“Go be awesome!”

Posted on March 22, 2018 by theffkid

I’m writing this on my flight to DFW. [Composing it in Monk’s Coffee Shop in Abilene while eating a cream cheese brownie from McKay’s Bakery.] It’s that point in the flight where they’re hustling their credit card, an indicator that there’s at least enough time to sign up for a credit card but not much else. Also, the lady across the aisle from me just picked her nose and ate while watching Murder on the Orient Express, a different indicator that I’ve been on this flight long enough that we’re a little too comfortable with each other.

Now…where was I?

After months of preparation, self-doubt, anxiousness and imposter syndrome, I’m on my way to Abilene, Texas to share my story at TEDxACU. I’ve rehearsed my talk with coworkers, including my CEO, my church friends, my wife and have muttered it under my breath to everyone on the 77 North City bus and pedestrians in downtown Seattle.

I’m excited but nervous. The brain is a funny creature that misplaces ideas and sentences as if they were a pair of car keys nestled under a pile of dirty laundry. It’s how it goes. But at its core, this talk is my life and the principles I live by. As long as I can communicate those to the audience, I’ll be just fine.

My talk is a combination of stories and life lessons that have defined my weight loss. This has been an amazing journey, one that has been crowdsourced with friends from all walks of my life cheering me on.

Last Saturday, I left my Weight Watchers meeting realizing that by that time next week I would be done with my talk, carrying the knowledge of how it went and whether or not I would share the link to the talk with my friends and family.

My soul felt heavy.

It was a challenging thought. On my way to my car, one of my favorite members called me over. We chatted about her upcoming trip to Arizona. “Oh! Your talk is next week!” she exclaimed. We talked a little more and she ended the conversation with this closing commission: “go be awesome!”

It was what I needed to hear at that exact moment. Because this experience is awesome. Heck, I”m awesome!

Regardless of what happens on tomorrow, life will go on. I don’t say that to cheapen the experience. Far from it. It’s a license to get out on that stage and give it all I have.

So that’s what I’m going to do. If I hit a mental roadblock, I’ll take a deep breath and break through it. I got this.

So wherever you are on Friday at 8:30 central time, direct your positive thoughts toward Abilene, Texas. I can’t wait to tell you guys how it went.

How to Change the Face of Men’s Health With Movember

Posted on November 1, 2014 by theffkid

For years, men across the world have made November the month to grow a lusciously lumberjack-esque thick beard which was colloquially known as “No Shave November”. When I was in college, I would give my razor a rest and try to grow a studtastic beard, but it always ended up in a disastrous and patchy mess that just pronounced my double (well…quadruple) chin. That was until a few years ago when I decided to do something about my health.

You see, for years I was relied on ignorance as a key to being happy. At 357 pounds, I knew I was a ticking time bomb but I pushed down that sadness with food and by being loud and crazy. Now that I’m healthier, but still loud and crazy, my mission in life is to help others become the best version of themselves by making the most of their lives by being healthy! And I’m not just talking about fitness either.

Here are a few facts for you:

1 in 7 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime
Around 15 million American adults (6.7% of the population) are diagnosed with depression each year.
Testicular cancer is the most common cancer in young men aged 15 – 35 years

So this year, I will be growing a moustache to change the face of men’s health with Movember.

For the next 30 days, my upper lip will be home the only hair on my face. But this month is more than just growing a studly handlebar, it’s about spreading the word of men’s health and the importance of prevention.

How am I doing that, you ask? By challenging you two ways! Here’s how!

Nate & Cat’s Shavetastic Spectacular Movember Challenge!

For the past three years, my buddy Catherine Williams and I have been trying to put together a video and a challenge for Movember. 2014 IS THE YEAR!!!! Catherine, who is an awesome champion for ALS awareness, and I came up with a challenge that is fun, easy, and could potentially leave you smelling like sandalwood.

Here’s what you do:

Watch the video above
Decide if you want to accept the challenge and donate $5 to N&CSSMC, or go double or nothing and try to shave a balloon with it popping.
If you decide to shave a balloon…get a balloon, silly!
Lather said balloon
Start shaving
If it pops, donate $10 and challenge two friends
If it doesn’t, brag about your awesomeness and challenge two of your friends
Have fun with your challenge! Post a video of you shaving the balloon on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or your favorite social media challenge. Don’t forget to tag the poor souls you’re challenging!

PLEASE NOTE: We are not liable for any injury or shaving cream mess that comes from this challenge. Shave your balloon at your own risk…or just donate the $5!

Simple enough? Awesome!

Well guess what, if you watched the video CONSIDER YOURSELF CHALLENGED! TIME TO SHAVE ALLLLLL THE BALLOONS!

Here’s the second way to donate!

BECOME A STACHETASTIC RUN SPONSOR!!!

Last year, I challenged my friends on Facebook do donate a dime to Movember.
Pure and simple. Well…sort of.
I asked them donate a dime for each mile I ran that month. At first, I asked for 10 people to commit. I ended up with close to 25 sponsors. That’s $2.50 for every mile! This year, I am looking for more sponsors and I’m asking for a dime a mile again! Last year, I only ran 50 miles so each person donated at least $5! That’s still $125 towards men’s health!

Are you up to the challenge? If you are, comment on this post either below or on Facebook! I’ll tally up the miles and let you know how much you owe at the end of the month!

So I know I’m potentially asking a lot from you and at this point you’re probably wondering where this money is all going. Fair point! Last year, Movember USA alone raised over 22 million dollars towards research and education of testicular and prostate cancer research and prevention and creating awareness of issues surrounding men’s mental health. According to Movember’s independent auditors, 83.3% of the funds went directly to research which is above the international best practice standard for cause-based donations. For more information on where your money will go, click here.

If you decide not to donate, I do ask that you do think about your state of health. I ask you to get educated and to find out how to become a person that your future self will thank in years to come. Moustache or not, make this month about you and your health.

Psst…want to join in on the Movember fun? Join my team Moustaches Are Cool! Click here to join!

Day 1,171 Sunday on Track

Posted on December 1, 2013 by theffkid

It has been kind of a whirlwind of a Thanksgiving week. So much so I’m not really sure where to begin…

This poor sap has no clue…

Let’s start with a bitterly cold 15k on Thursday that was unforseeably miserable. This year’s Turkey Trot was easily the coldest one I’ve ran in. In fact, it was the coldest race I have ever ran in. It was in the low 30’s at the start of the race and I didn’t know how my body was going to respond to the conditions. Well, as usual, my body surprised me in an awesome way. I started off the race with an amazing pace of 9:00/mile. Now usually I start to taper off after the second mile and jump up to about a 10:00/mile, but I consistently conquered the first 5 miles with a 9:00ish/mile pace! I was on the way of destroying my 15k time from last year! I was soooooooo stoked!
Then, I had to poop.
Out of nowhere, my body started to scream “find some bushes” which was impossible since a) I was in the middle of a subdivision and b) there were way too many runners that I knew to do something weird like that. And of course, thanks to the way this route was laid out, I was literally the furthest away from the finish line (for those of you who have ran the 15k, I was around the turnaround on Biltmore at the bottom of the giant hill). I’ll avoid being graphic, but I was in physical pain to the point that I could only run a few steps without having to stop. With about 2 miles left, I was close to a community center that I had been to that had bathrooms. I deviated from the course by about 100 feet to get to it. Doors are locked. I see some people and I ask them if they have access. They didn’t, but they pointed to the Southwood Clubhouse which was another 200 feet away off the route. Thankfully, they were open. I went it, used their facilities, looked incredibly out of place, and got the heck out of there (and no Alex, I didn’t ask any of the caddies if they knew you. I didn’t have the time to make small talk 🙂 ). Anyway, after that I was back on track and I finished the race while tacking on an extra .65 miles on to my run. The thing was, I wasn’t too far from the finish line, but I panicked and didn’t know what to do. It was something I’ve had to deal with during a race. It was miserable. I’m planning on running a 15k in December (anyone doing the Magnuson Holiday Fun Run in Seattle on the 21st?) so I’ll have to redeem myself then. Anyway, other than that, Thanksgiving went off without a hitch!

So let’s skip to this weekend, shall we?
I also had an amazing Weight Watchers meeting where our leader Dee encouraged us to re-think about why we are trying to lose weight. I opened up about my weight loss journey (something I hadn’t talked about with the group before) and how I have been at the same weight for the past almost 2 years. I explained that I’ve been comfortable both physically and mentally in the 230’s because I haven’t been at this weight since…elementary? This weight has allowed me to run 10 milers on a whim and keep up with my compadres in my workout classes. That’s so awesome to me! Now, I want to take it to the next level. I don’t want people to look at me and not understand how I’m such a fast runner (my response is “yeah, I don’t get it either”). I want my outside to match my inside while both becoming more fit. One of the biggest roadblocks with this is fueling my body right after a big run or workout. I think that looks like more water, more protein and just staying within my points. Once I get that in line (which I have been researching. Any suggestions are welcomed.) I know that I’ll be back within striking distance of getting below 200 pounds for the first time in decades.

So that’s about it. Today, I was well below my points and was super full. I even weighed out my leftover turkey on our food scale before I turned it in to a delicious BBQ turkey sandwich. It was magical. See ya tomorrow.

One more thing…
Don’t forget to donate to Movember if you are a Stachetastic Run Sponsor! (I know a lot of you are still reeling from the weekend, but don’t forget!) I have provided super easy setp-by-step instructions here!

How to Donate to Movember

Posted on November 30, 2013 by theffkid

Well, all must things must come to an end. It has been an stachtastic year of Movember. I have always been interested in corporate fundraising and development so I get pretty giddy every time I get to raise money for a good cause. This year, I tried something a little different. I decided to put my running talents to good use. I asked the socialmediasphere if I ran, would your donate a dime a mile for the face of men’s health, to help raise money and awareness for testicular and prostate cancer research. It all started with my first yes by my friend Robyn, and the yes’s just kept coming. Before I knew it, I had 25 Stachetastic Run Sponsors who were willing to donate! Thank you all so much for your willingness to fight for this cause while cheering me on! You have all been super supportive no matter what over the years and it is what keeps me going. You all deserve gold stars.

Okay, so now comes the time to the task at hand: donation time.

This is a screen shot from my Nikeplus app with the official total. As you can see, I ran a total of 50 miles in the month of November. I was actually pretty thrilled with this month running wise. I ran a couple of 10 milers (including my Thursday run that was a doozie that I haven’t talked about yet. That post is coming soon…) and in some pretty crazy conditions. Somewhere in there, I destroyed my toe that I thought was going to ruin my philanthorunning. Thankfully, it wasn’t broken and I was able to keep going!

So, what does this mean to us, FFK?
Well, according to my calculations, 50 miles multiplied by 10 cents comes out to… a $5 donation from each Stachetastic Run Sponsor!
So, I would ask that you donate at least $5 to Movember. When I say “at least” I’m not suggesting that you have to donate more, but feel free to do so if you want!

HERE’S HOW YOU DONATE!!!!

(Don’t worry, I’ll keep it simple.)

STEP 1
Go to http://mobro.co/nathanalbert (click on it! It will open in a new tab!)

STEP 2
Click on “Donate to me” below my signature FFK photo

STEP 3
Type in at least $5 to the donation box. (Again, no pressure.)

STEP 4
Scroll down that page and fill out the appropriate billing information. Then, click “Donate.”

Step 5:
Click “Donate Now” in the pop up screen.
STEP 6
AND THAT’S IT!
YOU HAVE JUST DONATED TO SAVE THE FACE OF MEN’S HEALTH!
As you can see, you can download a receipt as well for tax purposes.

So that’s it! Simple enough right? I just want to thank you all again for your donation and support. You have no clue how much this means to me! If you have any problems with the website, just message me and I’ll help you out! I think the last day to donate is Dec. 6th (basically by next week). Thanks again for being stachetastic.

Day 1,161 All the Desserts Edition

Posted on November 21, 2013 by theffkid

So today…well…I ate a lot.
I have a thing for sweets. My sweet tooth takes up the majority of my mouth (and has severe cavities.) Today was his Christmas…but we’ll get to that later.

Movember update! Some of you have been asking about Movember and how my mustache is growing. Well, here you go! It’s not great, but it can sure raise some money! As you can see, I have kind of a Reverse Hitler growing where that space under my noes doesn’t grow well. Hi Ho. Anyway, it’s been fun to grow it. Ready to grow a beard in December…or at least try to anyway.

About yesterday’s photos: So you might be wondering about those workout photos from Wordless Wednesday. Well, those were from my Start 2 Fitness exercise class! Yesterday, we have a few competitions like who could plank the longest, who could do the most pushups, that kind of stuff. All I wanted was to get first place in a competition AND I DID! Truth be told, it was a game that was totally in my wheelhouse: shuttle-run trivia. (Fun fact: kind of a trivia nerd who plays on a fantastic team called STEVE HOLT! and yes we yell that every time someone says our name.) Anyway, you had to guess a certain celebrity in the shortest time. The catch? You had to run 100+ feet to someone to get a clue and then come back to give your answer. My clues were: female, singer, debuted in 1999. Boom. Britney Spears. I got mine in three tries in 44 seconds. First place in that competition! Holla! Celebrate the small victories! Shout out to Ernst, Brendan and Angela at FSU Campus Rec for an awesome semester of getting fit!

Breakfast: What’s the opposite of getting fit? Oh yeah, eating a sandwich with hashbrowns on it. Because that happened at breakfast. Not a good indicator of things to come. On a different note, people were having a business meeting inside of Atomic Coffee this morning with their own giant pad of paper. And before you ask, no, they don’t have a conference room. It was painful to watch and listen to (especially because they were talking about social media. I’m not sure they knew what Facebook was…). Anyway, the sandwich was good, but not the healthiest option. But somehow still healthier than most of my other meals today.

I Ate Dessert For Lunch…Because I’m An Adult!: So today at work, we had a bake sale that benefited the United Way of the Big Bend. You were encouraged to try everything and then vote on your favorites. So I took that to heart. I didn’t even bother trying to add it all up. Don’t worry, I didn’t eat all of those apples. They just looked awesome. Funny story: the guy who made those is on WW too so I jokingly asked him how many points those were and then he laughed in my face and said “it’s for charity! When you eat something for charity, the points don’t count!!!” So I’m going with that delusive ignorance and calling a mulligan on this meal. Don’t worry, I paid for it later. I felt terrible the rest of the day. In other news, I love my job.

Second Lunch: After all the sugar, I needed something else in my body or I was going to die of my newly discovered diabetes. So what did this smart guy eat? Two delicious hot dogs from the iconic hot dog stand on campus: Mom and Pop’s. Ironically, Mom and Pop’s is the only food stand on FSU’s campus that isn’t owned by Aramark. Making it one of the few Mom and Pop shops that stood up to a big conglomerate and won. Anyway, yeah…they were good. But it’s ok! I had a Diet Coke that canceled out any calories I ate at Second Lunch! Hooray denial!

Dinner: To balance and completely cancel out every other calorie I ate in the day, I made chili for dinner. It was delicious, but I still kind of feel sick from eating all that sugar. Ready to run A LOT tomorrow evening. See ya tomorrow.

Dead ActiveLink, Bruised Toes & Other Adventures in Weight Loss

Posted on November 12, 2013 by theffkid

It’s funny when you leave open your blog post in your browser and how what you are planning on writing will be completely different in a matter of hours.

So it’s been a pretty crazy week. In fact it’s been a pretty crazy start to the month. I am in a pretty rotten place when it comes to weight loss. My weight has been fluctuating like crazy, but I physically look smaller. My Start to Fitness cross training class twice a week is getting me ripped. I especially see and feel it in my back, my arms and around my stomach. Between that and my running, I have been getting fit in the gym (and track), but haven’t been losing weight in the kitchen.

As you can see from the graph, I’m struggling. It’s hard not to go a little overboard when your favorite team (i.e. my FSU Seminoles) are going gangbusters for the first time since…well…since we were worrying about Y2K. It shouldn’t be an excuse, but it’s been the reality of the situation. My eating is out of whack in the week and then it’s not much better on the weekends. At this point, I feel like I need to have just one good week of eating right, exercising and drinking all the water, I could kickstart my weight loss into gear!

So what’s standing in my way?
Well, like I said, I have had a couple of crummy weeks and days.
First, my ActiveLink fell off my pants. I run with it on my waistband all the time, but some how it got knocked off my jeans when I was walking to work. Crazy right? Where did it fall? It fell on to a busy intersection without me even realizing it. When I was in a meeting, I realized that it was gone. I thought I had left it at home, so I went and looked for it in an attempt to assuage my fears. It wasn’t at home. After lunch, I came back up to work while retracing my steps. Then, I saw it…in pieces…on a busy intersection of campus. It was pretty sad, and I’m pretty sure I looked crazy picking up the pieces while cars were driving by. Anyway, in a way it was a little comical. It’s just a part of life. It could be worse…someone could have stolen my shoes (oh that’s right, that’s happened before…). I know that not having an ActiveLink doesn’t physically stop my from being active, but it’s awesome to have that gauge to know how much more active I need to be during the week. It was just kind of a bummer.

Well that sucks, what else is going on, FFK?
Do you have a piece of furniture in your house that loves to destroy your toes? So do we. We have this black chair that has a leg that has bruised many a toes. Yesterday, I slammed my left foot in to the leg of the chair and as you can see, my toe swelled up almost immediately, followed by turning a black/purple/blue/redish color all around. Followed by pain while walking. It wasn’t fun. So today I went to the doctor and got some x-rays done. I usually wouldn’t go for something like this, but I am training for the half AND I have Stachetastic Run Sponsors depending on me! I found out that my toe wasn’t broken, just has a bad contusion. She suggested taping those piggies together (according to the doctor’s sheet, “taping to the buddy toes”) and it should heal in the next two to three weeks. Not awesome.

So what does that mean for your running?
Well…I’m not sure. My toe has felt better since it’s been taped. I’m already a little more mobile and I think I would feel a lot better if I had taken some pain meds today. So I’m going to rest it tomorrow and just listen to my body. That hasn’t failed me yet. What sucks is that I haven’t ran since Thursday because I was resting my body for some long runs this week. For those of you that don’t know, I am raising money in a special way this month. Last week, I challenged my Facebook friends to donate a dime (yes, ten cents) to Movember for every mile I ran this month. So far I have 14 Stachetastic Run Sponsors and have raised $18.20 by running 13 miles. My goal was to run at least 50 miles, but that might be an issue considering my toes. That’s why I need more sponsors, so that every mile counts. If I could get six more sponsors, I will been raising $2 for every mile. If you are willing to help change the face men’s health, this is a motastic way. No if you will excuse me, I’m going to burn a chair to the ground.

It’s the Mo Wonderful Time of the Year

Posted on November 2, 2013 by theffkid

I have an announcement…
On Friday, November 1st, I started growing a mustache.
(I know, important right?)
While I might try to grow an awesome stache like the illustrious FSU alum Burt Reynolds any other month, this November I will be growing it for the face of men’s health.

Just a few facts for you:
Men are 35% more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer than women are to be diagnosed with breast cancer.
Testicular cancer is the most common cancer for men between the ages of 15 and 35.
Over 6 million men are diagnosed with depression each year.

The purpose of Movember is two fold: to raise awareness for these preventable diseases and to raise money to research them. It is more than growing an awesome mustache.

Today, I am asking for your help. I am currently putting together a team of Mo Bros and Mo Sistas (yes, this is an all-inclusive fundraising campaign) to help raise awareness and to raise funds. If you would like to join my team, go to movember.com and search for the team “Mustaches Are Cool.” Another way you can help is by donating to Movember. You can donate with a card by clicking here or you can bring cash to my office and I will make sure it goes straight to Movember. Your donation will benefit the Movember Foundation and Livestrong in their research. (If you want to learn more about how your donation will be used, click here.)

If you are interested in joining my team (it’s not too late!), or just have some friends who have an affinity for growing facial hair, let me know. Although Movember officially started on Friday, it actually ends the first week of December. So far, I have already raised $83! Holla! Plenty of time to raise some cash while growing a stache.

I know a lot of posts like these have a personal tie in, why the cause is important to the writer. Well, I have been fortunate even not to have a personal tie in to this cause. The MacDonald and Knote men lived long, healthy lives. I guess you could say that my tie in is that I want to keep it that way. I want to help raise money to keep the research going so we all don’t have to go through the stress and heartache of having a loved one sick. I think the other reason is that when I decided to get healthy by losing weight, I looked at the process on a complete health spectrum. I even started to using moisturize on my face, something that sounded so weird and dainty to me. I guess what I’m trying to say is this is important to me because we need to have these conversations about men’s health. It should anti-mochismo to take of your body. Movember is trying to change the culture of men’s health, one stache at a time.

Let the mo grow commence.

Day 803: My Awesome Interview With Another Biggest Loser

Posted on November 29, 2012 by theffkid

Hello!!!!

So it has been a crazy week on the interwebs for me! First, my weight loss story was featured by the awesome blogger Reinventing Danni, then I have helped raise $130 for prostate cancer through Movember (which there is still times to donate here!) and today, my interview with RetroFit Ministries came out. For those who don’t know, RetroFit Ministries was created by the awesome Biggest Loser duo Austin and Ken Andrews (they were on Season 11 along with some other awesome folks like Courtney Crozier and Hannah Curlee who I met this summer! I’m working my way up the Biggest Loser social ladder!) Anyway, a few weeks ago, I had written something about my journey on Austin’s wall and then after a few exchanges, he asked me about being interviewed for his website! It was such an honor! Here’s the interview. After you’re done check out the other amazing stories! If it doesn’t make you want to do push ups and go on a kale cleanse I don’t know what will. Check it out. Thanks again for the awesome opportunity Austin. See ya tomorrow.

THANKSTORIES: THANKFUL NATHAN

Nathan MacDonald Sheds some light on his story of becoming healthy. I have to be honest, I have had an enjoyable time hearing his story, and he has described it in a pretty amusing way! It has been a pleasure to hear Him describe his journey, and I think you’ll enjoy it as well!

CLICK HERE FOR OTHER AMAZING THANKSTORIES OF REAL PEOPLE CHANGING THEIR LIVES!

AA: Nathan- When did it hit you that you were obese?

I wore XXL shirts in 5th grade

NM: Kindergarten? Lol I was always the fat kid growing up. I wore XXL shirts in 5th grade and I am actually a smaller jean size now than I was in middle school. My weight was always a constant struggle. Sometimes I would get on the right track and it felt like I was really going to make a change, but then something would happen like moving to a new school or something like that.

AA: How would a school change affect you moving forward?

NM: Well being the new kid always came with its own issues. Being an overweight kid made it even more fun lol.

AA: I love the sarcasm! Ha! You struggled all through school, but you never hit your point of not return- when did you hit that tipping point of change?

NM: The tipping point for me was right before I started graduate school at Florida State University in 2010. I had to buy size 54 khakis for orientation. That’s when I realized that it was time to make a significant change, or just accept the fact that I was going to die at an early age.

AA: Do you look at your childhood and think, “My weight makes sense,” because people or bullying?

NM: I was always bullied in elementary, and although I was bullied some in middle school, I was able to deflect a lot of it by playing the “funny fat kid” card that most overweight kids know all too well. I did have two dear friends who died when I was in college and that really took its toll on me. I turned to eating a lot during that time.

AA: You took to eating when your friends passed away?

NM: It was what I was use to. Food had always been there for me so my initial reaction was to eat my feelings. It was much easier to eat over talking out my feelings to my wife and to my friends. It was a truly hard time.

AA: What do you look to for that same feeling if you hit a hard time now?

NM: Well now it’s a lot easier to work out my frustration whether it’s running or an aggressive game of racquetball. I burn calories instead of eating them lol.

AA What happened to give you hope that you could change?

NM: I have been blessed with such an amazing wife, Megan, who has always been there ready to cheer me on when I decided it was time to change my life. It’s also been awesome to have friends from across the world sending me Facebook posts encouraging me. It has really held me accountable and has given me the strength to keep on keepin’ on.

AA: When you discovered that change was possible, how did you decide on what path to become healthy?

NM: Well I had tried Weight Watchers a few times, only to quit a few weeks later. It wasn’t until I really bought in to the system (like counting, calculating, researching restaurants, etc.) that I became successful. I also always liked racquetball and running, so that became a huge part of my cardio which melts the pounds lol. I still do a lot of both now, but I have taken it to a whole new level. I was just happy to finish a 5k, now I want to place in my age bracket and I am training for a half marathon. Losing 130 pounds changes your prospective so much!

AA: Speaking of perspective, I have called this blog series ThankStories, because we are in November and thankfulness is big this time of year- What are you thankful looking on your journey and future?

NM: This year, I’m running in my first 15k. I’m thankful that I have been blessed with a body that can take all of the abuse I have given it from one extreme of being obese to the other by testing its limits every week through working out lol. I’m incredibly thankful for my community of friends and readers who have been with me through thick and thin. It’s been so encouraging to have friends even from elementary comment on the blog telling me that they’re cheering me on. It’s been an amazing journey so far!

AA: Given that you have lost 130 lbs, are you Finished? Is this the end of your journey?

NM: Not even close. I am still a good 50-70 pounds away from where I want to be and I still have struggles with food. Although I still have a ways to go on this journey, I’m loving every minute of it. The hardest days on my weight loss journey are still infinitely better than the days of being 357 pounds. This journey has been such a blessing and it’s not ending any time soon.

Day 802: Last Wordless Wednesday of Movember!

Posted on November 28, 2012 by theffkid

http://mobro.co/nathanalbert

Day 801: Weigh In Day

Posted on November 27, 2012 by theffkid

I’M BACK!!!!!!

Sorry it’s been a while. Thanksgiving is a crazy time. A lot of planning, a lot of turkey, and a lot of fun!

A quick thing about the 15k…IT WAS AWESOME! It was 9.3 miles of crazy awesomeness! The course had a lot of ups and downs (literally) but I felt really good about my time. I maintained a 8:30-9:45 minute mile the whole time. I was going to buy the photos from the racing photography company, but they are flippin’ expensive! I’ll still post the race results on my race results page soon!

So I was working to not gaining this week so I exercised, tried to watch what I ate and drank plenty of water. I ended up losing .2 pounds lol (total 126.4 pounds) which isn’t much, but I really lost 6 pounds in a weird way. You see, at one point I had gained 6 pounds but I lost it all by this morning. Hooray for weight fluctuation! Anyway, last year I gained something like 8 pounds and didn’t really get it off until the summer so losing is a pretty big deal. The best part is is that I still ate what I wanted, just not as much of it. And there in lies the key for weight loss.

Today I was pretty good with food and tomorrow will be even better. I feel awesome about where I am and I’m ready to lose some serious weight before the end of the year.

Before we end tonight, I just wanted to make another push for Movember.

As you know, the end of Movember is near! Friday is that last day to donate to Movember. So far, you have helped raise $40 which is totally awesome! My goal is to have raised a total of $100 by this Friday! No matter how small or large, any donation is appreciated. I don’t see a dime, it goes directly to prostate cancer research. Even if it just means giving up a meal out this week and donating, that’s $5 closer we are to ending this disease. You can donate here. If you keep donating, I’ll keep growing this itchy, yet legit, stache! Thanks! P.S. Please share with your friends, your family and your co-workers! Spread the stache love! See ya tomorrow.