The Anti-Jared

You know what is funny. I cannot remember the names of the two Biggest Loser contestants that wrote me a letter congratulating me on my journey. I do not remember the three doctors who told me that my weight loss was remarkable. I forget the name of the woman who wrote about me for CNN….. Yet, I remember every comment that some woman from Duluth, OH named “Fattie Fatters” wrote about how I was narcissistic, how I was a poor writer and all I ever talked about was how I could not wipe my ass. Male weight loss bloggers have a very short life expectancy online. They are extremely rare. A lot of them will blog right before they lose weight. Some will blog during their weight loss. Few will blog after. Yet I have been here for five years. I refuse to be a blogging dinosaur. I try to [...]

I used to hate the word fat. I have written about it numerous times about how the word makes no sense to me. Fat is more of a feeling than anything else. It is what uneducated people insult others with It is what others say to shut people down. ” Jesus! You are so fat!!!!!” But I realized that society will probably look at me and others as fat forever. Maybe it is the loose skin. Maybe it is fear of the scale at times. Maybe it is the way I look at food. Maybe it is the way I would put my stats up on an online chat dating site…… F- A/S/L please Me- Um….36/M/US F- Height and weight? Me- Um…5 ft. 6 and over 200 pounds F- Oh, well…my boyfriend is calling me. GTG! Me- WAIT! I can squat 375 pounds! The truth is I am not fat. [...]

When it comes to weight loss I am extremely compassionate. I know what it is like to feel like a failure when everyone else around you eats normally and you cannot. I know what it is like to make excuses. I know what it is like to pray a pair of pants will fit after gaining weight. I also know what it is like to be successful with losing weight. How do you help others? That is still one of the hardest things to do. Although weight loss has a lot to do with support and others, it is still a very individual journey. As someone who has dealt with weight his whole life, I also know answers everyone gives. Eat more unprocessed foods, workout, drink water, track, and uptake of protein are just a few things everyone has heard. Every time a magazine gives “NEW SHOCKING WEIGHT LOSS TIPS” [...]

About four months ago I decided to go completely unprocessed. I gave up all dairy, flour and sugar.I only eat fruits vegetables and lean meats. There was no challenge that I did. I am not a fan of challenges. I understand that some people need them as a kick start to something great, but I think a lot of challenges are there to promote companies. Plus, I do not think it is right that because I am doing something that others should as well. I do not think the way I eat is the best way for everyone. In fact, I think that if you ask 100 people what the best diet is, you will get 99 different answers and one answer where someone says “I hate the word diet, I like to think of it as a lifestyle transformation journey lovefest!” I do not feel better by going unprocessed. [...]

I read this post today about social media exhaustion by my friend Carla. Lately it does seem that more and more people are complaining about social media. The weird thing is, most people are complaining about social media on social media. I have my own take on it. But I loved her post. I loved the whole “Crushing It” saying because there are a few people who say it and I do not know what it means. The only thing I was crushing was seats at 420 pounds. But I thought it would be fun to give my take on social media as well. I will say I love it because I am able to promote posts and talk about weight loss to a much bigger audience. Now, there are some annoying parts…… First off, I do not understand some things. I do not know why people feel the need [...]

When I started to lose weight in February of 2008, no one except my wife knew about it. Sure, people at the Weight Watchers meeting knew, but they were not my friends. They just saw an enormous man coming in week after week to weigh in and listen on weight loss tips. I did not want anyone to know. Honestly it is not because I thought I was going to fail. I knew this time I was not going to. I was determined and made sure that I would fine a way to lose weight even if it got tough. Did I think I would lose 221 pounds in a year? Well, no. But I did know I would weigh less than the 420 pounds I started with. I wanted to document my weight loss but did not really know how. My brother had a blog and I have always [...]