What’s This All About?

Welcome to my weight loss blog. My name is John and I’m an average guy who’s a bit too heavy. Like many of you, I have a beautiful family, I work full time, and I’m also a graduate student trying to finish my PhD. I’ve found over the years that my health and body weight have taken a bit of a back seat as more demands on my time have crept in. I’ve gained weight and, despite a mountain of good intentions and broken promises to myself, I have been unable to lose it.

I have never had a self-image of a “fat guy.” I’ve always been fairly active, whether it’s been on a softball team, kickball, football, or soccer. I lifted weights when I was younger and my self-perception has generally been that I’m muscular, but a growing layer of fat, especially on the upper torso and belly, eclipses it all. “I can lose it anytime,” I’d think to myself. “It will be easy to lose it once I put a little effort into it…” Do these sound familiar? We all do it to some extent, but my mind has an amazing ability to talk me in to believing that the path of least resistance is the best route for me and that I’ll accomplish everything I want to in life, including weight loss, but I can do it later. It’s never that easy and later never comes, of course.

Recently, I’ve noticed some physical effects of my weight gain that have been alarming. The first has been Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)-type symptoms. I’m only 37, but I’ve had two colonoscopies over the past ten years to try to get to the bottom of it, but without any firm diagnosis. I began reading about gluten sensitivity and found that I suffered many of the same symptoms that others with gluten sensitivity have indicated, so about a year ago I cut gluten out of my diet completely. It has helped me considerably, but I recognize that gluten free does not necessarily equate to “healthy.” So, I can’t say that I lost any weight switching my eating habits, but I have been able to stick to the gluten-free change for the most part. Gluten hides in some of the most unexpected places, so it’s not always easy.

My second recent development has been snoring at night. My wife and I generally sleep in different rooms now because I keep her awake, which in turn keeps me awake as I get prodded or poked to change positions. I recently underwent a sleep-study, but, thankfully, no apnea was found. Weight is the main culprit. This, more than anything, has woken me up to the need to really start paying attention to my weight and reclaim my health, not only for me, but for my family.

Fortuitously, my wife and daughter are taking a long trip to visit my in-laws and over that time I’m going to do everything I can to lose weight and start getting healthy. As I thought more about it, I thought why not try to raise money for charity while doing it? Hence, I started this blog to both motivate me, to keep you all informed of my progress, to raise awareness of Starfish, and to solicit sponsors for my weight loss.

The Charity

I’ve been involved with the Rutger Hauer Starfish Association since its inception in 2000. Rutger Hauer is an internationally recognized actor, famous for such films as Blade Runner, The Hitcher, Ladyhawke, Hobo with a Shotgun, and Batman Begins (to name just a few). His charity is “dedicated to providing help, attention and care to children and pregnant women with HIV/AIDS, as well as educating communities about this disease.” It’s a relatively small operation focusing on practical “on the ground” initiatives that maximize the charity’s earnings in the most beneficial way. You can read some of the projects Starfish is supporting at its website here.

Starfish raises money through selling autographed items, Rutger’s personal appearances, and private donations. I’ve been fortunate enough to help Starfish at two recent fundraising appearances in Charlotte, NC (2012)

and, most recently, Burbank, CA (2014).

Both events were huge successes and I was happy to volunteer my time for a cause that I fully trust and believe in. Now, it’s time to be proactive to improve my health and raise money for Starfish in the process.

Please note, Rutger Hauer has approved this fundraising initiative himself and has created a page at his official site here to support me. Thank you Rutger, Grazia, and Paolo!

How You Can Help

I’m asking for a pledge from donors to sponsor my weight loss. Let me be clear, I will keep no proceeds from your donation. All donated funds will go directly to the Rutger Hauer Starfish Association. I’m asking for a per pound commitment from donors. My goal is to lose 20 pounds over a thirty-day period, so a $1 pledge would cost you $20 if I meet my goal. A $2 pledge would cost you $40 if I meet my goal, and so on. If I fall short of my goal, you would still pay the amount of the pledge multiplied by the number of pounds I did lose. I realize that 20 pounds over 30 days is ambitious, but I’m going for it!

I will update this blog regularly with progress reports, any recipes that I have tried and recommend, confessions of failures and triumphs, and whatever else might strike me at the time. I want to be as communicative, transparent, and interactive as possible. Because I’m raising money for charity, I’m making this much more than about my own journey toward better health. I’m making this about people who need help and, with that, I am incentivizing my own success, and theirs.

Nutrition with Advocare

Part one of my attack plan is nutrition. I have a friend, Becky, who has been gushing over Advocare and its health benefits. Generally, I’m skeptical about these things. Weight loss products are a multi-billion dollar business in the US, but we’re still fat as ever. But, Becky recently posted before and after pictures of her boyfriend on Facebook and I was very impressed. He and I share a similar build, from what I understand, and I thought that if it can work for him it can work for me! So, I’ve been working with Becky to get started on Advocare’s 24-Day Challenge.

I’ve not started the Challenge yet, so I’m looking forward to it. It’s less a prescribed diet than a comprehensive supplement package with suggestions for balancing meals and portion control, which, frankly, is probably my biggest hurdle. I’m looking to Advocare to both cleanse my body of all the crud that I’ve been accumulating through my current diet and starting fresh with healthier, wholesome foods. I’m hoping to post daily and include what Advocare supplements I’ve consumed and how they are affecting me.

I want to be clear, too, that I am not an employee of Advocare and am not receiving any subsidy from them. Advocare is simply the line of supplements that I have chosen for this endeavor.

Fitness with DDP Yoga

Nutrition is important and providing the body with the right types of fuel is essential. But, it’s only one half of the coin. I will be following an exercise regiment through DDP Yoga, which I have done in the past and have really enjoyed. It’s a great workout, has low-to-zero impact, but raises the heart rate into the cardio zone. In the past, I never really lost weight with DDP Yoga because I didn’t adjust my diet. If anything, I fooled myself into eating more calories because I was exercising and could “spare” the extra food. Well, that’s a dangerous thought, of course, and certainly enough to derail any weight loss hopes I had. I did, however, feel noticeable improvement in my balance, flexibility, and overall bodily strength as a result of DDP Yoga, so I feel very strongly that it works for me.

In my daily posts, I’m going to include explanations of what exercise routine I did so you can follow along. I believe that the combination of DDP Yoga with the Advocare 26-Day Challenge will be the one-two punch that I need to reclaim my health before it gets out of control. That I’m raising money for charity is icing on the cake!

Details

Time Span: May 27-June 26
Goal: 20 pounds (9.07 kg)

On May 27, I will post a photo of my starting weight and a picture of me to serve as my “Before” photo. This will be my starting point and the final weight-loss tally will be done the morning of June 27th with a photo of my end weight and a picture of me to serve as my “After” photo.

To pledge, please contact me via email at grendelsan[at]gmail.com with the amount you would like to pledge. Once the 30-days is finished, I will send out email reminders to all pledges detailing what they will need to contribute. I will collect all funds via Paypal and then donate those funds directly to the Rutger Hauer Starfish Association.

Feel free to comment below or through email if you have any questions or concerns.

Finally, please feel free to share this blog with those around you. The more that pledge, the more that we can make for Starfish!