Growing up, I was always a big kid. Through elementary and middle school I was always the strongest, fastest, and among the biggest students. I was a wrestler, ran track, and gave up cross country to play football. I also loved to ride my road bike, training and completing a few endurance events. In high school, academics and philanthropy moved to the front burner, limiting my athletics. I still managed to run track for a few years and was also a cheerleader lifter. I also started playing church league softball, where I was a lead off hitter and center fielder. Weight was not an issue for me, I could eat anything I wanted and still stayed relatively slim and strong. I began weigh training seriously and continued the training into college.
While in college I started working while taking classes. I would often work 40 plus hours a week on top of being a full time student. My athletic involvement began to take a lesser role in my life. I began to gain weight gradually, but did not see it as a problem. Near my senior year of college, I put on a tremendous amount of weight rather quickly, my mood also changed as my energy level plummeted. After graduating, I took a job with an industrial supplier and began working about 60 hour a week. I still played softball, relegated to catcher and extra hitter because I was too slow to play the field. I replaced running and biking with bowling and darts, shifting to a more sedentary lifestyle when I was not working. I had no energy, often collapsing on the couch at night after dinner. I never knew how much I weighed because I was too heavy for my bathroom scale. I can only speculate that my weight was somewhere around 375.
After finding the love of my life, I knew my lifestyle could not continue or my time with her would be cut short due to heart attack or other ailments. After we got married I took a thyroid test and confirmed suspicions that my thyroid was not functioning up to the level of normal people. I began taking some medication that helped my energy level and mood immediately. My wife started a new job within her company at their corporate center that included an exercise room. She started working out on her lunch hour. After a few months I felt that I could begin to exercise again, and motivated by her dedication, I found a used Wal-Mart quality mountain bike on craigslist for $30.00 in late August. By this time, my softball teams had relegated me to mostly just being a designated hitter. I was often replaced on the base paths with a “courtesy runner.” This was the ultimate humiliation for me. I eased back into riding again, going just a few miles at a time. I did decide right away that I would work out three times a week, no matter what. To borrow an old slogan from Nike “Just Do It” I had to skip a few rides due to saddle sores; a 350+ pound man was not made to balance on a tiny seat. I did some research, bought a new saddle and some padded bike shorts to wear under my regular clothes. This made all of the difference in the world. I was off and riding three times a week. My wife joined me as often as our schedules allowed. We loved spending time together, exploring Northwest Indiana, and enjoying our time together being active instead of sitting in front of the television.
The rails to trails paths have been my lifesaver. We have ridden on the trails in Portage, Chesterton, Hobart, Gary, Griffith, and Crown Point, but the majority of my training has been done in Portage. The Portage Park Department as well as the Street Department keeps the trails clean and well maintained. This winter I have found that Portage plows the trails often, keeping them free of snow and most of the ice. The neighboring communities do not do this. We find most of the people we encounter to be friendly and encouraging. More than a few times some of the “regulars” have shouted encouragement to me as I rode by. The scenery is beautiful and I enjoyed watching the seasons change. The trail system is a wonderful resource that many do not take advantage of, I am so glad to live a few blocks from a trail head.
So today, 17 weeks later I am 46 pounds lighter; wearing clothes I have not been able to fit into in some time. I have missed a few workouts as life has gotten in the way, but I made it my goal to keep going three times a week. My Wal-Mart quality craigslist bike could not take the stress of my weight and the mileage I was doing, so it has been retired, but another craigslist mountain bike has taken its place. It is a few years old, but the higher quality components will stand up to abuse much longer. Sometimes I am in my basement on a trainer or exercise bike, but more times than not, I bundle up and hit the road. I ride in snow, on ice, sometimes even at night, but I never ride on ice at night. I have recently started to use my bowflex type machine for exercising again, and not simply as a clothes rack. Even though I am now 46 pounds lighter I am eating better, but still not “dieting’ but feel great. I have a long way to go but enjoy what I am doing and know it is leading to a much healthier lifestyle. I am not quite ready to handle the off road trails at Imagination Glen, but that is a goal of mine in the next year. There is no quick fix for fitness, you just have to be consistent and do it. It really is that simple.