My dad, Mark, showed me an old picture of me a couple of days ago and I cannot believe how far I have come. I realized that I was a “thicker” version of my current self. I have noticed things on me are a lot slimmer, but looking at that picture really had it sink in for me. No wonder I had severe knee pain and I was doped up on extreme amounts of ibuprofen (800mg) and acetaminophen (1000mg) for practices and games. In addition to the knee pain, my blood pressure was high as well. If I had continued and went to the NFL, like many people believed I should have, there is no telling how bad my pain would have been and how my blood pressure would have been affected. I am also sure I would have been way over 328lbs with my eating habits I developed. Other than the money, there is no way my health would have benefited from playing in the NFL; the money that I would have to use for my health to recover from the years of playing football.I cannot believe I have reached 238lbs. The last time I weighed 238lbs was early 7th grade, which is a very sad thing to think about. I mean 7th grade . . . that was 13 years ago. Getting to 238lbs has not been an easy task and there have been many bumps along the way . . . and I mean many bumps along the way.
Starting medical school was one of the largest bumps in the road last year, giving up working out and monitoring what I am eating because of stress caused me to go from 328lbs (January 2008) to 275lbs (August 2008) to 302lbs (December 2008). I am not saying never eat the cheesy grilled cheese sandwich or meat lovers pizza, but not every other day. Make it a one to two time a week thing and when you are eating it do not have the “all or nothing” mentality. Be mentally aware when you are eating those things, do not check your brain at the door as soon as the pizza shows up at your door.
Going through this process last fall, I realized that I am one of the lucky people who drew the straw that had “I must workout and monitor what I eat for the rest of my life” attached to the end of it. I have some friends that can eat fast food all the time and not gain weight, but I am not one of those people. I have some friends who do not workout, but I am not one of those people. I am ME.
This year I have had weeks in which the weight loss was not amazing or I had weight gain which is very disappointing. Going on vacations and being away from the confines of my kitchen have been very challenging to deal with as well. The other thing that has been difficult is hearing people who are not doing anything about their weight telling me that I am getting too skinny. No offence, but I am not on this journey for them, I am on this journey for Louis. I have learned during these hard times (ex. when the scale does not show you the numbers you would like) you need to have a list of reason in your head of why you are doing what you are doing. Some people say get rid of the scale, but if you do not weigh yourself at least once a week . . . how will you be able to know the things you are doing are actually effective? There are times in which you have to tweak your workouts or the things you are eating.
Anyway, back to the reasons, these reasons of why you are on this journey will help you stay positive.
Try it out . . . be very specific . . . here is my list:
1. Want to look better
2. Buy nice clothes
3. Improve my health
4. Challenge myself to become a better person
5. Motivate my friends and family
6. Have always pictured myself thinner
7. Tired of carrying extra weight around
8. Improve my self-esteem
9. Be an encouragement to my mom
10. Decrease my knee pain
Well, I hope this entry has been a blessing to those who read it. If you have any questions do not be afraid to ask.
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