AndyVGR.com

 

Welcome everyone to the Fitness section of AndyVGR.com, it is my hope for this section to bring general fitness / weight loss advice to all users, after all, gaming isn’t everything but life is. I first would like to say that I am not a physician in any way shape or form and will not be held responsible for injuries you may / will get from any physical exertion or eating tips you get from me (Andrew Osborne) or this website (andyvgr.com). You should always consult your physician or doctor before attempting anything that will significantly change your body. As I have just said I am not a doctor, or even play one on T.V. I am a normal human being that was in dire need of a change. It was the summer of 2008 and I got sick, I was at a LAN party of all things and started to feel a tickle in my throat, an hour later I felt my neck glands start to swell, I was getting the flu. I left the LAN party early and went home. Over the next week my body was so busy with the flu that it didn’t have enough resources to tackle the sinus infection that set in, and I continued to eek along. Weeks went by and I was still sick, I didn’t have the flu but nausea and the occasional fever where my friends. Then it happened, my left ear clogged shut from the sinus infection, I had to do something, I had to find a doctor. My previous doctor had retired and I never sought out a new one, so I began a hunt for a doctor that was accepting new patients, after I finally found one I scheduled and appointment.

My Weight Loss Transformation Video

I went to the doctor’s office and signed in, I sat down in a waiting chair amongst the other sick people and waited, finally the nurse called my name and I went behind the counter, they did the usual things such as take my height and age, then I stepped on the scale, I knew I was a large person, but when She (The Nurse) asked me “Does Four Hundred and Fifty Five Pounds sound about right to you?” I was blown away, “I have gotten that big?” I said to myself “uh, yes, that sounds about right” I replied, and quickly filed what I had heard away in my mind, “455 that’s not so bad I guess” I thought to myself and that was problem number 1, I didn’t care. Then the nurse took me to a room and had me sit on the exam bed, I sat there quietly waiting on the doctor to come in, He finally did, He was a shorter person than I, possible 5’ 10” maybe shorter, Indian descent, but very nice. He asked me why I was there and I told him of the flu and of the sinus problem, He acted like it was nothing, wrote something on a sheet of paper and said “get this prescription filled you will be fine” Then he did something I didn’t expect, he started looking at my neck and told me in a very concerned way “You better lose some weight, you’re a prime candidate for diabetes, you should come in for a blood analysis” I replied with a stunned, almost hushed “ok”. His eye’s sunk back, I think He didn’t think I cared, or believe him and he walked out. I left the doctor’s office with my prescription paper and started to cry, I didn’t want diabetes, I didn’t want to go blind or lose a limb, but my goodness, weight loss is hard!
By the time I got home I was a mess, The idea that my life was going to change one way or another scared me, under one change I was out of control, at the mercy of something so terrible that it’s called “The Silent Epidemic”. On the other hand if I was willing to dramatically change my life, accept the amount of hard work that lay before me, then I would at least get a better, longer, more enjoyable life (barring any violent deaths, unforeseen disease and spatulas * I hate those things!*). It was a decision that many would think is a no brainer, but the vast (no pun intended) amount of obese people should tell you that it isn’t, some just simply ignore the signs, others just shrug them off “AH, that won’t happen to me” is a common attitude I see. What scared me into action was the Ad Council commercial for diabetes, a real true blind person sat down on a chair in the commercial and told how he ignored the truth of his condition and now he’s blind because of it, that was enough for, I enjoy the world far too much with vision, I didn’t want to go blind and that was a thought that crept into my head every time I wanted to give up. So I began a weight loss plan that was simple on paper but hard in practice, I tried a diet Pill but it really didn’t help, when it comes down to it you are the only deciding factor on weight loss, Your either going to do it or not, no amount of surgery or pills will help or change that, your own attitude is the enemy that must be defeated.
To say that my weight loss went great would be a lie, after I lost about a hundred pounds I gave up, thought I was doing well, the bad guys had been defeated, and that was until my weight crept back up (only twenty pounds or so). It was then that I decided finally loose the weight until I reached a drastic goal, and that goal was 220 pounds, I weighed 350 when I set that goal, it wasn’t until I was about 280 that I changed it to 205, after all if you’re running a race you might as well finish in style.

 

 

 

Weight Loss TIPS
1. RELAX (not physically) you didn’t gain the weight overnight and it sure isn’t going to disappear that way either, don’t panic, you have a plan, you can do this, it’s bigger than it seems.
2. If it sounds too good to be true, that’s because it is! There is no miracle drug or surgery.
3. Unless your doctor tells you that you’re going to die then weight loss surgery (gastric bypass, staples, lap band) is a CHEAT, yes you may lose weight, and yes you may get better, but did YOU do it? And I often hear of people talk about how little they eat once they had a bypass, but the problem is that they are still eating very unhealthy things! Half a vile of poison is still poison.
4. Don’t take other peoples advice (not even mine) If what your doing is working for you then do it, ignore other people’s ideas on weight loss, especially if they either aren’t loosing / haven’t lost / or if they need to! It seems to me that those who can’t or won’t try to live vicariously at least sub consciously through others, they see your doing great and want to help, but often they will hinder you and not even know it! (See Kevin James stand up on Sugar Less Gum)
5. Your attitude is your biggest enemy, you must defeat it, while physical activity is hard at first it gets easier, and you will grow to enjoy it. Weight loss is 80% mental, 20% physical.
6. It takes longer to gain weight than it does to lose it (WHAAAAT Your lying, I bet your yelling at the monitor right now!) It’s true, it took me 24 years to get to 455 pounds, but only took 2.5 years to get back down to 199. Gaining weight is easier, losing it is harder, but the opposite is also true, it takes longer to gain, shorter amount of time to lose!
7. It’s all about the calories, I don’t care what diet plan you’re on (if it’s working for you then keep doing it at least, or consult your doctor). Weight loss is not measured in points, carbs or fiber; it’s all about your caloric intake, burn more calories than what you’re eating!
8. When losing weight you must exercise regularly, doing it for 3 weeks and then stopping is often worse than not doing it at all, the reason is that your mind sets up a condition in which you feel as though you have done well and you can eat whatever you want, this is a very dangerous condition and you must not fall into it!
9. Exercise for more than 30 minutes each time you do, when you start to work out your body breaks down carbs (i.e. foods you have eaten recently) It does this because they are simpler to break down than stored fat, but as you prolong your workout your body goes into fat burning mode as it figures out your in it for the long haul.
10. Cardio is the best exercise to burn calories, you cannot spot burn fat! That is a proven fact, you must ramp your heart rate up and keep it up, see TIP 9 for details on why.
11. After you work out for a while (months) start raising your duration / distance, for instance, when I started I would walk 3 miles and it would about kill me, but near the end of the weight loss I was jogging / walking 5.5 miles, and it took the same amount of time, The reason you should do this is twofold :
• The exercise will get easier as your body gain muscle mass, you will have to go farther to burn the same amount (don’t worry though, it’s not harder! just farther!)
• As you gain muscle mass you will start workout much quicker and will finish quicker, remember keep your heart rate up longer than 30 minutes!

That is all the advice I have for the moment, Just keep a clear mind on the goal at hand and you will do fine, I did and I know you can too!
If you would like to talk with me then please drop me a line at the email address below or check in our forums section under fitness!

 

 

–Andrew Osborne, Former Obese Person