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Fat Boy Roll Call.

7K views 65 replies 41 participants last post by  Rabbit212 
#1 ·
All right fat boys... Lets discuss a HUGE (no pun) Concealed Carry Issue... Are you tired of nobody taking you very seriously as a "fighter" and "sheep dog" because you are fat? Don't you just hate when fit guys opine that you'd be better off using a treadmill as the next best piece of equipment you could use to make you better at being a defensive carrier.

You know something... They are right!!! You will be a LOT better off giving yourself enough self respect to use the self discipline you have within you to better yourself for those around you. You know what else? I'm saying this to myself.

I'm a fat guy.

A couple years ago, I lost 100 pounds through diet and exercise but I've gained most of it back. Went right back to my old eating habits. My family deserves better. If I'm standing next to your wife (husband) during the next bank we happen to be standing in when it gets robbed, wouldn't you want the best of me to be there should I choose to fight? There is a reason fit tests are required for all law and military enforcement.

Lets do this together.

I chewed Copenhagen for 20 years and quit cold turkey with a full can in my pocket. Haven't touched nicotine since January 1 2012. I'm an alcoholic. Used to drink 1/2 gallon of Whiskey (Canadian. Americans never did figure out a good recipe) every 2 or three days, every day for 12 years. I quit that cold turkey March 1 of 2015. I'll never touch alcohol again. I have the will power and strength. I just have to put it toward diet and exercise.

Here is current fat boy Todd. This picture was actually circa 2015 but I only look 5 years older. Every bit as ugly and fat today as this picture.



Here is me in 2016



It does suck that I let myself go again but the only thing I can do is fix tomorrow. I have no room to talk. I just want better for my girls, better for me, and better for those around me. I won't be posting and boring you all with a lot of updates, but any one of you feel free to P.M. me with a kick to the nuts to help make sure I'm doing my part.

Thanks and good luck,

Todd
 
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#9 ·
With no judgement toward our very fine, caloric-gifted forum family members, I concur, Mike. That said, I'm always enthusiastically inclined to be a member of a support team. As a former smoker and a former overweight human, good habits are our friends (and so are we).
 
#4 ·
You can do it. You've done it twice already. Just gotta make the decision to be stronger than your weakness.

It seems to me I smoked forever. Heavily at times. Four years now or going on four years smokeless. I figured I was going to feel pretty stupid if I died from something I didn't have to die from. All that money spent up in smoke and then spent again, up in smoke trying to stay alive. Good grief, dying might be tough without beating myself up over it. So I quit. Bought myself a few more years.
I liked smoking.
 
#5 ·
Ex-really fatman now just fatman here. Down from well over 300 to 240. Can do without the cake and ice cream. A good drink is my downfall. It's a work in progress.
 
#6 ·
Almost everyone who "goes on a diet" will regain every bit of what they lost, plus usually some more. This is fact.

OK: Technically the word Diet means a list of what you eat and drink. But it has come to mean a temporary loss of most of the things you really enjoy eating and a list of foods and beverages that you are not fond of (or hate?). How awful!

What you need to do is find whatever food-lifestyle plan that is right for you personally and make a commitment: Like an old fashioned marriage vow, not the temporary ones of current society.

Where do I get the right to lecture y'all like this? For most of my life I was a yo-yo dieter, until I got so sick that I actually was dying. Then I finally got to the place where I tried a plan my neighbor had been trying for two years to get me to "do." This is not a diet, but a way to eat right for ME! And I lost the weight but most important, I regained my health. And the weight has stayed off for over 12 years so far. I no longer even want to eat (most of) what made me fat all those former years! In fact, a lot of things I used to love now make me almost gag when I think about them! I am not bereft of foods I love: I have found substitutes that are every bit as delicious and satisfying. It takes study and dedication, but YOU CAN DO IT ALSO!!!!
 
#11 ·
I wouldn't want to fight a big man, that's a lot of weight he can throw around. I've seen what a big guy can do if he uses his weight to his advantage, it was devastating for the skinny guy that underestimated the big guy.

Not saying you shouldn't lose weight.

Congratulations on quitting drinking. My mom drank herself to death, we tried but we couldn't get her to quit.
 
#12 ·
Community Event Recreation
I was 365 in the first pic, (I’ll never cut my beard off again, and as cool as a mustache is, they are’t cool on me).
Tree Forest Woodland
(orange flannel) I lost about 90#’s before I started to put muscle weight on; can’t go by the scale anymore.

No, no one ever questioned my fighting capabilities, I’m typically in the tippy top end of the classes attend and am often called on to demonstrate a training iteration for the class.

I carried a fighting sized gun AIWB exclusively the entire time, G19 or 17.

If someone wants to underestimate me I will be thrilled to take advantage of that; I do not fight fairly anyway. I’m still fat, but way closer to where I need to be, about 40 or so more to go now.
 
#13 ·
At 6" and 240 my doc says I'm obese. I feel normal and don't feel overweight. I could lose 20 lbs and feel good but last time I was down to 200 lbs I had people asking me if I was OK.
They'd ask if everything was going OK and if I was sure I didn't have the Big C.................
 

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#15 ·
Take your doc's definitions with a grain of salt. Standard measures such as BMI (body mass index) make NO allowance for body shape (somatotype). I'm mesomorphic with a 48" chest and 35" waist - try buying a suit off the rack with those dimensions! But when I was over 200 pounds, I got the tsk-tsk from the doc with the admonition that I was obese. Now closing fast on 70 and at 195 I get the "nice work, you're not obese" message. I don't think he ever looked at me big-picture wise but instead just went by "standard" advice.
 
#14 ·
Thank you all, and awesome job!

I’ve always been a real healthy fat guy. I’m a region champ and state placer wrestler in high school. I’m not on any meds, no high blood pressure. Just healthy as a fat horse. But that’s going to change one of these days if I don’t get a hold of it. I hike a lot. I hunt a lot. I’ve always wheezed into areas most people won’t go let alone fat people because that is where the elk like to hang out. And I’ve been in some serious dust ups and have managed to come out on top. Back in 2013, I was buying a jug of whiskey at the local liquor store when I whatched two pipe liners violently attack a senior citizen for no reason. I just followed them really mad just trying to be a good whiteness so they wouldn’t get away when they decided to attack me. I was just getting off work and wasn’t carrying. I’m thankful I wasn’t because I would have started shooting when I took the steel toe boot to the head while I was severely laying on a beating to the main offender. I went from pissed to life threatened pissed after that and both their heads ended up being bounced off the pavement. The main offender spent the night in the hospital out of the deal and I guarantee he can feel the storms coming in his left shoulder. It was a bad deal and they both ended up with violent felonious records. I got a phone call from the county sheriff and town C.O.P. thanking me for standing up for the senior. Point being, definitely don’t attack fat guys. Especially fairly athletic ones. But I definitely need to figure out a lifestyle that is more conducive to being alive for a while longer. I have 3 daughters, 9, 7 and 2.. I want to be there for them.

I’m motivated by your success stories and words of encouragement. Thank you.

Todd
 
#17 ·
...And speaking of "a grain of salt," if you want to lose weight, reduce your sodium (i.e., salt) intake.

Due to a minor heart issue, my cardiologist and my GP conspired to put me on a low-sodium regimen, and my wife is aiding and abetting them (and me).
Sodium helps you to retain fluids in your body tissues. If you reduce your sodium intake, you will lose some amount of body-tissue fluids.
If you lose fluids, you will lose weight and bulk.

My wife keeps track of my daily sodium intake, and with her help we are able to keep it down to below 2,000mg. (That's about one teaspoon of salt.) Usually, I can keep it below 1,500mg.
The result is that I have lost 30 pounds in about two months. I've gone from 220 pounds to between 185 and 190. (That's fully dressed and armed!)

Every so often, I go on a small binge: I've gotten intake up to 2,700mg of sodium in one day. But I make up for it by cutting back for a couple of days immediately afterwards.

No barbecue. No "fast foods." No Japanese food. No Korean food. Very limited Chinese food (a dish of sweet-and-sour meat and vegetables is OK). Most store-bought salad dressings are out. One slice of bread a day. No bagels.
Read the labels. Do the arithmetic to find out how much sodium you're taking in. Keep a record: A helper is good, to keep you honest.

Keep in mind: It works. So learn new habits.
 
#19 ·
^^^This was pretty much the same result for me!^^^ I learned in Cardiac Rehab the salt is evil in many ways that we don't realize! People who are diabetic should also be low salt/ no salt which will worsen their diabetic problems. (I am not diabetic.)
 
#21 ·
Salt and sugar are in almost every packaged and process foods. Now why would you need sugar in a package of store bought taco seasoning ?
Homemade ketchup without sugar or salt is delicious.
A good diet can simply be new healthy taste sensations with none of the additives. I drink only water, coffee and occasional beers now. I've banished sugar and processed foods. No pasta and very rarely bread. Intermittent fasting.I've lost fifty pounds since November.
I eat very well but I'll have to work on the salt intake.

Edit to add: IWB carry has become immensely more comfortable and concealable with my single clip hybrid Protos-M .
An undershirt is still used for my plain kydex IWB holsters but I don't use them much any more.
 
#22 ·
While I was in the Corps, the regs stated that at 6'2" my max weight was 214#. Until I made Cpl...no problem. Then I started weight training to bulk up for competition in the PKA (Professional Karate Association). Well, I went up to 240# (18" neck, 52" chest, & 33" waist). I had to jump through hoops to get a weight waiver every time I changed duty stations. My point is: your weight isn't the only determining factor.
 
#24 ·
The biggest thing with losing weight is eating less calories. Eating lots of leafy veggies(not covered in sauce or oil) will fill you up more(for the calories) than more "filling foods". For instance you could have 11 cups of raw spinach or 1 slice of white bread. The 11 cups of spinach will certainly fill you up more.

The best tip I can give is to do it slow and steady. Instead of cutting 2000 calories a day, just eat slightly smaller portions week after week until you start seeing the pounds come off the scale. At that point stick to what you have been eating until the weight loss starts to taper off, then cut the portions down a little bit again. This doesn't have to be an insane cut. For instance, lets say your lunch is usually 3 sandwiches, cut it down to 2.5 sandwiches.

In addition, at your weight, I wouldn't try running or anything like that, but if you have access to a bike, going for light rides for 5-10 min a day to start, slowly working up to 20+ min rides would be awesome. Going for walks(5-10 min working up to 20+ min) would be a great place to start.

If you have any questions related to training/diet. Feel free to ask. This is one of the few topics related to defensive carry that I have a lot of knowledge in and would love to help(this goes for anyone on here, not just OP). Once you lose a few pounds and have a solid cardio base(being able to go for 20-30 min brisk walks), we can start incorporating some addition cardio, weights, calisthenics, etc. if that is something you are interested in.

I have helped a lot of people lose a ton of weight in the past and personally have done a lot of training/competing in powerlifting, MMA, and all sorts of endurance events(crossfit, 5ks, etc).
 
#28 ·
@bodan399 has it right on. Listen to him, imo. That's what has worked for me to maintain a healthy weight -- less portions, slow and steady, try to cut out empty calories, and exercise.
For me, it's lots of brisk walking/hiking. I do at least 2 miles a day here in the mountains.
I've never been really heavy, but was up to 215 (5' 11") at one point. I've been at 180 - 185 now for 4 years and keep it that way.
 
#29 ·
Solid advice here. Especially to bodan399. I really appreciate your time. That is exactly what I’m doing. I’ve actually lost weight 3 times on low carb diets. It’s obvious I’m not going to maintain that. I am currently logging all of my calories and just trying to stay a little hungry in between meals with no snacking. I exercise often as is but my genetics allow me to gain weight by watching other people eat. But I dam sure eat too much. For now, The only thing I’m cutting out is sugar and deserts. Especially pop. I’m drinking water. I’m just naturally a big guy to begin with. I’m still 280 in my skinny pic on the first page. I’m really healthy at 240-250 and that’s where I’d like to live my life at. I’m very strong and want to maintain my strength. I’m currently 38 years old, 6’ and 380... This is the first time I’m not in any race to get the weight off. I just want the trend to turn the other way.

I’d like to see some real progress by my 40th birthday, more so to learn healthy habits by then.

Thank you all again, very much!

Todd
 
#30 ·
No problem man. Feel free to ask away if you think of any questions or get stuck down the road. Honestly, if you drink a lot of pop. Just cutting that out will melt quite a few pounds off. Keep counting calories, that is honestly the best way to really lose those pounds. Cutting out the sugar and desserts really will help as well.

One of the big things with low carb diets is when you aren't eating many carbs you end up losing a lot of water weight. So as soon as you start eating them again, some of the weight comes right back on. A lot of trainers and snake oil salesman love pushing low carb diets because people will lose quite a bit of weight in the first few weeks(mainly water) and then they think they struck gold with the program.

I am not a fan at all of them because you don't have nearly as much energy to be able to train on low carb diets(some people do swear by them and end up running marathons and stuff on them, but I personally think they would be better off on a regular diet).

The best habit I can give for staying healthy is eating mainly unprocessed foods. The general idea is to eat things that grew in the ground(veggies, fruits, rice, Oats,etc.), walked, swam, or flew.

Also, if you ever stop losing weight, even while counting calories, it may be because you aren't being precise(very very common) and you may want to pick up some measuring cups and a scale. And start weighing and measuring everything you eat(you would only have to do this for a week or 2 in order to get the hang of it before going back to eyeballing things).
 
#32 ·
I was extremely fit until around 40 years old. Training for the Olympics fit.
5'8" and weighed 145 lbs from 8th grade until late 20's training as a marathon runner and martial arts. Then switched to road cycling, put on 5 lbs in each thigh bringing me up to 155.
Now 60 years old. Still 5'8". But my body is worn out. Arthritis is a real (endorphin) buzz-kill. Genetics delt it's hand with coronary artery issues (Moms side).
So I'm nearly twice the man I once was, now 275 lbs, which doesn't help the arthritic knee.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
 
#34 ·
Genetics does play a part as patkelly4370 points out. I had a heart attack at age 59 which was two years later than the one that killed my maternal grandfather. I had been aware of the issue and exercised daily and followed the low-fat dietary strategy the government (FDA Food Pyramid), the AMA, big pharma, and the food industry endorsed. BIG MISTAKE!

I was failing to maintain a healthy weight; nay, reach a healthy weight by following their low-fat dietary strategy. It took some internet research to discover that the real dietary villain was not saturated fats but a combination of carbohydrates - SUGARS and STARCHES. Too many of these simple carbohydrates trigger insulin dumps that lead to weight gain. Counting calories is not as effective as counting net carbohydrates, because there is a big difference between 2000 calories derived from simple carbs vs. those from complex carbohydrates.

It is not how much is going into the "pie hole" but what is being swallowed.
 
#35 ·
I didn't go on a "diet" per se. I merely changed my eating habits (i.e. what I eat, the portion size and the time I stop eating). It's like that interment fasting process. I eat between a specific time of the day (12 noon until 7 pm) and I watch what I eat (no processed foods or drinks whatsoever and I drink more water no sodas etc.). I do have a sweet tooth and have to watch that constantly. :image035:

I Developed this mindset a few months back speaking with my doctor. I love what she said; "Stay away from everything in the isles (canned and processed packaging foods etc.) and shop around the isles (i.e. vegetables and fruits)." I also eliminated fried foods and eat more baked and broiled meats and vegetables. The weight has been falling off me considerably and I love it! In a short time span, I've dropped about 25 1bs so far.

YOU CAN DO IT!
 
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