Becoming obese doesn’t happen overnight. I didn’t wake up suddenly one morning and think to myself ‘wow, I got fat last night‘. It’s a gradual process and even when the signs were there, I had ignored them. Hey, I could always start my diet tomorrow. It’s not too bad yet. Just one more cake! One more excuse not to eat healthy!
I was never overweight as a child, during my teens or up to my late 30’s. So what happened? Where did this all start to go wrong and why?
It began with a total lifestyle change. I was always pretty active in my 20’s and 30’s. I rarely snacked, and would regularly venture outdoors. But all this was about to change and welcome to my obese 40’s
My Unhealthy Lifestyle Leading to Obesity – The Beginning
It was then I became a website developer and would sit at my computer up to 14 hours a day! Don’t get me wrong as I did exercise, now and then. After all, I had to use my hands. They were always busy scrolling, typing and picking up sandwiches, cookies etc to stuff my face. Funny I know but I’m not kidding.
This was the beginning of my seriously unhealthy lifestyle. I wasn’t getting any exercise. I wasn’t burning the calories I was consuming but hey, it was only a few cookies or a sandwich. But it wasn’t and I was eating way beyond my calorie deficit.
It’s bizarre how we never really notice what we eat while we’re working. I wasn’t eating a few cookies or a sandwich! I was consuming mountains of food!
In one day I would easily go through a loaf of bread, a whole fruit cake, chocolates, and that’s not forgetting a large plate for breakfast, lunch and dinner. As I mentioned at the start of this article, it didn’t happen overnight. Hence the reason I didn’t notice or think about it. Just eat, and eat and eat!
Even worse was the fact that they were all high carbs. Tons of sugar consumed 24/7! Even if I entered a triathlon daily, I would never have been able to burn all that glucose!
Just one fruit cake without eating anything else would have been too much! Did I forget to mention how much I loved drinking milk? A litre a day!
This was the perfect recipe for disaster (pun intended)
My Unhealthy Lifestyle Leading to Obesity – Blaming Others
I went through a phase of blaming my wife. It had to be her fault as she was the one that kept feeding me! If she hadn’t fed me all these goodies I wouldn’t have got fat. She made me obese! It was her fault. I was living in denial!
Of course, it was my fault. Nobody forced me to eat and I never said ‘no thank you‘, ‘I’m full’, or think about a diet plan. So she thought I was happy which I was until I became very sick! She used to complain a lot and tell me to get away from my computer! Go to the gym she’d say! But I didn’t. I was too busy with website development. I was in my comfort zone. The money came first!
Gorging on copious amounts of food combined with no exercise took a serious toll on my health! Obviously. It may have been a different story in I hadn’t consumed so many carbs but even on a ketogenic diet, I was eating too much. My insulin level never had a chance to go down.
We were also working in the events industry and I cannot count the times our clients would say these beloved words ‘Andy, help yourself to the buffet with your team‘! A free 5-star hotel buffet and boy did we eat!
My Big Fat Wardrobe
How about my wardrobe! Fortunately, it was a fashion at the time to let your shirt hang out. This would disguise this huge belly hanging over my jeans. I went from a 30′ waist to 36″ and still had loads of fat hanging over the top! Baggy jeans and shirts became the norm.
My belts were now on the last hole, shirts bursting and I had to throw all my t-shirts in the bin. There was no way I’d ever wear a t-shirt again!
But I still did nothing! I was in my forties so it didn’t matter anymore! I considered this normal after all, I was a middle aged married man. I needed new clothes but for all the wrong reasons! Once again I was living in denial!
My appearance had dramatically changed! I lost my chin having it replaced by a huge neck. My face became bloated and it was big! Really big! My wife used to joke that she thought my fat face was really cute!
I never gave one thought to the consequences this would all have on my health. I had now reached my late fifties and frequently visited the hospital with one illness or another. Diabetes 2, fatty liver, IBS, high blood pressure, and all the other common diseases associated with obesity! I was on medication for diabetes and now told to go on statins.
I recall sitting at my computer looking at the statins and other medications. Finally I said to myself – ‘enough’ It’s not too late to reverse this! I didn’t want to be dependant on medication. I wasn’t looking for a quick fix but and permanent lifestyle change.
Today, just a few years after changing my lifestyle I’m back to a 30″ waist and I have lost around 30k (approx. 65 pounds). I needed a new wardrobe once again but this time – for all the right reasons. My diabetes 2 had been reversed and I never took those statins.
I can run up flights of stairs, and I’m back in the gym. It wasn’t an easy path but worth all the pain! How did I lose all this weight? I tried numerous diet plans and found the best for me. A ketogenic diet combined with fasting. However, most diet plans work and I remember this line I once read and never forgot it, ‘all diet plans work, it’s only you who fail‘
The secret is to find one you enjoy and works for you! Don’t call it a diet – make it a permanent lifestyle change!
I no longer give excuses not to eat healthily. I had quit smoking when I was around 40 and no longer need to worry or think about what I eat. Healthy eating has become my way of life.
My latest goal? I wonder if a 60 years old man can get a six-pack! It’s never too late to try! Thank you for reading and if you’d like to learn more please subscribe below or share my posts.
