A New Beginning

For most of my life, I have been in great shape.  I’m 6’ 4” tall and have been that height since I was in high school roughly 17 years ago.  In high school, I was always called “String Bean” or “Jolly Green Giant” because of my height and because of how skinny I was.  I consistently weighed around 180 pounds throughout high school.  It didn’t matter how much I ate (and I would eat a lot), my fast metabolism and my constant willingness to exercise meant that I didn’t gain any weight.  

Junior year of high school

As I got a little bit older, I decided to bulk up and I gained around 33 pounds (mostly muscle) in which I then weighed around 220 pounds.  I looked good but more importantly I felt good about my body.  There were no more jokes being made about me being a “String Bean.”

In late 1999, I made a commitment to go live in Haiti for two years to do missionary work.  At the end of 2001, when I came back home to Oregon, I weighed less than I did when I was in high school.  I weighed 165.  Most of what contributed to my weight loss was constant illness, a lack of constant nutritional food(s) to eat, and my only means of transportation was either by foot or by bike. 

In Haiti.  That's me on the left

2003 Engagement photo

July 2008

With the birth of my first son (in 2008) I put on a lot of weight.  I weighed in just over 300 pounds (304 to be exact).  Part of the problem was the weight I put on was ‘sympathy weight.’  My pregnant wife would have all sorts of crazy cravings and that lead to me wanting to eat the same foods (and at the same frequency) that my wife was eating.  When our son was born, I didn't have the time (or the energy) to exercise and I didn't have the time or the energy to cook meals, so a lot of the food that I was eating was coming from fast food restaurants and other unhealthy sources.

February 2011

By the time my second son was born in 2011, my weight wasn't in the 300's but it was still somewhat close at 285 pounds.  I was able to lose some of the weight by scheduling time to exercise.  Most of my exercise came from going on walks, going on bicycle rides, and by playing basketball.  

Fast forward now to 2012.  I have two children (with a third child on the way).  I don’t exercise as often as I should.  I don't play basketball as much as I used to.  I don't go on bicycle rides as often as I used to.  And I still eat whatever I want to eat (despite my metabolism slowing to a crawl).  I feel right now, with my current lifestyle, I have hit a wall.  My weight has been stuck at 273 pounds for the longest time.

Why do I want to lose weight?  Because I love my family, I love my kids a lot, and I want to ensure that I am healthy so that I can prolong my life so that I can be around everyone I care about for as long as possible.

The question is...what can I do to lose weight?

The answer?  Weight Watchers for Men...sort of.  The idea came to me one evening as I was watching sports.  During one of the TV timeouts, I saw this commercial: 

I wasn't very familiar with all of the specialized diets that are available.  I did know that some diets required spending a lot of money in order to purchase specialized foods and products.  I still want to be able to eat the foods that I love, but I want to know how to eat 'smarter.'  


So today, I have decided to start following the Weight Watchers plan.  Actually, it is more of my own modified Weight Watchers plan.  I learned through my own research that Weight Watchers requires membership fees.  Paying the fees allows me to go to weekly support meetings and it also gives me access to specific plan information.  Being a poor college student with a family support means I don't have the disposable income to pay membership fees to Weight Watchers.  So, I figure that with technology the way that it is, I can use the Internet to gather up all of the necessary information and I can also use the Internet as my own virtual support system as I try to lose more weight. 

I'll be updating this blog on a weekly basis (usually every Monday when I will be weighing in).  I will be using this blog to share my successes and struggles and I will be using this blog to share valuable information that I found regarding Weight Watchers and weight loss.

At the top of this blog, you will find different categories where I will be providing information and a wealth of information should you choose to follow in my footsteps.  There is a section to track my weekly journey, another section sharing the different foods that I have been eating and enjoying, if you don't want to read my updates I will be doing a short weekly podcast, and I also have a section where you can see all of the resources and different websites that I have visited to gain more knowledge.