Fat Guy Diary

Tag: April Fools

  • April Fool! (Who ME?)

    As I look back, I can see that many days, if not most, were April Fool’s Day for me! I fooled myself for many days and many years.

    TheFatGuy Cat in the HAT 2014A

    How did I do this? I did this by ignoring me, ignoring my own weight, health, fitness, and life. I was pretty good at helping others and not so good at helping ME. I Fooled myself into ignoring these things. I immersed myself in the needs of others, thinking that if I took time for me I would be taking away from my efforts for others.

    I went from 300 pounds to over 360 pounds in 3 ½ years working to save a non-profit I felt passion for and helping youth I wanted so much to help succeed in life. I did immerse myself in the organization and the needs of others during this period of time. I worked 70 hour weeks for 3 ½ years to save this organization and did nothing much of anything else. I failed to do many of the things that helped me through life. I failed to properly embrace family and friends. I failed to manage my own life. I failed to create balance in my life. I completely failed to “ Take Care of ME!”

    While I may have done much good for the youth I served over 3 ½ years, I took major hits in health, fitness, body, mind, and soul. I did nothing to “Take Care of ME”. I do not tell you this to feel like I sacrificed so much for others, or for some altruistic feeling this might give me. I like helping others, it’s what I am good at in life. I was actually disappointed in me. When I started my journey and looked at what I did, why I did it, and what I wanted to do, I realized just how much I was fooling me.

    I was not only fooling me, I was cheating myself of the ability to be the best me for me and others I my life. Ultimately I ended up at a point where I was in such bad shape, I was no longer able to help others the way I wanted and it was not a good place to be. SO on March 2, 2009 I realized that I needed to be the best me for me and to best help others in my life. I know and talk to many people that are great at helping others and not so great at helping themselves. I see it all too often.

    I have to remind myself every day that to be the best me for me and everyone else in my life, I have to “Take Care of ME!” It is not a selfish thing, it is the best thing for all.

    Note to ME and YOU: Don’t be an April Fool and Fool yourself. “Take Care of YOU” so You can be the best YOU for all!

  • LIVING, LOVING, LOSING, LAUGHING!> LAUGHING

    LIVING, LOVING, LOSING, LAUGHING!> LAUGHING

    This is the final post on my tagline Living, Loving, Losing, Laughing! The focus of today’s post is Laughing. Laughing can be defined as: 1.a: to show emotion with a chuckle or explosive vocal sound b: to find amusement or pleasure in something  2. to be of a kind that inspires joy.

    TheFatGuy did not do much laughing in the years leading up to March 2009. I never felt much like laughing and did not find much that amused me. I could not find it in ME to laugh at myself or the amusing things that crossed my path each day. My weight was a wall holding out laughter and the fun we should all have in life. I was serious all the time between wrestling with saving a nonprofit and dealing with my ever ‘growing’ weight problem. I did not have the time to laugh! I did not have the energy to laugh! I think I had forgotten how to laugh!

    My eyes came wide open and my mind cleared on making the decision to start my journey in March 2009, The walls came down and I realized how much I was missing and how much I needed to laugh. Laughing became as critical to my journey as Living, Loving, and Losing. I learned laughing at ME and the simple things going on in life around ME was a good thing, a great thing. I found laughing made it much easier to choose a positive attitude each morning. Laughing just plain made ME feel better.

    How does laughing make you feel better? Laughing can be good exercise! Laughing reduces stress and can help you be healthy! The level of stress hormones may actually drop when you are laughing. Laughing releases tension, anger, endorphins, and more.

    Turns out Laughing was the perfect prescription for ME. Losing 150 pounds and laughing again turned out to be the perfect prescription to get me off of 7 different prescription medications. Just what the doctor ordered!

    Note to ME and YOU: Laughing makes things SO MUCH BETTER!

    TheFatGuy