Couch to Couch

From Couch to Couch

It was not long ago that I was in a weight loss competition at the gym I attend. I went from 220 something to 205. It was an awesome feeling! I had reached a goal and I had won the competition losing the most body fat.

I felt great! I was running each morning and hitting the gym in the afternoon! I was even doing two a days if I could make it. I was able to do this because all I had going on was just taking care of my Grandma while I was in transition to a new job.

I was fortunate enough to be picked up at a local restaurant to become the Director of Culture and Craft. Essentially, I am the one who developed the culture of the business. I was building the social media and marketing platform for the business and they noticed that I have a unique talent. I am able to go to anyone and have a conversation as if I have known them for years. This came in handy in the early opening of the restaurant because many people weren’t to happy with certain things. I was the guy who they would send in if there was a problem and to make the guests feel special and listen to their problems. People left the restaurant knowing that they were taken care of.

This leads me to why this blog is called couch to couch…

Before the restaurant opened, I was working morning until afternoon. Constructing posts and designing promotions and developing culture. Soon my schedule changed to working nights. I was working about 6–7 days a week at night and it messed with my sleep schedule and eating schedule. I have this problem that when I am on I am on and I do not think about eating. I will consume water but that was about it. I would get home about 12–1 in the morning and after all the interaction I would decompress at home and with my Grandma sleeping it would be difficult to make anything for dinner that would be quiet. Therefore, I would opt for “easy” things. Anything that would go in a toaster oven or microwave. I would stay up from when I got home will about 2–3 depending. Because of this, I was no longer waking up early enough to get a run in or to hit the gym. I would wake up, relax, take care of my Grandma and sure enough, it would be time to get back to work.

After three months of this routine I have now gained all the weight, I had lost back in April and then some. I let my newest routine of crappy eating and not getting good rest take over my life. I am now 230+ and I am not happy. I have seen that my stamina has been down and I have not felt great. My performance at the gym has been ok but not what I need it to be.

I am writing this as inspiration to those who struggle with their routines but want to break them and this is also to hold me accountable. After seeing a few pictures of me last year and how slim I was compared to this year, I have just gotten down on myself. This is the worst thing to do. I need to lift myself up and stop making excuses like I normally do. Weight loss is not a hard thing if you truly want it. There are many resources out there to help everyone. I am not an advocate of any one way over another as long as you enjoy it.

Many people ask me on a regular basis how I am able to do it and I tell them all they really need to do is consume a good amount of water, eat better and more quality foods and make sure you get enough actual exercise in. Stuff that gets your heart rate up and moving.

I will be tracking my progress starting today. At the end of the week I will talk about my week and how things went. The exercises I did and what I ate in order to get back to where I need to be. It will be difficult to start but once you get into a good routine everything will come!

So, if you are looking for a time to get started and to make better choices for your health you should start with me! Let’s do this together, get off the couch, and become the competitor for our lives! #beourownhero

Use the hash tags #bemyownhero #couch2competitor so we can all help each other and give virtual high fives as we progress to a better us!