My name is Dan and I’m extremely overweight. In short, I’m fat. This has been a fact throughout most of my adult life, but it’s recently reached a new level of awful. I recently weighed myself and was over 400 pounds for the first time in my life. Actually, 403.2. Ouch.
The Struggle
It’s been a thing I’ve struggled with throughout my adult life – with varying levels of success. So far, I have been lucky and haven’t experienced any serious health problems due to my weight, but let’s get real for a second. I turn 35 in a few days. The men in my family (on both sides) mostly don’t live past their mid-50s. My own father died at the age of 57, after spending several miserable years in a nursing home. This is not the outcome I want.
I have a family history of diabetes, congestive heart failure, and stroke. All conditions linked to being overweight. And I weigh as much or more than all of them did. This is bad. Very very bad. Previously, my highest weight was right around 360, a weight which I’ve been most of my adult life. Still bad, but what happened?
The Straw That Broke My Back
Nearly three years ago, my wife gave birth to our twins, Jasper and Violet. Having children dramatically changed my life – and a lack of sleep led to eating extra to try and get enough energy to function. Ultimately, the twins have started sleeping longer (frequently through the night), and despite that, and me getting a lot more sleep than I was, I’m constantly feeling worn down and with little energy to do the things I need to do, let alone the other things I want to do.
I hadn’t realized how bad it had gotten until I recently weighed myself, realized I was over 400 pounds, realized I was tired all the time and just generally don’t feel good. I had my annual health screening at work a few months ago – my blood sugar, blood pressure, cholesterol and all that are fine. Obviously that pattern won’t hold forever. I need to do something now while I still can.
Why a Blog?
I’ve tried various things over the years to lose weight – some worked, and some didn’t. The reality is, the only thing that really worked was watching what I ate VERY closely and weighing myself daily. So that’s my plan. This blog is my accountability to myself and to everyone else. More on what worked and what didn’t in future posts.
Struggling Yourself?
I welcome your comments and emails. I encourage you to go on this journey with me. It’s not helpless, you CAN do something about it, it just takes a great deal of commitment. I also strongly recommend you do this with the help of your physician, especially if you already have chronic health conditions due to your weight. Please feel free to email me at dan@fatguychronicles.com – I read and respond to all emails.