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I was fat. Beyond that I was obese.

Me/Hack – Note how cleverly I’ve kept my anonymity! Scroll down for the obligatory (and dramatic) ‘after’ pic!

I can admit that about myself now, since over the past six months I’ve managed to lose 33% of my body mass (or 90lbs to put it another way) by following a strict diet and, more importantly, adopting a healthier lifestyle that includes regular exercise. SORRY FATTY’S NO MIRACLE CURE HERE!

But at the time I rationalized my weight gain with thoughts that I wasn’t THAT fat…not as fat as that guy…or that one…or JEEZUS H. KEERIST that guy.

And my rationalization was accurate – I wasn’t as obese as the most morbidly overweight person you’ve probably seen, but I was on the path to being dead.

So what changed that motivated me to lose it? Honestly, no one thing. However I do recall the day XXL sized shirts and 42″ pants started to feel ‘snug’ it started to freak me out. I even went into a ‘big & tall’ men’s store once — easily top 5 most depressing moments of my life. Devastating.

Plus I just didn’t like how I felt. Tired, cranky…blah blah. Read any blog by some ex-fatass who lost a bunch of weight and you”ll probably hear the same stuff. I also have an addiction — to DELICIOUS FOOD. OH GOD HOW I LOVE YOU PIZZA AND CHINESE FOOD! Kidding! I crack up when people talk about their ‘addiction’ to food. Yes, I too am addicted to food then. Yummy food. No one talks about their addiction to romaine lettuce, tofu or celery do they? It’s just like how I’m apparently addicted to watching the NFL, good booze, sunny days, golf and facials (what? don’t knock it). That’s my addiction, shit that is awesome.

Seriously though…this is a golf blog, so what’s the golf link? The impact on my life off the course was dramatic and overwhelmingly positive, but on the course it was nearly as dramatic and (over time) positive.

When I lost the weight here’s what I noticed:

- Golf fashion is not so horrible when you can fit into XL and L sized shirts and 34-38″ pants/shorts. Let’s be clear, it’s still not GREAT. But there are way more options to you than the XXL Snake Eyes discount rack.

- My swing flat out disappeared. I hit the ball literally behind me one time. Do you realize how freaking HARD that is to do? To top it in such a miniscule way that it puts counter-spin on it to the point that it goes BACKWARDS 5 feet? Amazing. My handicap and scores went up a crazy amount for a while (not that I’m a good player mind you, but a sufferable 18ish handicap). Eventually things settled and I got more comfortable with how much more quickly my body could rotate than before. I’m now back to regularly shooting where I was when heavy, and am hoping that by next summer – with continued training – I’ll pick up more distance to boot.

- I used to get home from walking 18 holes and took a major nap because I was EXHAUSTED YO! Now, without having to schlep a Bieber around with me, I can do other things. LIke update my fantasy football roster, duh. I also am not seeing the typical ‘last 3 hole’ flailing like I did when I was fat as I have the stamina to continue to hit less atrocious good shots.

As for how I went about losing it. I followed a strict food program/diet…which if you’re interested you can find more detail on here (I’m not pushing it on ya, and I’m not paid, but sharing is caring!).

I also (literally as it turns out) worked my ass off. People can absolutely lose weight by dieting alone, but part of my diet meant (gulp) no booze. Which for me was a major life alteration and one I never planned to carry forth forever. So, in order to enjoy a tasty beverage now and again (and again), I knew I would have to commit to making exercise part of my life going forward.

I got a trainer (see link above on TSFL, same guy) who consistently kicks my ass twice a week, and then I run twice a week on my own. Side note – ALL TRAINERS ARE SADISTS AND SECRETLY HATE THEIR CLIENTS. I am sure of this given the glee he takes in watching me grunt and groan in agony for ’3 more reps bitch!‘.

So anyway, I’m sharing this not because I’m trying to sell something (the program I was on worked for me, probably would work for you…that’s as big of an endorsement as I make about anything)…but mainly because I am viewing it as part of my own process for adopting this new lifestyle. This is sort of my ‘burn the ships’ post because if I get fat again, people will go “Hey remember when you were skinny?” Yeah, that’d suck.

So good luck to any other FATTY’S (yes you are fat, admitting it is part of the process) who want to change. You can do it…and if you’re a golfer the benefits are totally worth it, not to mention the whole…not dying of diabetes, heart attack, stroke etc.

And now the dramatic ‘after’ pic…TA-DA!

After my first official 5k. My trainer was in the pic too but I cut him out…after all HE didn’t run the race now did he? No he did not.