March 7, 2012
How I lost 150 pounds in one year
As a little kid I was always skinny, but when my growth spurt to 6-foot-2 began around age 15 that turned into chubby and by the end of high school I was fat. After a year of college fat gave way to obese and, for the most part, that's where I stayed. I lost significant amounts of weight several times since then, including a huge loss about five years ago, but inevitably I always put it all back on and then some.
Last winter I got Chinese takeout or had Pizza Hut chicken wings delivered nearly every night, with various other fast food meals and plenty of late-night snacking mixed in. All that gorging made me the fattest I'd ever been, which was incredibly depressing and in turn led to even more gorging. I was a mess, physically and mentally, but thankfully for whatever reason something finally clicked in my brain in late February of last year.
I was 28 years old and getting fatter by the day, which seemed like a recipe for a terrible life followed by an early death. I committed to attempting another weight-loss effort, knowing that if this one failed like the rest of them I'd probably just have to make peace with always being obese. And like a true addict I couldn't just start the diet, so instead I decided to give myself one final week to gorge on all the bad stuff I could possibly think of eating.
I can even remember my last bad meal. I ordered my favorite dish, hunan chicken, from my favorite Chinese restaurant, Yangtze in St. Louis Park, and then topped it off with some donuts and ice cream. I went to bed that night miserable, knowing how long the road ahead of me would be and how unlikely it was that I'd see the end of it. I woke up the next morning, sluggish from my final binge the night before, and stepped on the scale: 355 pounds.
That was March 7, 2011. Today is March 7, 2012 and this morning the scale read 202 pounds.
I lost 153 pounds in 366 days, and I did it without stomach stapling or crazy diets or a trainer. And as "Gleeman and The Geek" listeners know, I never stopped drinking beer. Throughout my previous weight loss ups and downs I learned that the simple balance between calories consumed and calories burned is the driving force behind any lifestyle change and as a baseball stat-head the knowledge that things work on a linear scale was reassuring.
My goal early on was simple: Eat fewer than 1,250 calories per day and force myself onto an elliptical machine for at least 10 minutes. I completely cut out all the foods I loved, going cold turkey on takeout and delivery and snacks, and also focused on eating at least two meals each day instead of letting myself get so hungry that dinner became a smorgasbord. I ate oatmeal and bananas and chicken soup and Lean Cuisine microwave dinners.
And the weight came flying off, as I shed 40 pounds in the first six weeks. That was certainly a positive thing, but because I'd done that (or something close) several times before I knew it was merely the first step down that long road. In the past my undoing always stemmed from slipping up once, which seems like a harmless thing at first but eventually leads to falling completely off the wagon.
My brain has proven incapable of occasionally going off the diet, so even after losing 40 pounds if I allow myself Chinese food or a few slices of pizza I know within a week I'll be back where I started. I've now gone one full year without consuming even 2,000 calories in a day and likely haven't topped 1,500 calories in a day more than a handful of times. It's been tough, no doubt, but my mantra of "why do I need it?" has talked me out of numerous slip-ups.
Along the way I upped my elliptical machine workout to an average of 30 minutes per day and developed a routine of working out around midnight, propping my laptop up on the console so music or a movie or a live sporting event could keep me occupied. I can remember barely being able to make it 10 minutes that first day, breathing heavily and sweating and feeling like my lungs were going to explode, but if not for boredom going an hour would be easy now.
I also gradually began to incorporate different, more fulfilling foods. I still eat microwavable meals about once a day--my favorites are chicken enchiladas suiza from Smart Ones, Thai-style chicken spring rolls from Lean Cuisine, and barbeque seasoned steak with red potatoes from Healthy Choice--but about six months ago I started to cook my own chicken-and-rice concoction that has become a daily and sometimes twice-daily meal.
Here are the ingredients for the huge batch I make each week:
- 15 cups of cooked white rice (which is about five cups uncooked)
- 28 ounces of Kame oyster sauce
- 12 ounces of Hormel natural choice chicken, cut into small pieces
- 4 ounces of John Morrell diced ham
- 12 ounces of Green Giant valley fresh steamers mixed vegetables
- 32 ounces of egg beaters, scrambled
- 2 ounces of soy sauce
- 0.75 ounces of minced onions
- 0.25 ounces of ground black pepper
- 1 ounce of salt
Put it all together in a big fry pan and what you get is a variation of chicken fried rice that tastes good, isn't terrible for you, and will keep you feeling full enough to avoid going off the diet. And as someone with zero cooking ability I can assure you it's incredibly easy to make, with the added bonus that the above recipe will feed you for an entire week and needs just a few minutes in the microwave for each meal.
I use that chicken-and-rice mashup as the baseline for most meals. For lunch I'll heat up a couple scoops of it along with the aforementioned Thai-style chicken rolls or a cup of microwavable Kraft macaroni and cheese. For dinner I'll heat up a couple more scoops along with the aforementioned chicken enchiladas suiza or barbeque seasoned steak with red potatoes. Every day and every meal, with Minute Maid light orange juice or water to drink.
Nothing crazy and no tricks, just find some reasonably healthy stuff that fills you up and tastes good, and eat it every day while avoiding slip-ups. I'm not sure if that approach is the healthiest or the smartest or even sustainable for the long haul, but I do know that it, along with 30 minutes per day on an elliptical machine, allowed me to go from 355 pounds to 202 pounds in 366 days with the following progression:
March 7, 2011: 355 pounds
May 11, 2011: 305 pounds
August 12, 2011: 265 pounds
September 9, 2011: 253 pounds
October 21, 2011: 245 pounds
December 1, 2011: 235 pounds
January 27, 2012: 215 pounds
March 7, 2012: 202 pounds
I'm certainly proud of myself for losing so much weight, but I'm also incredibly embarrassed on a number of different levels. For one thing I've lost 30 or 50 or even 90 pounds before several times, often writing about it in this space, and then I've always put it back on. That sucks, plain and simple. Beyond that, the biggest key to losing 150 pounds is being incredibly obese to begin with and ... well, that's not particularly fun to talk about either.
Praise for losing weight has always seemed odd to me, because no one is ever praised for simply being thin in the first place. It's like praising a shortstop for improving his defense from horrendous to mediocre, but not praising a different shortstop for always being a good defender. I'm also not in anything resembling great shape, as I still want to lose about 20 pounds and will never be accused of being toned or muscular.
I'm not an expert, I'm not bragging, and I'll probably always be embarrassed about my struggles with weight and how I look. But what I am, for now at least, is someone who stopped his downward spiral enough to shed 153 pounds in 366 days and my hope in writing this is to encourage myself to avoid yet another backslide and perhaps to encourage others to make a change for the better.
Being fat sucks and, if you're like me, being ashamed about how you look fuels depression and then depression leads to over-eating. As happy as I am with how I look and feel now, it makes me retroactively depressed about times in my life when, looking back, people may have been embarrassed to be seen with me or not wanted to hang out with me. Or even just judged me differently because of the person I presented in public.
I'm a lazy 29-year-old guy who's been fat since high school, doesn't have great metabolism or genetics, works from home, barely leaves the house, and can't cook. If I can get on a simple diet and stick to it for a year, then literally anyone can do it and probably do it even better. Find some low-calorie foods you like enough to eat on a regular basis, learn to cook a meal or two that you enjoy, and push yourself to exercise just a little bit.
My issue has always been needing to feel full and binging, but by building a diet of low-calorie foods and a rice concoction I've managed to feel full most of the time and by going cold turkey on everything bad I've stayed binge-free. Whether it's analytical or obsessive-compulsive, knowing that burning more calories than I take in equals weight loss and establishing a consistent routine of what I eat, when I eat, how I work out, and when I work out was crucial.
I eat at approximately 10:30 am and 6:30 p.m. every day, consuming some combination of those same half-dozen or so low-calorie options for each meal, and then do the same workout around midnight. Immersing myself in those patterns kept me from slip-ups, helped me stay confident that my plan was working, and perhaps most importantly kept me from having to think too much about eating or working out in general.
Because for a longtime fatso whose over-eating comes partly from depression thinking about your life and diet and body can be the worst thing for any weight-loss effort. So instead of thinking too much I just eat the same stuff and do the same workout I did the day before. Stick to your routine, without exceptions. No cheat days, no slip-ups because you're out with friends, no skipping a workout because you're tired.
Do it, every day, and one year later you'll have changed your life.
Congrats Aaron. Keep up the good work. I’m right behind you. I was 270 about 3 months ago and found out that if I wanted more life insurance, it was gonna cost me… a lot. That woke me up. Since then I’ve lost 30 lbs and I”ve started training for a 10K. I’m hoping to build it up to a marathon in 3 years. Can’t wait to see where you are in another year!
Comment by Joe — March 7, 2012 @ 3:02 pm
Congrats Aaron! As someone who has lost 58 lbs over the last year, I completely understand just about everything you touched on. Keep up the good work!
It’s amazing to me how many fad diets there are, yet weight loss always comes down to simply burning more calories than you take in daily. I’m glad that there are people in the world like you that acknowledge that as the way to go about weight loss.
Comment by Anonymous Matt — March 7, 2012 @ 3:06 pm
Congrats, brother. My story is pretty much identical, but I hit that 40 pound mark and went right back to pizza, tacos and beer on a regular rotation. One year later, I’ve put it all back on plus some. I’m trying to get my shit together again, and what you said definitely hits home. The cycle of overeating leading to depression leading to overeating affects me in the same way. I plan to re-read this post every morning to keep myself focused on what the end result can be. Thanks for sharing.
Comment by Matt Hollinger — March 7, 2012 @ 3:29 pm
Time to change the Twitter cartoon to a more svelte version??
Comment by Brendan — March 7, 2012 @ 3:29 pm
Good job Aaron! Congrats on sticking to it for the year, and don”t stop now. Find ways to improve your overall health. More protein, less carbohydrates, and always take the long way.
Comment by JA — March 7, 2012 @ 4:07 pm
Just wow. I’ve been a follower of this site and now the podcast for some time, but had no idea you were devoting yourself to this level. What you said about not feeling like you deserve congratulations for simply reversing a status brought on by horrible habits has some truth to it. It also completely ignores the fact easy access (and cheaper access) to high caloric foods is a serious problem in this country, and it takes IMMENSE willpower to do what you did. I hope that whatever residual depression you feel about how things were in the past will gradually fade, and be replaced by the benefits derived from your “new life”.
Heartfelt congratulations, Aaron, and best of luck for keeping it up in year 2!
Comment by Jeff H — March 7, 2012 @ 4:22 pm
Congrats Gleeman! If my Bert Blyleven California math is correct you beat the Twins win total by 87!
Comment by bennewitz87 — March 7, 2012 @ 4:41 pm
congrats. fuckin awesome
Comment by sam — March 7, 2012 @ 5:18 pm
Aaron, congrats on your success. What you’ve done is not easy, and requires tremendous dedication and determination.
With regard to:
“I’m not sure if that approach is the healthiest or the smartest or even sustainable for the long haul.”
To be frank, it probably isn’t. But, If you’d like to learn how you could make it so (and maintain all of your great results) I’ll offer you a two-hour Metabolic Flexiblity course that I teach, on me.
My good friend Mike T. Nelson, PhDc, has done extensive research in this area, and his work provides the foundation for how I teach fat loss & performance nutrition. He recently contributed to a fantastic article in Men’s Health that covers the basics. Give it a read: http://www.menshealth.com/weight-loss/reprogram-your-metabolism.
Comment by David Dellanave — March 7, 2012 @ 5:22 pm
Aaron;
I’m on the same sort of journey. We are abot the same height. So far, I am down from 305 to 258. A long way to go yet. The solution for me (so far) has been a lot like yours.
Something my doctor said to me made the difference. He said “There are no miracle diets. Take in fewer calories than you burn and you will lose weight”. Said another way, you have to do it. No book or pill is going to solve it.
I am a decent cook, and my diet was actually pretty good when I cooked, but all too often I did the fast food thing. For me, I started by staying away from drive-ups. Unfortunately I like my cooking a little too much. My solution to take smaller portions for the first round, relieving the anxiety by reminding myself that I can take seconds if I really want to. After I finished the first I changed the question from “Am I full” to “Am I still hungry” before I took seconds. That’s one problem with restaurants and take-out. The portions are too big, and we have a bias towards eating what’s in front of us.
Exercise is still a problem for me. I am lots older than you and have unrelated mobility problems, so elipticals are out. However, it is now my habit to take the dog out for as much of a walk as I can manage. I do some yoga to stretch and lift some small weights to break the boredom and still feel like I’m doing something good for myself.
I am donating my old clothes as I shrink out of them. Keeping them would let the thought into my head that I might go back.
So, I think you are right on. It’s all about habits. Find your own way to develop better habits and the pounds come off.
Comment by John P. — March 7, 2012 @ 5:23 pm
I’ve been reading your website for a few years now and I remember watching the fat-o-meter… I’m 34 and have a similiar history as yours with weight, so I’m very inspired by your story Aaron. Thanks for sharing and congratulations!
Comment by Adam — March 7, 2012 @ 5:37 pm
Congratulations Aaron on a new you and probably an all new wardrobe you’ve now had to purchase!
Comment by Patrick — March 7, 2012 @ 5:41 pm
Good job, man. Not everyone has the strength of will to change their life like this, and you deserve all the praise you’ve been getting.
Comment by Wombat-socho — March 7, 2012 @ 5:58 pm
Welcome to the world of beautiful people!
Comment by Martha — March 7, 2012 @ 6:01 pm
Inspirational. Thanks for sharing.
Comment by Scott — March 7, 2012 @ 7:27 pm
Wow. That’s amazing, congratulations.that is inspirational. Damn, I bet you have never been more happy to go out and get some new pants. Keep it up!
Comment by Michael — March 7, 2012 @ 7:42 pm
Congrats.
My favorite part, you didnt stop drinking beer.
You gotta enjoy life a little bit
Comment by ds — March 7, 2012 @ 8:33 pm
I’m wanting to lose 25 pounds over the next six weeks before a trip to Florida, and 50 total by the end of summer. You just inspired me to do what it takes go get there. Thanks for sharing your story!
Comment by Steve — March 7, 2012 @ 8:54 pm
I know we’ve had our differences, and I’ve made fun of your nerdiness over the years, but I find this transformation absolutely awesome! I posted a link to your site on reddit’s fitness section, I hope you enjoy the extra site traffic 😉
Comment by Brooklyn Twins Fan — March 7, 2012 @ 9:17 pm
Aaron,
I sincerely congratulate you for changing your life. Take the time to feel good about what you’ve done. You’re a hell of a good baseball analyst, and you’ve made a great change to your lifestyle. Don’t sell yourself short.
Comment by Nihilist in Golf Pants — March 7, 2012 @ 9:55 pm
Do people you haven’t seen in awhile not recognize you? Because you look like a completely different person. Do you recognize yourself?
Great story, and as with all your baseball work, very well written. Congratulations and good luck.
Comment by Pedro Munoz — March 7, 2012 @ 9:58 pm
Congrats on your accomplishment, Aaron. I see your point about being embarrassed and, subsequently, feeling strange about receiving praise. But it really takes a lot of will power and strength to completely change your life the way you did. You should be proud.
Now here’s a suggestion: Your chicken fried rice recipe sounds delicious. I want to try it out. What about starting a(nother) blog or even just a Tumblr page with good articles to read or good, easy recipes for dopes like us who aren’t exactly skilled in the kitchen?
You run it and take suggestions from us.
“Baseball fans trying to get healthy”
Not poetic, but you get the point …
Again, congrats, Aaron. Good luck in your upcoming journey …
Comment by S A C — March 7, 2012 @ 10:19 pm
My most sincere congratulations, Aaron, on a wonderful accomplishment! You are an inspiration. Your web site is the first place I go every day to get my Twins fix, and I hope you never stop bringing enlightenmnet and entertainment to baseball fans near and far.
Comment by JR Cigar — March 7, 2012 @ 10:21 pm
I’ve told anyone who’ll listen today about this post. No matter what your size or shape, this is inspiring to anyone!
Comment by Bearsketball — March 8, 2012 @ 12:17 am
Very inspiring.
Comment by Chuck — March 8, 2012 @ 6:57 am
Great job Aaron! I hope you’ve encouraged others to do the same.
Comment by Jason — March 8, 2012 @ 7:28 am
Great to hear Aaron. I am in the process of losing weight from my high of 248. I hit the 202 mark on March 6th as well. I started the weight loss in August after one of the kids I coach asked if I would do the Truffle Shuffle for him. The interesting thing about this is that I used essentially the same routine you used. Low Calories and exercise. I keep being “advised” by my coworkers that I should do something else and I would see better results. It’s great to hear about other people using this revolutionary technique of losing weight.
Comment by Adam — March 8, 2012 @ 7:50 am
Awesome job Aaron. keep up the good work.
Comment by Tom Thumb — March 8, 2012 @ 8:10 am
wow! Awesome job Aaron. “Throughout my previous weight loss ups and downs I learned that the simple balance between calories consumed and calories burned is the driving force behind any lifestyle change and as a baseball stat-head the knowledge that things work on a linear scale was reassuring” I call this the KISS principle. Burn more than you eat. Congrats Aaron. I like the humility but you should be so proud.
Comment by Large Canine — March 8, 2012 @ 8:55 am
Aaron – really great story. A huge inspiration!
Comment by themoundie — March 8, 2012 @ 10:37 am
Nice work, Aaron! I’ll be using some of your tips : )
Comment by Jen — March 8, 2012 @ 11:08 am
First off, I love the blog,tweets and everything else you come up with. You are an incredibly talented writer. I think we would have been friends if we grew up together. It’s because of my adoration for you and your work that I’m a bit concerned.
I have often been told that running your body at 1,250-1500 calories in very unhealthy. I am hoping to spark a debate about this. Maybe it depends upon activity etc. I guess I don’t know. I just want to make sure that what you are doing is actually focused on the main goal, which is to live a long and healthy life.
I really do congratulate you on your accomplishment. I love your work. I just want to make sure that you are healthy and doing this the right way.
*The rest of the blog can now take me to task*
Comment by Jason — March 8, 2012 @ 11:13 am
Congrats! I am a long time reader who is also trying to get into shape. This is one of those nice sportswriter writing about non-sports topics that makes the other articles seem better from now on.
Comment by brant — March 8, 2012 @ 12:45 pm
Congratulations on the great accomplishment, but also thanks for writing up the story. I hope you stretch your formidable writing muscles in additional directions, for the edification of us all.
Comment by Eric — March 8, 2012 @ 5:03 pm
Congrats, Cousin Aaron! If not for the achievement, then for your dream and determination. Cheers to a healthier you!
Comment by Julia — March 8, 2012 @ 5:13 pm
try brown rice. cant tell a difference and way more fiber. congrats. I have a similiar issue with alcohol.
Comment by jack — March 8, 2012 @ 7:07 pm
congratulations, aaron…not for the weight loss but for GETTING HEALTHIER!! .. you never know when life is going to offer you your greatest rewards so by being healthy you have put yourself in a position to accept and embrace those rewards…
my life at age 60 changed dramatically this summer when my friend of 20 years told me that her feelings for me are changing..she is the best person i know and one year from that glorious day (july 29) we will be getting married
good luck and work hard
Comment by stevethumb — March 9, 2012 @ 9:29 am
Awesome story, congrats on the changes you’ve made. Going to keep it bookmarked as something to refer back to on days when I’m having a hard time making the right choices.
Comment by Pat — March 9, 2012 @ 2:39 pm
Nice!!!!
Comment by Jon g — March 9, 2012 @ 2:45 pm
VERY NICE ,GOOD FOR YOU AARON,KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK !!
Comment by MATT — March 9, 2012 @ 6:06 pm
Admit it. Your real inspiration was to make sure that Jonah Hill could still play you in the movie version of your life story.
Comment by Algonad — March 9, 2012 @ 7:44 pm
Congratulations. I am especially impressed by your willingness to find root issues. I’m thankful you succeeded.
Comment by Wade Mobley — March 10, 2012 @ 1:09 pm
Don’t be embarrassed as everyone has struggled with something in life. You conquered something that was significant and hard. You should be proud. I hope you find that eating more healthy and living a more active life becomes addicting and satisfying. For me personally I no longer crave or want unhealthy food. My brain knows I feel a hell of a lot better eating real quality food and the idea of eating junk (other than a pizza once a week) is disgusting to be honest with you.
I think you will eventually get to that point where you no longer even want the other food. Hang in!
Comment by AaronK — March 11, 2012 @ 8:27 am
Very nice job.
Very well written piece.
Keep it up.
Comment by Ken — March 11, 2012 @ 12:00 pm
Great to hear that story, make over weight people know they can do it..
Comment by Chad — March 24, 2012 @ 4:59 pm
You should consider brown rice! I like the brown rice from Trader Joe’s personally.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10307790
Comment by Andrew P. — April 14, 2012 @ 12:10 pm
Just think what would happen if you did that p90x workout….
Comment by Stan Francisco — April 27, 2012 @ 1:05 pm
Have you noticed more money in your pocket as well? I’d think saving money would provide additional motivation.
Comment by Stan Francisco — April 27, 2012 @ 1:24 pm
Wow, and congrats! That is wonderful news. And I was wondering how the weight purge was going. I’ve been away a long while. I remember reading about the 40 pound loss in six weeks, thinking WTF, and praying for you that you didn’t kill yourself with the drastic pace.
As I’m sure countless others have shared: Keep it off this time! Losing weight gets harder with each passing year. Just try to lose that much at age 50 with even more commitments and a crappy (or even crappier) metabolism and less resolve due to stresses you never knew about or thought would exist in your life. I seem to be putting on five to ten pounds every year for five year spurts. But now it’s been six years since I could last commit myself to daily nutrition and exercise.
Comment by Dr. Nick Riviera — May 2, 2012 @ 10:45 pm
As someone who realized she had to watch her diet and exercise regimes in college for entirely different reasons, I have to say that it’s changing the lifestyle that is the important and hardest part.
Whatever it is for each person that hits that mental switch, it’s a very very very big deal and you have obviously touched on something that speaks to all of us. Haven’t seen this many comments in a long time.
You did something good here and congrats hardly says enough.
Comment by CapitalBabs — May 22, 2012 @ 11:22 am