They call me “Mr. Templekeeper”

I know most of you have already heard the story, read the story, or heard me blab on and on about my journey into good nutrition and fitness, so for those of you to whom that applies, I do apologize up front for the repeated bashing of this information over your head.

Originally, I had posted this story on my blog, on Facebook and submitted it to MIO Watch for their publication. However, since my old blog is gone and the new one is empty, I’m inaugurating my new blog with the story of my physical transformation.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with my story, and more specifically those of you out there who might struggle with nutritional goals and fitness barriers, I hope you find poignancy, hope and even some inspiration in knowing that knowing seizing control of the situation is the best foundation for finding freedom to be whom God has created you to be.

Here is my story:

(It was written originally to MIO Watch, when asked the question “How has MIO helped you meet your goals?” So, the latter part of the story focuses on answering that question.)

In August of 2008, I weighed 285 lbs. I had a 40-inch waist and I wore XXL shirts. I was overweight and terribly unhappy about it.

I was and still am a professional freelance web developer based out of Kansas City, MO — a job that requires me to sit down in front of a computer for a large portion of the day. Shortly before my birthday of that year (August 19), a series of tragedies fell upon both my family and my (at the time) fiance’s family. Her grandmother had lost her battle with lung cancer, and her grandfather did as well. My mother was diagnosed with diabetes and my father’s health was getting frail too. Both my parents lead a very sedentary life and heart disease is rampant in both their family trees.

So, knowing all of that, my 285lb self started getting depressed at the idea that those were the types of health concerns I may or may not have to look forward to in my future. I wanted to get healthy. I wanted to be fit, and I wanted to be able to look at myself in the mirror and not cringe and quickly turn away. I wanted to feel confidence. I wanted to wear clothes because I liked them and not because they hid what I was ashamed of.

And that’s pretty much as far as I had gotten by last August. But by that point, a very real and terrifying series of thoughts crashed through my head:

1. I’m going to get married in 10 months.

2. I’m going to have hundreds of pictures taken of me.

3. I’m going to dance with me wife at our reception.

All of these thoughts terrified me knowing how unhealthy I was. I ate what I wanted and when I wanted. I drank beer too much and I had zero exercise in my daily routine. My metabolism had all but halted completely. I knew that this was all going to have to change…and with my wedding just a few short months away, it was just the catalyst I needed to start changing how I led my life.

I knew that I didn’t want this to be just a fad diet or a crash course in “How to Reach a Certain Weight and Then Go Back to the Way Things Were”. I wanted to change my life. I wanted good habits to be exactly that — habits.

So, from August to November, I focused entirely on mastering my diet. Learning what to put in my body, why it’s good for my body, and how it works once it’s in my body. Starting in November of 2008, I began integrating fitness into my daily routine. My inspiration at the time was Daniel Craig, who you all might know better as the current James Bond. He got in fantastic shape for his movie Casino Royale, so I went and found what he did to get in such good shape.

His fitness routine was circuit based, and I started seeing a lot of dialogue in my research about how important it is to understand your heart rate and how it has a relationships with metabolism, and the ability to burn fat and thus lose weight.

I did some extensive research on devices that could track my heart rate both in the gym and outdoors. I decided against all chest strap devices, as it seemed like too much trouble to take that with me everywhere. So I settled on trying to find strapless heart rate monitors, i.e. watches. Choosing between everything I could find, it seemed that because of its competitive price point and solid reviews everywhere, the Mio Motiva was the watch for me.

So, after picking one up, I started tracking my heart rate as I did my circuit training, and then, as the weight started to steadily drop off, I got into interval sprinting, jogging and biking around the local park. All of these activities have become a staple of my weekly routine. I use my Mio Motiva to track my heart rate along the way of each exercise, and I also use it to track my calories that I’ve burned.

I coupled all that information with my careful and disciplined diet, tracking how many calories I consumed on a daily basis. And between the two, it’s almost like clockwork how much weight I’ve been able to lose on a weekly basis.

[Author’s note: In hindsight I now know that my rate of weight loss was an unhealthy one. I averaged losing 4 lbs/wk. when I should have been losing no more than 2 lbs/wk.]

In May of 2009, I hit my fantastic goal of losing 100 lbs. By mid-May I weighed in at 183 lbs. I am now down to a size 32 waist and size Medium shirts. I have a fantastic diet that I love, full of fruits, veggies and protein. I’ve never enjoyed my meals more! I exercise 6 days a week, all of which is now based on strength and endurance training, as I’m working towards a 1/2 marathon and a triathlon sometime in the near future.

And none of it would be possible if I wasn’t able to track how active and how hard I’m pushing myself when I am working out, and if I wasn’t able to track how many calories i burn to help manage my weight and what I need to do to keep up my training.

My Mio Motiva has met my needs in the most fantastic way. It has helped aid in restoring my self-confidence, allowing me to dress how I want and feel good and look at myself with respect in the mirror. It has helped me rid my body of the potential for diabetes, heart disease and nearly all aches and pains I had while I was over 100 lbs heavier. As well, this watch has aided in my understanding of what it truly means to live a fit life, healthy and active.

Plus, my wife thinks I’m smokin’ hot!

Our wedding pictures turned out great. Dancing with her at our reception was an absolute delight, and I can confidently say that I can look back at our wedding and think I did everything I could to make that day the best it could have been for me and for my wife.

BEFORE (click thumb to view image in new tab)

AFTER (click thumb to view image in new tab)