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How I Regained My Inner Superman After A Sedentary Desk Job Destroyed It

Name: Fred
Age: 32
Location:
 Ghana West Africa
Reboot: Two 60 Day Reboots

After a rather athletic youth in which I found myself on the basketball teams of both my Secondary School and University (a period during which I felt pretty much like Superman, doing all manner of fancy slam dunks at 5 foot 10 to the amazement of everyone), I started to gain weight rather rapidly the moment life ceased to be a routine of lectures and a couple of hours of sport every day. I never particularly cared much about what I ate because it never mattered what I ate, I always stayed my same extra athletic self.

Then came Law School. Four years of sitting down and reading whilst seldom if ever caring about what one ate (and oh yes there was time for partying). Little time for sport, and every day became once a week which eventually trailed off to once a month then never, during this period my weight went upwards from a steady 82 kg/180 lbs to about 105 kg/231 lbs but it didn’t feel like much of a problem and felt more like part of growing up ( almost everyone had put on weight after school).

Complete sedentary living was soon to follow coupled with a quick increase in earnings over the next couple of years. This in my case meant more time behind my desk and a limitless supply of junk food (not to forget an addiction to Coca Cola). Over the next four years my weight had managed to climb up to 125 kg/276 lbs, I couldn’t get up a flight of stairs without panting, I had bad lower back pain (which I quite correctly attributed to the “overhang” of my belly tugging my spine where it didn’t want to be), pins and needles in my feet when I sat down for more than a few hours and severe headaches every couple of days.

 

Then three things happened, a dear friend of mine Christa, frankly told me I looked 40 ( I was 32 at the time) and I knew she only said it because she meant it and I was quick to admit I hadn’t been taking particularly good care of myself. This really got me thinking and I sat down and thought of how silly I would feel even in my grave if I were to get a heart attack or diabetes considering the fact that I would be well aware how I got it and yet did not take any action. I thought through the fact that I had been through the best schools in these parts and had been exposed to an endless world of knowledge and how much of a shame it would be if I didn’t apply any of the knowledge I had. I knew I was going fast downhill towards an early and unpleasant end and not doing anything about it could in my opinion only be described as folly on my part.

 

I tried a couple of things with limited result as my work schedule kept getting the better of me and it was quite tough to get off all those fizzy drinks and junk food. I kept slipping right back into my old comfort zone after losing a few kilos. One June evening a friend said he had a documentary that I absolutely must watch, he said the moment he saw it he just thought of me (the similarities were that I was once an avid sportsman and I also used to often go through 2 pizzas. …not slices whole pizzas just as Joe mentioned). I watched Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead and immediately I knew what I had to do. I knew I could do this and within the next few days I had bought the best juicer I could find.

After one last binge to say goodbye to junk food I plunged in headfirst. Sixty days of juicing and oh boy were the first few days tough. Headaches to start with, that little voice inside saying “there are other ways”, cravings upon cravings. I quickly realised one fact, I was not actually ever hungry. I merely had severe cravings and would even catch imaginary whiffs of my favourite meals but I was never ever hungry. I made it a point to drink at least 2 litres a day of the green stuff and would aim for a gallon of water (in the tropics we lose a lot more water due to the heat).

 

Within a week I had lost 7 kg/15 lbs and I knew this was surely the way to go, nothing was going to stop me, the results were clear and I knew I had what it takes to see it through. I even got out a shirt from ten years back and promised myself I would fit into it ( I hung it off the ceiling as an everyday reminder). The first 30 days went by with massive support from my friend who recommended the documentary (he also started a fast on the same day whilst pretty much everyone else thought we were crazy). In two weeks I had lost 11 kg/24 lbs and by my 30th day I had shed 17 kg/37 lbs.

 

After 30 days I realised that other than losing weight I needed to get some measure of fitness back so I incorporated a daily running regime gradually increasing the miles every week, this was not all too difficult once I got going since I had been active in the past. The combination of running and juicing eventually culminated in a total loss of 28 kg/62 lbs. This was such an exciting feat but I still knew I was heavier than I should be.

 

After the first 60 days I was pretty determined not to go back to my old ways but I hadn’t made a plan for this, so I continued to work out and generally be careful about what I ate, however there was the question of Christmas. I traveled out of town to join the family for our traditional Christmas (and this involves binge eating for a three day period) and this extended into the New Year. I put on a whopping 6 kg/13 lbs from December to January and this helped me understand precisely how quickly one could put it all back on.

 

On January 6th I commenced my 2nd Reboot, I signed up for another 60 days, incorporating running from the very start doing nothing less than 4 miles a day and on good days 7 miles. I had ambitious targets and was bent on meeting them. I wanted to get back to being able to dunk on the basketball court and also complete the marathon. The 2nd Reboot also went well even though I was less strict, occasionally incorporating raw food salads when I would hang out with friends. The second challenge was particularly interesting because I picked up hobby cooking and cooked several meals (yes meat and all) for my friends without so much as a taste, they did seem to enjoy it all though.

 

After another 60 days I managed to settle down at my target weight of 85 kg/187 lbs, lost a total of 5 inches off my waist, don’t have the headaches I used to, no more back pain nor pins and needles and yes still intend to run that marathon in September and hopefully my leg muscles will obey me and I can do one more slam dunk for the kids to marvel at.

 

Going forward I intend to get more people to take their health a lot more seriously, not necessarily as radical as I did but in their own little ways. I intend to eat raw as much as I can with the occasional treat. Coca Cola is never going to happen again and alcohol isn’t worth it. After my 35th Birthday I may just either turn vegetarian or vegan but immediately I intend to end the year weighing 79 kg/174 lbs. I managed to get about 18 others including my girlfriend to try out juice fasting and several have had successes. I am glad I watched Fat Sick & Nearly Dead, I watched it again several times since and absolutely nothing has inspired me more. Thanks Joe.