncle Wally Bean, William Perry, and Butterbean.

Things Are Falling Into Place

Well I am pleased to say that Fattle is off to an even better start than I planned, especially when you consider I have not even started the diet and exercise plan. My friend Chris has come on board to help with some site stuff, and he will also be working with me to design my exercise plan. I have also been able to give up French Fries, opting for rice as my side of choice until I start my diet. But there is even bigger news.

I received a phone call today from Irrational Games, the folks working on Bioshock, and they offered me a job. This was key, because I will be able to get rid of my truck and use mass transportation. More importantly, I will now have to walk everywhere I go, and that is going to help burn a lot of extra calories. It is nice knowing that things are falling into place.

I also registered Fattle with Technorati and Blogexplosion, not because I necessarily want the extra attention, but I do want this site to be available for those looking to find a website like mine. I know there are others out there like me, people who have been fat their whole lives, and they are finally ready to do something about it. These people need to begin their own Fattle, and if coming across this website will help them get into the groove, or just even get them thinking about changing their life, then great.

I still have a lot of preparation to do. I want to come up with the first week’s worth of food ahead of time, so while my body is adjusting I will not be looking up food wanting to break my diet. So over the next few days I will be working on that, but don’t worry, I still plan on writing daily.

Here is an embarrassing fat story for you though, inspired by a Myspace friend invite I got from my ex-girlfriend Kadie. She and I dated last summer, we had met in French Class, and I had her up to the house for dinner one night. After I server her dinner I sat down across the table and smashed through the wooden chair. It was funny, but man, it was embarrassing. I crushed the thing, and my brother came out and tried to help me out, saying the chair was old, but I think we had only had the chair a few years. To make matters worse, a week later I was hanging out with Kadie on my back deck by the pool, lounging on one of those plastic chairs, and I broke that one too. Man, two chairs in one week, all with a girl I had just started dating…what a mess.

I have always had a good sense of humor, and even now I can look back and laugh, but if there was ever a sign that I was too heavy that had to be it. Kadie and I broke up just before I came back to Boston for school, in case you were wondering how that ended, but I wish her and all the other ex’s the best. For a big guy I have always done well with the ladies, but I took a break from dating my senior hear and I think I will continue that for my Fattle, at least to start. Then again, you never know.