Why You Shouldn’t be Afraid of Success.

Posted on June 17, 2013 by theffkid

Tonight, I’m reflecting on a few other things I’ve realized after 1,000 days in to this crazy weight loss adventure. I’ll have more tomorrow night too! Enjoy.

Also, a quick shout out to the NSA agent reading this while tapping in to my data. Read as much as you want. I could use the views :).

Don’t be afraid of success.

For most of my life, I have been afraid of success. I used to be scared to get out of my comfort zone. When I did, I would freak out one way or another. A lot of the times, I would do and say crazy things (like yelling/singing the Disney song “A Whole New World” to a group of girls I didn’t really know. One of which I ended up marrying…) to hide away the fact that I was incredibly insecure in my own skin. If people were laughing with me, they weren’t laughing at me, right? But with that came the inevitable backhanded comment: “You know, you sure don’t act like you are fat. You are fun and comfortable in your own skin!”

Ouch.

I tried to not let that comment affect me, but people have said it to me way too many times in my life not for it to hurt a little. I felt that the only success I could achieve was under the provision that I was successful…for a fat guy. That didn’t sit well with me.

For most of my life, I was an average student. In fact, I had a teacher in high school that told me that I was a B student and I always would be.

Well she was wrong…I did worse than that in college.

Sure I did decent in my majors classes, but I slacked off in everything else. (Why did I have to take Geology? More important, WHY WAS GEOLOGY ONE OF THE HARDEST CLASSES I EVER TOOK???) In my hard classes, I strived to just pass because that’s what I expected of myself. At that point, grad school sounded like a great experience (the idea of just learning about social media, PR and marketing sounded amazing) but it was a pipe dream.

I left ACU with a crappy GPA. I knew I could have done better, but I was scared of succeeding. I was scared to put it all out there, to really study and actually act like I cared. What if I had put it all out there and I failed? What would be the point? I wish I could go back to that younger me and say “So what if you fail? You at least gave it your all!” (Then I would probably say “Oh yeah, you’re going to lose 130 pounds one day” to which Younger Nathan would have laughed and then ate a whole bag of Skittles in one gulp (yes, I have done that before.))

So when Megan got in to Florida State University, my dream school ever since I was in 7th grade, I was incredibly excited for her. One day when I was looking for a job in Tallahassee when we were still living in Abilene, she said “I think you should apply for grad school at Florida State.” At this point, I had been on their website 1,000 times, wishing and dreaming for the chance to apply. I knew I was a long shot, but I was going to give it my best.

Then, I took the GRE. I didn’t do well…at all. My dream was slipping away.

Fast forward to July 2010. We were sitting a Starbucks (since we didn’t have cable for our new place yet) and I got an email from FSU.

I didn’t get in, but they invited me to apply as a non-degree seeking student and to take two classes to prove my way in to the program.

“Maybe this isn’t for me,” I thought.

So I took two classes that first semester: Hispanic Marketing and an entry level stats class. I was scared of the unknown. How was I going to do in these classes? I finally said to myself “give it your best shot. Don’t worry about if you fail. What if you succeed?” So I did the work.

Not only did I pass both classes, I was even offered an assistantship for the following semester.

Three years later, I now work for my dream school and I will be starting an amazing new position within the university next week. This all began with me putting it out there and not being afraid of falling flat on my face. It was that step of confidence that lead to me taking an even bigger step months later: my weight loss journey.

Be bold. Give it your all. Don’t be afraid of success.

See ya tomorrow.

Weight-Loss Journey Reflections: What You Can Learn From 1,000 Days of Choosing Veggies Over Chicken-Fried Chocolate Pork.

Posted on June 16, 2013 by theffkid

Friday was a milestone in my life. I have been proud of many things in my life, but I think this is one that I haven’t emphasized enough in my mind as I should.

It’s a well-known fact that most diets crash and burn in a glutinous rage of glory. Until September 2010, I was a part of this statistic. It’s also a well-known fact the overwhelmingly majority of obese children remain obese for the rest of their lives. Until September 2010, I was a part of this statistic as well. On Friday, I celebrated that I have risen above these statistics and have broken out of these sad norms within our culture for 1,000 days. It hasn’t been easy, and I have had my share of setbacks, but at its core, losing weight is inherently easy and possible for every single person.

As you can imagine, I have learned a lot about weight loss and about myself over these past 1,000 days. While most of it has been positive, there are some things that I think we could work on as a society. Here are just a few of those realizations. Enjoy.

Don’t glorify food.

We’ve all done it. Late night when the family is asleep, we turn on the TV and turn it the to dirty channel.

That’s right: Food Network.

We sit and stare at the mounds of sloppy, greasy burger, stacked with gooey cheddar, mounted with piles of bacon and sautéed onions.

It’s lust at first bite.

I am here today to say that food porn is wrong.

When I was obese, I would sit and watch hours and hours of Man vs. Food. Adam Richman was my hero. Getting paid to go across the country and eat as much as possible? I wanted to find a way to be his understudy! You see, for most of my life, I have treated every meal like it was a contest. I wasn’t good at a lot of things, but I was good at eating. I was undefeated in every single Whataburger Milkshake Drinking Contest I ever competed in. I would could go round after round at every All You Can Eat restaurant. I would eat until I was physically ill. That is what shows like Man vs. Food promote, that that kind of eating is okay. The worst part of it was that when I would watch that show, and others like it, I would want to eat something gross like that. Because I thought that that’s what comfort food was. I thought eating that way was my right and something I deserved. (Meanwhile, there were homeless people not knowing where their next meal was coming from…) This was a vicious cycle that I had to break out of and it’s still something that I struggle with daily.

With that realization about the power food shows have over me, I’ve had to reassess how I look at food in my life. Is it fuel? Is it pleasure? What is it? I have realized that at the end of the day, it’s just calories. For my whole life, I have been letting my tongue and tastebuds dictate the success of my weight loss and my overall health. In order to be successful with weight loss, you need to be okay with every meal not being your “last meal” meal. I was most successful with my weight loss when I ate a sensible breakfast, a frozen meal with veggies for lunch, and a grilled chicken breast with veggies for dinner. Did I always want to eat that? Heck no! But I knew in the grander scheme of things that I wouldn’t remember one boring meal when I had a low number on the scale. I would think, “man, I’m glad I ate well this week!”

You can still be a foodie and lose weight. I’m proof. You just eat less of it. What I have been doing is eating simple meals throughout the week and on the weekend indulge a little or try a new recipe at home. Programs like Weight Watchers fit that kind of thought process into their points system. Obviously you don’t go crazy, you just eat less than what you would eat regularly. Yeah, it’s that simple.

So, I still have a lot more to say about what I have learned over the past 1,000 days, and I’m going to share it with you this week. Each night will be a different lesson so stay tuned.

I want to truly thank you for reading my blog. When I first started blogging about my weight loss, I had my share of reservations. I remember when I tired to lose weight a few years ago, I thought “what if I just posted my weight as a Facebook every day. What if I wrote ‘Nathan weighs ______ pounds.’ Man, that would be weird. That’s terrifying. I’ll never do that!” At the beginning, I didn’t post my weight. But I had so much support from every single one of you, that I eventually did. That speaks volumes to the level of love I have felt and the amount of accountability I have with you. I love you, dear reader. Thank you for making this weight loss journey so special. Here’s to another 1,000 days of weight-loss awesomeness. See ya tomorrow.

Monday on Reset

Posted on June 10, 2013 by theffkid

You know that blog you read where the writer always says “I’m going to do better, I’m going to do better, I’m going to do better”? Well, that has been me for a while. My weight loss has had its issues over the passed few years, but during that time I have still been able to maintain my within 10 pounds or so. This week, we are back to the basics: simple meals during the week, counting points, and some solid exercise. One thing I’m throwing in to the mix is tapping in more of my foodie side on the weekends. My issue is that I want to make all the delicious things to break from the same ol same ol during the week. So hear we go. Let’s get to it.

SHAMELESS PLUG TIME!
Y U NO LIKE MY FACEBOOK PAGE???
I’m trying to get to 1,000 likes! Help a blogger out!
Click here and like!
(Also, if I get to 1,000 likes, I’ll stop blabbing about this ridiculous self promotion… well, maybe…)

Breakfast: I had two eggs and a piece of toast. Simpletastic! 5 points

Lunch: I had leftover mac n’ cheese from yesterday’s lunch along with one Hebrew National 94% ff hot dog. 9 points

Snack: I had some celery sticks with a tablespoon of peanut butter 2 points

Dinner: I just had a cajun-seasoned chicken breast with some delicious squash (seriously, Becky knows how to grow some serious squash!) 8 points

Run time!
Since it finally cooled off tonight, I went for an awesome run!
So. Many. Hills.
I’m still in love with my Brooks shoes. It’s like wearing pillows on my feet.

Dessert: When I got back from my run, I could feel my blood sugar getting a little low so I had a little pie with a little low fat ice cream. 5 points.

So today I got to 29 points which is awesome. Interested to see how tomorrow’s weigh in goes. See ya tomorrow.

Stuff from Sunday

Posted on June 9, 2013 by theffkid

Greetings and salutations, dear readers!

Just a quick update about what’s been going on with the ol’ FFK.

Ready for it?

I GOT A NEW JOB!

You are reading the words of the new PR and Marketing Coordinator for the Center for Leadership and Social Change at Florida State University. I’m not saying it’s my dream job, but when I sleep, I imagine it constantly. Essentially, I’ll be promoting all the good being done by the awesome students at FSU. I start on the 26th and I can’t flippin’ wait! One of the biggest perks? It is 50 feet away from my favorite gym on campus! I could easily get a quick workout in over lunch. It’s going to be awesome!

OK, let’s talk about food.

Tonight, we made some delicious squash and shrimp! A while back, we tried to make this jalapeno-lime shrimp recipe from America’s Test Kitchen. It. Was. Magical. Tonight, we replicated the awesomeness. Our awesome friend Becky gave us some squash from her garden so we cooked that up with some onions. (It’s good to have a friend with a garden.)

For dessert, we took a recipe from Cooking Light and it made our house smell like a bakery. We made toffee apple pie with low fat ice cream. Check out the recipe here. It’s so easy, it’s a child’s recipe!

So that’s it for tonight. Mad Men is on. Spoilers: Don does stuff. See ya tomorrow.

The FFK in Short Shorts

Posted on June 3, 2013 by theffkid

(I guess I could just leave this and say “you’re welcome, blogging world” but I guess I can elaborate.)
Yesterday night, Megan and I went to an Arrested Development party at a local establishment in town. I went as the ever-inept Tobias Fünke, never nude cutt-off shorts and all. When I was overweight, I would still dress up like a weirdo, but I would make sure I was covered up (except for the that time that I ripped my shirt off during a Sing Song practice like I was Hulk Hogan…) to make sure nothing was exposed. What sucked was that I did want to dress ridiculous in awkwardly short shorts or even in a tank top; but I didn’t want a manboob to flop out Janet Jackson style along with not wanting to look like I was wearing a sports bra because my tank top would too small. Why did I want to do that? Because that’s what all guys do in college! They all dressed weird to pick up girls (or at least that’s what you do at small Christian colleges…) I had to improvise because of my weight. Well last night that changed. I made some absurdly short shorts (yes, you can even see the pockets) and I wore them with pride. When you are big and you dress goofy and scantily, in the back of your mind, you are always scared of the inevitable tacky comment someone will say. (To all you people who make comments like that, we can hear you. Don’t be a jerk.) Frankly, they were easily the shortest shorts I had ever worn. Period. I was ready for that comment, but it never happened. And what was better was that I didn’t even worry about it.
I felt…normal.
It has taken a long time to get to that point. I still sometimes see my obese body when I look in the mirror, but I know that’s just me keeping myself down. Know how I know that’s not me anymore? Because those shorts are size 40 and I started out wearing 54’s and that shirt is a large and I was wearing XXXL shirts when I started my weight loss journey.

No matter how much you’ve lost or what you look like, be proud of your body. It’s yours. Own it. You were made for awesomeness.

See ya tomorrow.

Sunday!

Posted on June 2, 2013 by theffkid

Hello!

I’m going to keep this short because Mad Men is on in 16 minutes…

Breakfast: Toast, peanut butter and banana. YERM.

Lunch: Megan and I made some delicious creamy stovetop mac n’ cheese for lunch. I had a small serving first, followed by a smaller serving with a bag of Brussles sprouts. It was fantastic. Meanwhile, in the crockpot, we were slow cooking a soon-to-be-succulent pork loin.

Then, I ran. It was hot. I’ll talk more about my awesome Brooks shoes and incredibly comfortable Balega socks. My body was exhausted in that 96 degree heat, but my shoes and socks felt amazing.

BBQ Dinner: A few hours, and a pair of never nude cut offs, later we shredded and sauced the loin and let it simmer for a little while longer. It. Was. AMAZING!!!!! I added a little more sauce with hot mustard and then, wait for it, some left over mac n’ cheese from lunch!!!!! All on top of a Martin’s 100 calorie potato roll. Indulgent? Yes. Delicious? Uh-huh. A much better and lighter alternative than eating out? You bet. Skinnytaste is my hero.

So that’s about it for now. I’ll talk about my shoes later this week. I also posted a NSV on my FFK Facebook page. Click here to check it out! (Don’t forget to like my FFKFB page too! I’m trying to get to 1,000 likes!)

Thanks for being awesome, dear reader. You’re my favorite deputy.

See ya tomorrow.

Saturday!

Posted on June 1, 2013 by theffkid

WHY DON’T WE HAVE SOMEONE WORKING ON THIS???

Seriously, someone call a scientist.

Where was I?

Oh yeah…

HELLO!!!

Confession: I wish I was a Muppet puppet master. My in my next life…

Okay, let’s get back to it.

Hi! Life is going swimmingly for the MacDonald Crew. Feels so good to be back to eating healthy. I already feel better! Huzzah for good decisions!

Here’s how the day went:

Morning:
We’re not ones to really sleep in on Saturdays (we like getting up pseudo-early like some goody Folgers commercial) so Megan and I went for a run before the beautifully horrible combination of humidity and heat drained our life force into oblivion. It felt good to run, but we’re back to the fun of running in the heat. Joy.

Speaking of running…
Back in April, I won $50 in gift certificates (yes, actual handwritten gift certificates) from Shaw’s Athletic during a raffle at the Run for Boston run in Tallahassee. So today I finally put it to good use! Recently, my old New Balances have been killing my feet. My toes have been bruised and black under the nail since February and I’m pretty sure my big left tow is now deformed (but not like I’m growing a sixth toe or something. I live in Florida, not Arkansas.) Anyway, I finally got a new pair of awesome, not on clearance, running shoes! The worker at Shaw’s watched my walked and analyzed my running style. I found out I have a bit of a collapsed arch and some issues with pronation (where the sides of your feet roll out when running.) So he suggested a pair of Brooks. When I ran with them in the store, I thought “this is what running feels like?” I am so flippin’ stoked to try them out! I need to find a special trail/track in Tallahassee to break them in. Suggestions?

Later that day…
So then other stuff happened, and now we’ll move to a delicious part of the day (SPOILERS: we are making some delicious recipes this week. Stay tuned.) When you change your diet, you want to find lighter options of your favorite recipes. When Megan and I are looking for a different alternative, we usually turn to Skinnytaste! Tonight, it didn’t fail us.

One incredibly unhealthy dish we all know and love from Chili’s is their Cajun Chicken Pasta in all of its disgusting 1,460 calories and 75 grams of fat glory. Tonight, Megan and I made the Skinnytaste version of it AND IT WAS FLIPPIN’ DELICIOUS! Click here to check it out!

S0 that’s about it for today. More to come! See ya tomorrow.

Day 974: Hello!

Posted on May 16, 2013 by theffkid

The Office is over. One of the best series finales ever. I mean, it was no Seinfeld finale… (said no one ever.)

Happy BT Thursday Yo!

Anyway, it has been too flippin’ long. My eating has been up and down like crazy and I have this Dietbet that I sadly mildly care about at this point. I know that sounds bad, but maybe I’m just not cut out for weight losing competitions. I’m way too awesome at self-sabotaging. Need to work on that. Anywho, I ate really well today which just makes you feel better all around. Let’s talk food and stuff!

Breakfast: Waffles with a smidgen of peanut butter 3.5 points.
Lunch: Turkey Tom with avocado instead of mayo 7 points
Snack: Yummy yogurt. 3 points

This is where things get delicious. Brace yourself…

For dinner, we decided to consult the best website since spacejam.com (yes, this site still exists!) we went to Skinny Taste for some low-cal deliciousness. After arguing for hours on end about what to make (it’s all so delicious!) we decided on Skinny Taste’s amazing chicken cacciatore! We won. It was flippin amazing! So flavorful. So hearty. So low cal. I had two servings which was about 12 points.

Snack: I FINALLY found PB2 in Tallahassee! I was so excited to try it (if you’ve used it, post your favorite recipe in the comments!) I made a serving and ate it with celery. This is a beginning of a delicious relationship. 1 point for 2 tbsp!

So today I got to 26.5 points which is right where I want to be. Time to keep this going. See ya tomorrow.

Day 967: Saturday Yum!

Posted on May 11, 2013 by theffkid

I just figured I would show you this deliciousness.
Megan made this amazing lightened Chicken Francese from Skinny Taste. Check out the recipe at this location
http://www.skinnytaste.com/2009/01/lighter-chicken-francese-83-pts.html

Aaaaaaaaaaand then we made burgers with applewood bacon and fries from Wing Stop. Gangster delicious.

Also, I ate a lot of watermelon. Life is good.
See you tomorrow.

Day 965: Thursday Stuff

Posted on May 9, 2013 by theffkid

Brooke the Baller

If you haven’t read Brooke’s amazing blog, check it out as soon as you are done reading my ridiculousness. Last night, Brooke reached her weight loss goal! She has lost almost 180 pounds!!!! Check out her “After” blog (just click on the photo and it will sent you straight there!)

Anyway…Hello!

It feels like I haven’t actually written anything for a while. Well, now I’m back like a boss. Losing weight and taking names (or something like that.) Today was full of deliciousness, better yet, most of it was pretty healthy!

Let’s get started!

Breakfast: WAFFLEWICH!!!!! It’s been too long. No photo because I ate it in one fell delicious swoop!

Lunch: So today was my friends Cindy’s last day at work [insert sad face here] so we all went to Paisley Cafe for lunch! It’s one of those places where all the things are delicious so you change your mind every time you look at the menu. I went with the tomato bisque and the grilled cheese sandwich. Food porn at its finest, ladies and gentlemen!

(This is where I drank a crapton of water.)

Dinner: For those of you who don’t know, I LOVE WATERMELON!!! It’s my favorite fruit…okay…my favorite produce. So when my my friend Tristan the Tristastic made watermelon gazpacho the other night, I was SWOOOOOOOOOOONED. Tonight, Megan and I made our own batch. This deliciousness has watermelon (duh), tomatoes, shallots, cucumber, yellow bell pepper, basil and mint all combined in to one bowl of amazing. We got to use Megan’s new hand emersion blender too!
(I have a bad history with emersion blenders. In 8th grade, I put my finger in the center of the blade and turned it on, slicing right under my finger nail, causing an enormous amount of blood to spew henceforth. I cried and sat outside waiting for my Mom to get back from the store. I was an odd child.)