Are you fat? I have been fat most of my life!

On march 17th of 2007, I turned 29 years old and I weighed in at 296lbs! I knew that I had to make a change so I did. My goal was to get down to 205lbs and become a professional athlete by the time I turned 30. I loss the 91 lbs and should have my first fight at the end of Feb 2009. Below is a letter that I received from someone on myspace and the reply the I sent him. I just kind of hope that people read this and realize that it is not easy but not impossible to do anything that you really want to do. I am the fat twin on the left in the bday pic and the pic on the left was taken in Nov.






hey man hows it going? I dont mean to sound offensive but theres some pics where u looked pretty chubby but now u look like ure in reeeally good shape. I was just wondering how you did it. I gained a lot of weight more than normal i would say within the past months and im wanting to get it all off again but even at my lowest weight i didnt look like u....good job man. I was just wondering if u could share some tips. Hope all is well.



Hello,

I am doing fu@ing fantastic! How are you doing today? That by the way is the first thing that I ask myself every morning now and I do not allow myself to get up until I answer back with a resounding: Freaking Fantastic! Try it because it works!

Of course, I don't take offense! The whole reason that I posted all those fat pics was because I was determined to lose the weight! I want people to know that it is much more easier than it often seems at time to change one's self completely. If I can do what I did than anyone can do can do it. It just starts with a determination to set a whole new standard for one's own self.

All the standards that you have set for yourself simply have to be elevated to some degeree. It's starts with deciding that you have to respect yourself at all times whether you feel like you deserve respect at that time or not. There are people out there from loving family members, to close friends, to caring people who may not even know you personally who expect you to respect yourself. Every person can find at least one person that should demand respect of that person even if the only person is one's self.

I don't regret that it took me so long to realize how true that sentiment really is. Once a person fully understands that they must respect themselves at all times they should also come to the conclusion that your past made you who you are so regrets should be minimal at the very most. Let go of the baggage and start fresh based off what you have learned from any past misteps. Regret nothing.

Step 1) Start small and keep it simple but fun. If I told you that had to run 365 levels of stairs then I am sure that would seem impossible. What if I told you that you had a year or even as long as you wish to do it?

A win is win and winning is always fun. Don't set long term goals. One step at a time is the way to go. I count everday that I take in less than what I burn out as a win even if it is only a simple calorie difference. The problem is simple. Win the first day then the second and so on. If you should happen to lose a day then don't regret it or beat yourself up simply start a new game the next day. If you win five days a week and barely lose the other two then you will be surprised how quickly results will come. My record was 23-7 in my first month which wouldn't merit me a berth in the playoff in most major sports but helped me shed the pounds safely and quickly.

For my size, Age (29), and work (carpet cleaning) I decided that I should take in an average of 3200 calories a day if I wanted to maintain my weight. If simply took in 2400-2800 then I figured that I would lose weight. Sure enough Math proves to be my friend again. Make sure that you drink a minimum of 2 liters a day or three if you work as hard as I do.

I personally decided on St. Patrick's day of this year that I had things that I need to change. St. Patrick's day is my birthday and my twin brother and I were posing for a picture with our birthday cupcakes. Looking at the picture, I couldn't help for a second but to feel like I to was nothing more than a cupcake. Pat, my indentical twin brother was over 65 pounds smaller than I was. Now, I had compared myself to a lot of depressing things in my time but a freaking cupcake was the final straw.

That picture forever changed my life. The birthday picture was just the final straw but I am have always been hesitant to share my truest motivation because it made me feel weak. Part of my new lifestyle is addressing all my weaknesses and adjusting them to the best of my abilitly.

My true motivation is the fact that I have really let people words sink in to me. Words can be a powerful thing that either build or destroy as easily as any tool that man possesses. For the longest time I let people's negative words effect me in a negative way. Now, I take all those negative words that I have heard throughout my life and I have turned them into my own positive energy. Some people may think that my next words totally contrast every positive thing I just wrote but I just honestly want people to eat their own words.

Know your limits and strive to exceed them just a little bit more everyday!

I hope that I answered your question.

Thanks for the support and have a freaking fantastic day!

Your friend,

Mike

The Big O