What was your moment?

[mommabear]

I live in New Zealand (Auckland) (look for Australia and we are the group of islands to the right), married for 18 years and have 3 beautiful little souls. I am currently fat. But not for much longer thanks to Tim!

I have had several moments over the 20 years. I have made some major blunders with my diet and my body. I have lost and gain so much weight. I have done Atkins to achieve pregnancies, IVF treatment has meant that any weight I had lost trying to get pregnant has come back again ten fold.

I feel like I have just come out of a big black tunnel. Two years of lack of sleep and parenting 3 children takes its toll when you are a stay at home Mum. You are time poor so going to the gym is not an option, and low carbing (Atkins) on your own is difficult at best (so my motivation was low). I had battled Postnatal depression and I was starting to be in the right space to do something for me - which I think DH saw and he sent me on a holiday for 6 days on my own.

DH found Tim's book - the 4 hour week months and months ago. He was kinda inspired by it. 4 weeks ago when I came back from my holiday and he suggested that we needed to the 4 hour body together. We each downloaded a couple of the book - and I decided actually I needed a paper copy so I could book mark and make notes. He wants to get stronger (read he has a geek physique) and I want to lose body fat and lots and lots of it. So in 3 weeks we have lost a couple of kgs each without the kettlebells. I am loving the slow carb approach and am not feeling deprived at all. When our kettlebells arrived late last week we were both excited but cautious. We wanted to get our technique right and there are all of rubbishy online kettlebell demonstrators out there. We found a guy that I like to call Dude that someone from Sparks recommended. We did our first session on Monday night and we are both sore in all the right places . There are not many kettlebells demonstrators in NZ.

I am currently at 90 kgs (198 pounds) and I have no idea what percentage of body fat that is - 40 - 50%.

Mommabear

[generati]

I was swimming in the pool at the gym I go to in SF, first time back since a bicycle accident six months earlier that separated my shoulder. The guy in the lane next to me was trying to race me (kind of a rude thing to do without talking to the person first) so I just worked to keep pace with him, and beat him. My next set was a kickboard set so I set out kicking and he was waiting for me at the opposite end. He struck up a conversation, and somehow we realized we knew each other from 13 years ago. We'd both been Lifeguards for LA County.

And then he says "Wow, you've gained a lot of weight. I didn't recognize you at all." True... but still.... do you really say something like that to somebody? Well, it was a kick in the gut. While I can't imagine ever being the weight I was when I was a lifeguard (6'2", 156lbs at my lowest, and way underweight for my height) I want to get into a shape where I won't run into people from my past.

I also was doing aerial acrobatics (trapeze, rope climbing tricks...) before the shoulder separation. I hope to get back to it once my shoulder is strong enough. I was always a little big for acrobatics (height wise, and weight wise.) What I noticed while dieting pre-injury was that when I weigh 225 the tricks are much more difficult than when I weighed 205lbs. My strength didn't change, just my weight during that diet. My goal is 190

So today is my start day.
Wk1: Mar 6 228.6 lbs, 18.9% bf (caliper), and 160 TI

Goal: 190, 14% or less body fat.

[DrPowPow]

So for me, my Harajuku moment was more of a cumulative process. At a routine doctor's visit the first part of January, I was told I had high cholesterol and my weight was a whopping 198 pounds! I have struggled with my weight my entire life (I weighed 220 pounds when I graduated from high school) but I have been below 198 for about 5 years. I usually have a, let's just say healthy, sex drive and attributed its decline as of late to stress associated with graduating from medical school, transitioning to "normal" life, board exams, etc. Next, I realized that I no longer felt good naked. I'm one of those people who just enjoy laying on MY couch, watching MY tv, and being totally uninhibited. Finally, the culmination came when I got out of the shower, looked in the mirror, and noticed the excessive "hail damage" covering my ass and upper thighs! Something HAD to be done!!!

I started monitoring my caloric intake and some light exercise. Then I was browsing around on my Kindle one night and happened upon 4HB. It just MAKES SENSE! I haven't been doing it long but my totals as of now are:

Starting weight: 192 lbs
Week 1: 183 lbs (-9 lbs)
Took my first measurements to track inches
Week 2: 180 lbs (-3 lbs)
(-6.25 inches)
NO MORE HAIL DAMAGE!!!

Because of the slow in weight loss, I increased my protein this morning from 20g to 30g. I feel like I'm going to vomit because I'm SO full but we'll see how it goes. My weigh/measure day is tomorrow!

[BoyDharma]

I didn't have a moment per-say but a series of them over years that got me here. All through high school up to say 22 or 23 (not sure was a while ago) I was always able to eat anything and not gain, I was always constantly 150 or so. It was great and really fit my nerdy self well. Fast forward to 30 year old 200lb me and I wonder what happened. I then went to the doctor and she said my blood sugar was up and I had high cholesterol and so was on some drugs, I did that for a while and than ate better and retested and didn't need the pills.

Than in the last year I started doing yoga and love it, I have definitely gained muscle and strength but still was around 200 or 190 (never been one to measure myself on a scale). But I can touch my toes heck even the floor but my knees are horrible and I think it's the added weight. Picked up the audio-book a while ago but just bought the book since I needed to actually have it in my hands. So, today is day one and am nervous and excited to see how this goes, and I expect great things.

[dayzerominusone]

I'm a male in my late 30s and I have been overweight since I was a kid.

The past two years have seen me become obese. A divorce, career crash and subsequent depression saw to it that my previous relatively active lifestyle became a sedentary one. After becoming a professional writer with the accompanying sitting down for months on end, my weight ballooned from 90kg/198 pounds to around 105kg/235 pounds.

The past two years has been one of reflection and change. I have published two books, dealt with clinically-diagnosed depression without treatment, have successfully played the dating game after a 13 year relationship and have quit smoking. 4 Hour Work Week was a big influence in how I have structured my new life, but I am only now getting to the point where I can concentrate as much on having fun and travel as I have been on my work. My problem was, I LOVE writing and I consider it to be fun. Example - can you imagine doing NOTHING but writing for 10 months? That is what I have just done. I have sat on my behind, chained to my laptop for that whole time. The thing is, I have loved every second of it. I am, for the first time in my life, in my element. There is always a price, and mine has been unacceptable fat gain.

In the first 12 months after I ditched my ex, I was dating and had a very healthy romantic/relationship/sex life. This last 12 months has seen me avoid dating all together because I feel physically unattractive due to my body fat.

A few weeks ago I discovered 4HB. Having been so impressed with 4HWW, I ordered a copy. It arrived on Friday and I read through the first two chapters several times. Something clicked. I found all the strange little diet tips I had read about previously like boosting metabolism with cold temperatures, drinking stupid amounts of water, chillis, and protein being rolled together into one simple concept. My moment was when I realised I had known much of this dietary stuff all along. Tim's findings agreed with what I had read and he had given us a basic roadmap on how to go about it. The book helped turn the theoretical into the practical for me.

This morning I tried the bean/salsa/egg/spinach breakfast and liked it. This afternoon I threw out all the uncool foods in my fridge and pantry and spent $150 on cool foods for the next week and a bit.

So here I am at Day 0 -1. I am committed to following the SCD for no less than 30 days because I see the sense in it - it's revolutionary and we all know it can work. It's my job to make sure it works for me. If it doesn't, then I failed and will ensure success the second time around.

Here are my basic Day Zero stats - no measurements because I don't feel I need them (at the moment).

Gender - Male
Age - 38
Height - 176 cm / 5'9
Weight - 105 kg / 232 pounds

[MRyant]

Age: 23
Height: 5'11" / 181 cm
Weight: 150 kilos / 330 lbs
Sex: Male

About Me:
As a kid and teenager, I always was on the chubby side of things. I'd get called names by other kids and be hit and bullied just because I had a bit of flab. These experiences of course caused me to eat more to forget the pain causing me to get fat. When I entered High School I started playing soccer and my life was turning for the better. Through soccer I was losing lots of my flab and was gaining respect among my peers. Back then (around age 16) I weighed 198 lbs/90 kilos @ 5'10" / 177 cm and looked the best I had in years.

Soon after High School (which in Switzerland is the 9th school year) I started an Apprenticeship as IT System Engineer and 6 months into the apprenticeship I stopped playing soccer all together. From age 17 on to 23 I've been gaining weight and recently hit the 330 lbs / 150 kg mark. I didn't think very much of it until I looked at myself in the mirror...I wasn't disgusted but [i][b]scared[/b][/i] at what would happen if I was to continue like this. I have read 4HB several weeks before hitting my historic mark, but I never had that "moment" where it dawned on me.

Recently, my boss was losing weight by leaving out carbs in his meals. At first it wasn't apparent, but after he returned from a two week vacation the changes were mind-blowing...I guess that's when it made click in my head. I got another boost when I took out a picture of myself, from when I was 16 and in quite good shape. I now committed myself to stay on SCD for the next 8 weeks and see how things go and I've prepared a blog to make my goals public (blogging will start tomorrow, Wednesday the 10th of August 2011, http://www.mryant.com).

Let's keep it up!

- Marc Ryan

[FMFBlogger]

These are some really fantastic stories, everyone. Thank you for opening up so much. It's really encouraging to be here because all of us in some way or another are in the same boat. I especially love the international camaraderie.

You are very inspirational.

-j

[OldMary]

My moment had to come more than once. But the defining one was turning 40 in December and having random people ask if I was pregnant. I'm not. But, looking in the mirror, I can understand why they asked.

I started 4-HB a week ago. I'm using the SCD and kettle bell exercises to start. I'm already down 5.5 inches total, including 1.75 inches off my waist. And it's so easy. In fact, I cook my meals for the week after breakfast tomorrow, put them in containers in the fridge and don't have to worry about anything.

With about 35 pounds to lose, though I'm focusing more on body fat and inches, I think this could be the way to go. Also, if I fail, I have promised to get a day job. Scary thought since I've been self-employed for more than a year.