Fatties, A Concern | Larry Goodwell

Story by Dan Stier 

| Published Mar 1, 2011

Being a large man for most of my life, I understand the pressures of being thin, in shape, and not being an eye sore in public. I do not think I can blame anyone for my intake of massive amounts of food. No, that is between me and Chipotle, McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's, Culver's, and Runza. I guess I could pin the blame on my parents, who funded 18 years of fast-fun excursions. But I would be lying to myself, because I could have easily said no to the waving of five bucks in my face from my dad’s wallet.

For most, finding the motivation to do anything physically active is a monumental task. For me, sticking to a simple diet is hard enough. True, the diet I was trying was an unusual one in which you eat nothing but a bland and rather disgusting cabbage soup. It was not pleasant, of course. Then again, what can you expect from a diet that was designed to make heart surgery patients lose massive amounts of weight before they go into surgery?

Americans have this idea that dieting can take you anywhere you want to go. Go into an Applebee’s at any time and you will see at least five middle-aged women counting the Weight Watcher points on the back of the menu. Carry that madness over to online dieting subscriptions and the thousands of dollars lost to hopes of a quick fix, and you have a problem that deserves a more proactive solution.

Do not get me wrong; dieting can and has worked for some. I started the cabbage soup diet with one other guy -- he stuck with it and lost about 25 pounds. But to the average American that cannot even use the TV without the remote, it is a very large order. And yes, I do fit into that category.

Gym memberships are probably where you see the biggest loss of self-confidence and hope. For about two months after every new year there is an influx of members to the nation’s gyms, and the population of the Rec doubles. What is happening is that people are not committing to the lifestyle change they need. Take it from a guy who weighed 250 pounds for three years of his life: it is not fun to exercise right away after five plus years of physical inactivity.

On top of that, when you see these overweight new year’s-resolutioners hit the machines, it is an incredibly uncomfortable sight. These folks are being told to just start working out, not how to start working out. And most importantly, why are there mirrors in the gym? There is a reason I do not like looking in the mirror at home; why do I have to do it when I am a gross fucking mess on the treadmill?

People need to learn that it is a life style change they need, not a quick fix to a problem they have had their entire life. I have learned that myself lately. Starting a workout and diet plan called Insanity is actually working. It is not because it’s just a diet or a workout regimen, it is both. People need to stop buying into the myth that just eating foods with no trans-fats is going to cut it. The calorie-counting and Healthy Choice meals do not cut it. Furthermore, working out once or twice a month is not doing shit. Get outside, fucking do something and cut out the fast food. Baby steps, people.